One of my big goals is to get back some of the clubhead speed I use to have back when I was playing professionally.
Back then, I was always the longest hitter in my group. And while I’m still just as strong as I was 10 years ago, I’m simply not as fast. This is mostly due to simple inactivity – I just haven’t trained for speed nor do I hit as many balls anymore.
I am employing the overspeed/overweight training technique using implements of different weights. Yes I could use a more comprehensive approach, like left handed swings and explosive gym exercises, but I wanted to see what gains were possible for the more everyday golfer.
I am using these devices: An Orange Whip Trainer, a Speed Whoosh (about 20% lighter), a 10% lighter driver, a 12% heavier driver, and my playing driver. If I have any problems picking up the 10 mph, or I decide I want to work on the next 10 mph, I may add more exercises.
Here’s the routine I am using to gain back 10 mph and 30 yards to my drive.
10-15 long relaxed swings with the Orange Whip Trainer. This is for warm up and to work on range of motion and increased shoulder turn.
Sets of 6 with each of the 4 weighted implements. The first swing is just cruising speed to get loose, and then I proceed with the 5 fastest possible swings I can make. I am all out trying each rep to break my all time high.
I jot down the highest clubhead speed number in each set in a small notebook. I’ve noticed that some days I am slower than others.
To measure my speed I am using the Blue Swing Radar. You can purchase this product, and the Orange Whip Trainer, in the pro shop on this website.
I do the sets in this order: Speed Whoosh, light driver, heavy driver, playing driver. This is a total of 20 fast swings. I take about 30 seconds of rest between each set.
I repeat the process a total of 4 times for 80 fast swings. I am doing the speed training sessions every other day. It’s quite a workout! You will likely be breathing hard. And unless you are a scratch or better golfer, I suggest stopping at 60, or even 40.
If you are new to this, here are a few tips. Make sure that you are properly warmed up and loose before attempting a super fast swing. Build up to 80 repetitions over time…maybe start with 20. You don’t need assorted weights to make this work reasonably well. Use your own driver and a sport sock for the extra weight.
UPDATE: So far after 1 week and 3 workouts I am up 1.4 mph clubhead speed and 2.4 mph of ball speed. My longest drive went 7 yards farther. It’s working!
UPDATE: After 2 1/2 weeks I have gained 3.7 mph clubhead speed, 5.3 mph ball speed. My longest drive is now 14 yards farther. I will be doing another training session today.
UPDATE: Now after 5 weeks I have picked up 6.1 mph of clubhead speed, and 9 mph ball speed. My longest drive is 21 yards farther. Interestingly, I am making Speed Whoosh swings as fast as 163 mph now!
UPDATE: Although the process has slowed down, I made a swing of 120.2 mph finally, to hit my goal. I’m now up 10.6 mph! My longest drive was 311 yards, and in this last session I hit one 339 for a net of 28 yards!
My training swings are at least 16 mph faster with each swing implement. This simply tells me I need to do more speed swings with a ball to maximize the transference.
Now that I’ve reached this goal, I think I’m just going to keep going and try to get at least 5 more mph for a total of 15. This should net me around 40-50 yards more and put me back where I was during my playing career when I was just slaughtering par 5’s.
Keep in mind that this is not my full program – I think I probably would have been faster by now…maybe even done. To get access to the entire speed training program, sign up for premium membership here.