Butch Harmon was chosen as world best golf instructor since 2003 and he said “for longer drives, forget what feels powerful”. I thought that this is really cool, he said the instinct to try to pound the ball of the tee result in what is known as “hitting from the top”, which is a power killer because it disrupts the natural sequence of motion. He said: “if you cannot hold your finish, have a balanced finish, you are going at a speed your body cannot support. Try to go at 70, 80% of your max speed – and get your downswing sequence right, that will give you more distance for sure.” To me this is so simple yet so impressive.
Sensei Nishiyama used to tell us over and over not to use “top power”, get the sequence right, each segment from the ground up accumulates maximum energy and transfer it to next segment, to produce maximum total amount of force, the arms and legs of the technique should be merely an extension, making direction, tools of contact and of course the add some to the total chain of energy. Sensei Nishiyama used to say over and over that what feels strong is not necessary strong. Go at slower speeds that you can handle to develop proper sequence and than increase speed gradually, do not go faster than your stance could handle.
Bud Winter was the best sprint coach in US history and he said that he tells his athletes to run at 80 to 90 percent of their maximum speed, and they always end up running their fastest when the think this way. Bud Winter was a big fan of relaxing, he requested from his sprinters to relax their facial muscles while the sprint, so the effort is only were need to be.