Traditionally, the golf industry has distanced itself from the gym and created its own space for what speed training is, with tools made specifically to enhance speed in the golf swing. Now, do some of these tools have merit? Yes, in my mind they do, but are they the complete answer to speed and distance? The simple answer is NO. Let's simplify why that is.
So, like anything else involved in making changes to the human body, you need continuous change through stimulus. This can come in many different ways, with speed training tools being one of them. However, like with anything in the human body, it does adapt and may have a maximum potential if nothing else is there to support it. Simply put, it has its limits.
Now, how can you get the absolute most out of your speed training journey?
One of the most common-sense approaches to speed training is to have a solid base to start. There are three core pieces to a solid, strong base.
Being physically prepared for speed training is crucial, and the faster you want to be, the more physically prepared you will need to be. A proper gym routine or some form of physical exercise should be at the forefront of any speed-building program. As you progress, this program can transition from being quite general to very specific, depending on your starting point and where you can build from there. Most golfers don't frequent a gym, as mainstream golf generally does not require it to play the game. However, generally speaking, most people who can hit a ball a decent distance have a few things either currently or from their recent past working for them. "Current" meaning they are generally in good physical shape, allowing them to produce the club head speed they do through strength and power, or they are athletes in other sports who have taken up golf recently. Sports like hockey and baseball come to mind as past athletes who can hit the ball a long way without doing much speed work, but that's because they come from sports where you are generally fit while playing and have a strength and power component already.
For the rest of the general public, getting in the gym or starting with bodyweight movements at home would be a great start, 3 or so times a week. Something is better than nothing, and based on your goals, you can move up from there. As I generally like to say, your body is your engine, and the better it is built, the faster it can go (think drag cars, not transports, as we want to be able to go fast, not chug along). Now, if we build your best engine with strong internal parts, fuel it with the right gasoline, and give it solid oil (food and hydration), not only will we be able to move faster, but also move faster for a longer duration. I'll explain shortly why that is also important.
Core piece number two is a solid foundation of a golf swing. Now, yes, everyone's abilities vary. We are all built differently and move the golf club in different ways based on angles and many other factors. If you lined up the top 10 players on the World Long Drive Tour, you would see 10 different swings. The same goes for the top 10 in distance on the PGA Tour, LPGA, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf. So, to say there is a single proper way to do things would be just flat out incorrect. For your own personal swing, yes, there are components that can make a swing better and aid in your distance, with the largest likely being your kinematic sequence and how you deliver the club at impact. Speed is one thing, but not being able to put it into practice is another. In a prior blog, I wrote about the use of force plates that measure ground forces. This is a great place to start for technique purposes, during which we also take a look at angles, impact positions, and so forth in order to improve the technical aspects of your swing.
Now, the third component would be your ability to hit a large quantity of golf balls. So, the old "just go out and hit your driver as hard as you can" sure seems to be a simple concept, and in theory, it does work. But, and this is a guess, first, if you're making good quality swings, and secondly, if you can handle the higher amount of reps with your muscular and cardiovascular systems. In the general public, if someone hits 20-30 drives as hard as they can, they will be sweating buckets by the time they're done. This lets us know a few things: cardiovascular health is likely lower than it needs to be. Also, if your swing isn't efficient, you will be working much harder to accomplish the same goals as someone who is very efficient, even if they aren't in as good of shape. We see this as efficient speed, where someone who doesn't look like they're working very hard to hit the ball very far. Some call it smooth, but in reality, it's still fast. Everything is just in order of sequence, which allows the most amount of speed available. So, how do we actually get there, and then what is next.
Well, if you are not there, you should get a coach and work on all three parts first before you start implementing any specific speed training, as you will not be able to retain the benefits of actual speed training. So, my first and foremost advice would be to start with those things prior to the actual speed training. But here is what you do once you are ready to implement the speed training into your own training.
First, find your weakest link. Is it your arm speed, your weight transfer in your takeaway and/or downswing, or is it simply a combination of everything? Once you have figured that part out, you can slowly use the minimum effective dose approach to building that speed. It doesn't have to be an all-in or nothing approach to start. The reality is that smaller gains over time are longer-lasting than quick gains over a short period. Your body gets to adapt to the smaller jumps over time and can then start to understand how it can allow itself to move faster at a pace that is more resistant to possible injury or overtraining. You don't have to do 30 minutes of training with speed sticks to make effective progress. This is definitely one of those factors where less is more in the long run. The most important factors are that you always focus on the technical foundations of your swing and make that swing as fast as possible. Not some wacky, out-of-this-world version of your swing just because it makes a number go higher on a tracking device. We truly want consistent progress over time. I will always say that the biggest contributors to swing speed will be consistency and intent.
You can't do this for a short period and expect lasting results over time. There is an expectation of maintenance at a minimal effective dose. You can't just stop everything and expect to keep all the speed you have gained. This is training, just like the body does with anything else it goes through in life. You diet to lose weight; once you lose the weight, you don't get to go back to eating like crap and expect that weight to stay off. You work out hard over the course of a year to build muscles; take the same amount of time back off, and you will likely be back at square one. If you don't practice your three-footers, you are going to miss more three-footers. This is all just common sense, and speed in the golf swing is absolutely no different.
Don't fall for the "gain this and keep it" scam products we should be smart enough to know that if we don't continue our journey in a positive way , Speed is going to fall off not a matter of if but when, "things don't remain the same unless the same things remain".
This is the most honest way to gain clubhead speed among golfers. I don't have affiliates in the speed industry as far as products go. Do I have some products that I believe have great merit? Yes, I absolutely do. One that I believe holds merit in a sequencing sense is the OneClub. You can use this to learn when and where to release the club and can change the resistance with the bands quite easily. The next is a newer, smaller company coming from another Long Drive Professional called the Speed Toad. It's an underweight training speed tool that I believe helps with neurological firing, meaning it forces you to move faster due to its lighter weight and the ability to have it on your very own driver shaft, so you can get comfortable using your own shaft and grip. Not to mention, the innovator happens to hold the world record in ball speed, currently at 245mph.
In conclusion, there are specific things I would do as a former ball speed record holder myself. Put your fitness first, and that's coming from a 41-year-old who is obviously concerned about his general health and long-term ability to golf at a decent level for years to come. Of course, your swing technique should go without saying, as it is of great importance. You can see its value every day on the golf course. As I have said before, we all see the smaller guy or gal with an amazing swing hit the ball exceptionally well based on technique. To put it all together, you can build your ability or capacity to practice longer and swing faster for extended periods, which is also a workout in itself. Just be mindful that when doing this, a proper diet (eating habits and hydration, along with supplementation) should also be implemented for proper gains to be made. Recovery is key in all aspects of training, and I will always say it is a crucial part of any program. Until next time...
RG
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