Old Man Power
Everyone who has ever played golf wants to hit it further. Longer tee shots make the game so much easier and more fun. With that in mind, this post is dedicated to how to increase golf swing speed.
In many cases, golfers have turned to improved golf fitness as a means of gaining yards off the tee. There is no doubt that improved fitness can help increase your club head speed.
However, I would argue that the easiest way for 80% of golfers to increase their golf swing speed is through swing improvements.
Here are my best tips for how to increase golf swing speed.
Swing speed tip #1
The most important tip I can provide to most golfers is to improve their golf swing sequence.
Most golfers get this wrong, and as a result, they lose power and speed.
A proper golf swing sequence will have you start the down swing with your lower body, and generate power from the ground up.
Most golfers tend to start the down swing with the upper body.
This often results in releasing the club too early with the hands, and by the time the club reaches the ball, the swing speed is already slowing down.
There are numerous other tips that I could provide, but ultimately, they need to be tailored to the individual golfer.
If you are new to golf, and want to learn how to build a powerful golf swing, start by watching this video… Skipping Stones and Throwing Frisbees.
How to Increase Golf Swing Speed – Tip #2
Pressing in my garage
My second most important tip for how to increase your golf swing speed is… get stronger.
Obviously, strength training is the focus of this website.
The stronger you are, the greater your potential to hit bombs.
Check out the Youtube channels of long drive competitors, and you will find that they all employ strength training in one form or another.
You will also find that much of the focus of their strength training is on their legs. They all have big and strong legs.
In my experience, this is not the case with the average golfer, and this is also why most golfers lose significant distance off the tee as they age.
How to increase your club head speed – Tip #3 – Improve Mobility
After the first two tips, there is a bit of a drop off in what will help you increase your golf swing speed the most.
Improved mobility can definitely help.
Mobility training can help you generate more hip and shoulder turn, and get your hands up higher in the swing without compromising your form.
However, I believe there is far too much emphasis on mobility training, since most golfers need to focus on tips one and two the most.
There are a variety of ways to improve your overall mobility.
I highly recommend Yoga and Pilates as a means of improving overall flexibility and mobility, which will translate to greater ability to develop a longer back swing and more hip rotation in the down swing and follow through.
Tip #4 – Muscle Endurance
If you want to increase your golf swing speed, you need to practice, a lot.
If you want to have enough stamina to put in the amount of time you need to spend on the driving range, then you need to train some key muscle groups for endurance.
Muscle endurance training is different from strength training in that you perform many reps with limited weight.
Because the golf swing already places enough stress on the joints, muscle endurance training shouldn’t involve exercises that mimic the golf swing.
Instead, we simply want to train them with exercises that will get them used to performing more work.
One great exercise is the standard kettlebell swing between your legs.
Tip #5 – Golf Swing Speed Training
Many golfers are turning to actual golf swing speed training to increase their swing speed.
In recent years, technology has been developed to help with this significantly.
Professionals such as Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington have applied the SuperSpeed Swing Training system to increase their club head speed.
I recommend that training as well, but only after improving your strength and fitness significantly first.
Golf Swing Speed Tip #6 – Power Training
Lastly, to get those last few yards out of your golf swing, you can look into power training.
Power training should also not be confused with strength training.
Power training is a way to train the body to move faster and more explosively.
Think of a shot put athlete.
These men and women are typically very big and strong.
They get that way by training for strength with the four best exercises for strength training, along with the Olympic lifts such as the clean and jerk and snatch.
Additionally, they train for explosive power through such exercises as short sprints, box jumps, sled pushes and pulls, medicine ball slams, etc.
Golfers can also benefit from this type of training, but until they increase their strength significantly, and work on mobility and muscle endurance, this training won’t be useful.
Final thoughts on how to increase golf swing speed
I’ve presented these tips in the order in which I believe a golfer will get the most benefit.
If you are a non-professional golfer, you have many other obligations, so it’s necessary to prioritize.
With that said, the two things you should prioritize to increase club head speed are golf swing improvements and strength training.
You simply won’t get much benefit out of the other training without focusing on these areas first.
If you haven’t check them out yet, I offer several different programs to help golfers achieve their greatest potential.
Check them out on the Programs page.
Now, get to work!
