Most golfers are probably aware of the fact that boosting driver distance demands increasing your golf swing speed. But then the process of how to increase swing speed requires effort. It’s not a goal you can achieve overnight. You have to put in some amount of practice. However, at such times, the right kind of training is a must.
On that note, what are the best drills for increasing your swing speed in golf? So you can hit your longest drives of all time!
It’s time to spill the magic beans. But first, let’s cover the basics.
Contents
Understanding the Importance of Swing Speed In Golf
Almost every golfer desires to achieve longer driver distances and more iron compression. And the one thing that determines both is your swing speed. With a faster swing speed, the golf ball is inevitably going to cover a longer distance.
It’s the clubhead energy that transfers to the ball, which compels it to move forward. So the higher this energy, the greater the speed at which the golf ball jumps off that clubface. And the faster the ball travels, the farther it goes.
This means your swing speed in golf matters a great deal if you want to boost your driving distance potential.
How to Increase Swing Speed In Golf
It’s ultimately your clubhead speed that you want to boost, right? So here are the most useful drills to help you become a part of the community of faster swingers in golf…
1. Strength Training
You do indeed have to become stronger in terms of physical training if you want your golf ball to travel farther. And there’s no other better way to do so than weight training. This form of functional fitness builds strength and muscle.
And as a golfer, those targeted muscle groups include your hips, abdomen, and forearms. These are responsible for your golf swing movement. But also keep in mind that strength training doesn’t produce favorable results instantly. You have to keep at it consistently. Also, it should be combined with flexibility training in order to be completely effective (more on that below).
So what types of weight-equipped exercises should golfers perform to build strength and muscle?
- You can start with a medicine ball. The ball contains a certain amount of weight. Hold it between your hands in front of you. Now swing the ball from one side to the next, like you’re performing the golf swing movement (see video). Do this at a slow and steady rate to stabilize your targeted muscles.
- Another form of exercise with the medicine ball includes squats (video). When you stand back up, hold the ball far from the chest and then squat back down again.
- T Spine Rotation is also a very effective exercise. Get down on all your fours first. Then place your left hand behind the left side of your neck. Now rotate upward till the left-hand elbow is pointing up. Rotate downward till that elbow reaches the right hand across the floor. Needless to say, do the same on the other side as well.
- You can also try Spider-Man. Get into the push-up start position. Now bring your left foot forward and place it right outside your left palm. Sink down into this posture, then go back to the push-up start position and move on to the right side. With this kind of exercise, you’re actually targeting hip flexibility and mobility while also engaging your core for extra strength.
2. Flexibility Training
When combined with strength training, this can really transform the way you swing in your every round of golf. The sport doesn’t really require strength, unlike games like football, basketball, etc. But you do indeed play better when you have strong, flexible muscles.
When your body is flexible enough to twist and turn, it allows you to generate the clubhead required for increasing the distance of your golf shots. Just a little bit of flexibility also goes a pretty long way, quite literally.
Here are two of the most effective flexibility training exercises for golfers…
I. Wrap your left arm across the front part of your chest. Then use the right arm for securing it to the body. Gently push the right arm into the left to feel a deep stretch in your left shoulder. And then switch.
II. Stand in front of a wall, with your left side at a 90 degrees angle. Stretch that side by turning away from the wall gently. Keep your left shoulder pressed into the wall. You can increase the pressure by turning further and further in order to stretch deep into the side abdominal muscles as well.
No doubt, these two movements are of immense help in that they boost shoulder flexibility and mobility for increasing swing speed.
3. Overspeed Training
By far, the quickest approach to boosting clubhead speed. And it involves adding small weighted donuts to your golf clubs. A weighted golf club, needless to say, when swung enough number of times, paves the way for a faster swing speed. You grip it like any regular club and then practice a slow swing movement with it.
Make sure to keep the swing movement slow and steady as that builds endurance and stability. Around 10 to 15 minutes on a daily basis seems perfect.
But bear in mind that overspeed training comes with its own drawbacks. The one that matters the most includes messing with your swing technique.
4. Improving Swing Technique
You may think your golf swing is in order, but what’s actually happening is that you’re passively minimizing your clubhead speed. One such common mistake among average golfers takes the form of getting caught in your downswing.
Keep in mind that the correct swing technique includes revolving around to optimize your complete power potential. On top of that, working on your strength, flexibility, along with overspeed training is also sure to eliminate an incorrect or bad technique.
There’s no one right approach here. The ultimate goal is to be able to generate the most amount of clubhead speed. And you can go about in the following ways.
- Use the force of the ground during impact to boost your swing speed.
- Find your whoosh. There’s a big difference between swinging fast and swinging hard. Quit wasting unnecessary energy on speeding up your entire swing. Timing, at such times, is the most important. So focus more on maximizing clubhead speed at the correct moment of impact.
- Fix your grip – this is one of the most neglected tips indeed. When your grip is proper, your release of the golf club at impact involves freeing up the head for gaining maximum speed in the nick of time.
You can also refer to this video posted on Golf Channel that has swing coach Hank Haney sharing his best golf tips for boosting clubhead speed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Conclusion
The good news is that you can increase your driving distance by increasing your swing speed. But the bad news is that it requires effort and lots of practice. One very natural way to approach this is to build strength and work on your flexibility. Both, together, have the ability to boost your swing speed the most effortlessly over time.
But choosing the correct exercises is just as important as using the right kind of techniques and equipment for your game. We have gone into specific details about all of these matters. Such as what type of golf club shafts are the best to increase swing speed. And also what drills seem to work the most effectively.
So as long as you keep at it, you don’t have to worry about generating longer drives ever again. Even if you’re a senior golfer!
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