Gain 5mph club head speed with these swing speed training tips

In my article Swing Speed Training – The Fit For Golf Guide, I went into detail on everything you need to know about speed training for golf.

It covered the importance of having a radar, how many swings to take in each session, how many times a week to train, using your own driver vs The Stack, and the keys to success for bringing your speed to the course.

While the process of simply swinging regularly with the intent to go faster, and having a radar for motivation and feedback is enough for golfers to make vast progress, there are some technique basics that streamline the process.

I am not a golf coach, but I have spent a lot of time learning about golf biomechanics, with particular focus on how we create club head speed. From a practical standpoint, I’ve also been able to bring my speed training ball speed up to 190mph, and my on course ball speed up to 180mph.

The goal of this article is to give you 5 simple tips that you can experiment with in your speed training sessions. I hope you find them helpful.

Tip #1: Get Comfortable Taking Video

Swing mechanics are critical for maximising the club head speed our body is capable of.

The most simple way to get an understanding of your swing mechanics is by getting videos of your swing, with a phone and tripod. Good, repeatable camera angles are essential!

When you first start doing this, you might be shocked at the difference between what you are doing, compared to what you feel like you are doing!

Whether you plan to review videos yourself, or get the help of an expert coach, recording your swing needs to be part of your future. It has made an enormous difference in my quest to gain speed. Anytime I record a swing that felt really good, or had a good speed, I add it to a folder on my phone. I do the same with regular golf swing practice. Many many times, when my swing or speed hasn’t felt great, I review the videos I have and get back on track quickly.

Before performing and speed training, it’s essential to warm-up. This 5 Minute Warm-Up Routine is simple to implement.

Tip #2: It Starts With The Set-Up

We want to make sure that we do what we can before we start swinging to maximise our speed.
This isn’t something that is going to transform your speed, but if your set up is quite a bit off, improving it could definitely add 1-3mph club head speed, and that’s significant.

The keys to an athletic set up for maximising club head speed in your golf swing.

• Remove tension from your hands & arms, feel loose and “whippy”.
• Make your stance nice and wide so you have a good base to create speed
• Get your upper body mass a little behind the ball

Tip #3: Counter Shift – Add Energy Early

What we do in the backswing and transition largely dictates our club head speed.
After the transition, there is simply not enough time before impact to do much to add speed.
At this point, the body is actually decelerating, which allows the club head to release and speed up.

A dynamic and athletic start to the swing makes it easier to shift our pressure and mass in a way that supports maximising our club head speed. If we are static and overly “careful”, we will have a hard time creating the energy we need with our body.

If you have watched any of the golf biomechanics expert Dr.Kwon’s instructional videos, you will see the value he places on a slight “counter move” to start the swing, and an “active backswing”.

If you are strong and have a good backswing, you actually don’t need to try very hard to produce appreciable speeds. An efficient sequence of movement combined with strong muscles results in high club head speed, rather than you needing to strain for it too much.

A note on “being strong” – This article – Strength Training For Golf – The Fit For Golf Guide covers EVERYTHING you need to know about strength training for golf, including various strength benchmarks.

Tip #4: Wind Up For Speed

This is critical. I mentioned in the previous point that our club head speed will be largely dictated by what we do in the backswing and transition.

A big wind up of our hips and torso, along with a long hand path in the backswing does two things that help us a lot.

A longer hand path gives us more time to apply force to the club on the way down. Think of it like having a longer runway to build up speed.

Winding up or rotating, our hips and torso, creates a nice strength across these muscles.
Muscles that are stretched the right amount before contracting are capable of more powerful contractions than muscles that are stretched too little (or too much). This is known as the “stretch shortening cycle”.

We actually create dynamic stretches across a huge number of joints and muscles in the swing. This hugely complex interaction of so many muscles and joints is one of main reasons why there is such vast improvement to increase speed simply via better technique. It allows us to get closer to maximising the force potential we have with our current nervous system and muscle capabilities. These concepts are explained more in Club Head Speed – Reverse Engineered.

If you feel like you’re lacking mobility, you might want to check out the article 5 Exercises To Unlock More Range of Motion in Your Swing.

Tip #5: Patient Transition

We basically have two wind up or “loading periods” in the swing. We have the backswing, but we also have the transition. In both of those phases, we’re setting ourselves up to “unload” and deliver as much energy as we can to the ball.

When the intent is to “swing faster” many golfers rush the transition. This can negatively affect our sequence of movements, and result in less speed at impact. It’s a little bit counter intuitive but “trying less” and taking a split second more time in transition can improve the timing of how we “load and unload” the different segments of our body, and allow us to apply our effort at the right time.

An excellent transition sequence is one of the reasons why some golfers who look like they aren’t trying very hard, or moving very fast with their bodies can have a very high club head speed. They are producing a lot of force, and moving very fast of course, but due to the efficiency of the movement, and timing, it looks quite graceful.

After this “collection” in transition, it’s time to absolutely turn on the jets!

Bonus #6: Summary

This video quickie summarises the key points covered in the article.

• Athletic Set-Up
• Create Energy Early
• Wind Up For Speed
• Patient Transition

Conclusion:

Give these swing speed training tips a try in your next training session. Remember, when trying something new, it is perfectly normal to struggle with strike quality a little bit at first. The best way you will know if these have good potential for you long term is if they allow you to increase club head speed. If that’s the case, you should probably stick with them, as accuracy will catch up, and you will be in a far better spot!