Jack Nicklaus’ swing key for belting long drives down the fairway

Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today, we revisit a power tip from Jack Nicklaus from our April 1968 issue. For unlimited access to the full GOLF Magazine digital archive, join InsideGOLF today; you’ll enjoy $140 of value for only $39.99/year.

Power off the tee is an irreplaceable skill in golf. When you can hit the ball longer than your competitors, you are at an immediate advantage.

This fact has been true for as long as golf has been played. One example? The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.

While it is true that Nicklaus could do everything well on the course, one of his greatest skills early in his career was his power off the tee. When he arrived on the scene in the 1960s, he played golf in a way that few had ever seen before.

Nicklaus’ dynamic power was a huge factor in establishing him as a near unstoppable force in the 60s and 70s. Over the course of those two decades, the Golden Bear won 15 of his 18 career major titles — and it all started with his prolific skill off the tee.

Back in 1968, GOLF Magazine highlighted the keys for Nicklaus’ power, which you can read below.

Jack’s power key

Jack Nicklaus is one of the best golfers anywhere at any type of shot you want to name, although his versatility is sometimes almost forgotten. Ask a fan to describe Nicklaus’s game in one word, and every time that word comes back loud and clear — power.

This is because no one consistently hits the ball farther than Jack, and therefore he has become recognized as the longest hitter in golf today. Although he is a big fellow, standing 5-feet 11-inches and weighing over 200 pounds, the secret to Nicklaus’s length lies more in his great swing, perfect timing and tremendous power generated from his hips and legs. A study of the Nicklaus swing is truly a study of power — but also a study of precision action and complete utilization of the body for the best possible performance.

Jack uses an upright stance and begins his swing with a great coiling of his shoulders and hips. In the recoil, he moves the left side out of the way very early, with perfect timing, to unleash the massive power in his body.

Coming into the ball, Jack drives his right elbow tightly against his right side, delaying the wrist break until the hands have reached hip level. A big source of strength is in the knees, and especially the right knee. His entire lower body — the hips, knees and feet — all work together to generate power and a fluid swing, but the knees serve as the focal point or coordinator of the swing.

In looking at Nicklaus’s swing, one sees that as the club comes back the left knee turns in toward the right and the right knee becomes the critical part of the entire swing. It is locked into position throughout the swing, as it must be, and the knee then works as the brace around which the body coils.

This firmness helps build up power and also makes it impossible to sway off the ball, thereby losing power.

Nicklaus’s strength is released by pushing off the right foot, causing the hips, knee and foot to all thrust forward, into and through the swing. The right knee turns directly toward the target after impact and on the follow-through, and thereby pushes the entire body and all its power in the direction the ball is being hit.

It’s the Nicklaus method — one with proven success both in distance and accuracy — and it certainly involves a lot more than simple brute strength.