By Scott Orban, PGA Executive Professional

Do hockey players have an advantage when it comes to learning to strike a golf ball? Power and consistency may be improved if we can learn from hockey players.

A hockey player understands that in order to shoot the puck harder the player must strike down at the ice and compress the shaft. The harder and faster the player hit's down, the harder the shot. To create this force the hockey player turns faster utilizing core strength muscles. It is not a swinging of the hands and arms which creates the power.

A similarity in a golf and hockey shot is that at the point of impact the club and stick shafts are leaning: meaning that the hands are in front of the blade or the clubface at the point of impact. If golfers can learn this key fundamental they will be learning to utilize their core body strength to generate more speed, power and consistency. This results in better consistency because the golfer will not be trying to find the speed with their hands and arms, thus stabilizing the club face through impact.