Improving Your Club Head Speed – The 4 Pieces of the Puzzle

Improving Your Club Head Speed – The 4 Pieces of the Puzzle

The most obvious solution to hitting the ball farther is to increase club head speed. Although this is not the only way, it is the first thing most people think about. The question is, how do we swing the club faster, and in turn, hit the ball farther?

There are 4 pieces of the puzzle that we can attack in order to achieve a faster club head speed, and all are equally important:

• Physical/Power
• Mobility
• Technique
• Equipment

Physical/Power – Implementing a training program to build your strength will allow you to create more force and generate faster swing speeds. The swing starts with your lower body pushing force through the ground creating a Ground Reaction Force, and this force is transitioned through the rest of your body to the club. Check out our blog on 3 power tests to see where you may be lacking: Lower Body (vertical jump), Upper Body (seated chest press), Core (Sit up chest pass).

Mobility – In today’s world, limited mobility is a common issue due to the amount of sitting, driving, computer work, etc. that we all do daily. The most common areas of limited mobility in the golf swing are the hips and thoracic spine. This limits our backswing and follow through, which limits our club head speed. It can also lead to many swing faults that decrease efficiency in your kinematic sequence, which will cause you to lose power, force, and speed throughout the swing.

Technique – This is where your swing coach comes in. Your coach can analyze your swing and make sure that you are using an efficient and proper approach to hit the ball. With the technology available today, it might be a good idea to get in front of a launch monitor so that you can see all of the specs including attack angle, spin rate, spin loft, carry distance, swing speed, etc. Making some adjustments to your technique can optimize your numbers and help you increase your club head speed and hit the ball farther.

Equipment -  Unfortunately, only a small percentage of the amateur golf population is fit for their clubs. Getting properly fit for your clubs is a low hanging fruit that can make changes immediately. It is important to find a fitter that you trust, and use equipment that is fit to your swing to optimize results.

Get in Touch:

(949) 409-1339
Kevin O’Connor, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS
TPI Medical 3 Certified
Owner – Impact Physical Therapy and Performance
Physical Therapist – Laguna Niguel, California
[email protected]