How do I hit the golf ball further?
What a loaded question.
Let's see if we can break it down into pieces.
Piece #1 - Outputs
Do you have the physical capacity to swing faster?
Do you have the strength to create more force?
The mobility to increase your hand path?
The power to tap into greater velocities?
If not, this is where we should start. By training your physical qualities, you can increase the outputs your body can create.
Which physical qualities should you be training? And maybe more importantly how?
Strength
Mobility
Power
Speed
Adaptability
Those are the top 5 physical qualities we should be working to improve within our training sessions.
Strength
We improve strength by loading the body, and pushing our muscles to a point of fatigue.
By doing so, our muscular tissue will be stressed and break down. Then, when you go home, eat protein, and sleep, your muscular tissue will repair and recover to a point that allows for greater stresses to be applied in the future.
Mobility
Growing mobility isn't as complicated as many want to make it.
It's actually probably the simplest of physical qualities to grow.
Read this article I wrote about Simplifying Golf Mobility.
Power / Speed
I am going to lump power and speed together because they both boil down to one thing... intent.
Trying to move as fast as you possibly can.
We should be training these qualities by throwing medicine balls, jumping, sprinting, and max out swinging.
Adaptability
Maybe the most important physical quality we can build is adaptability.
Can your body adapt to novel environments and positions?
Are you confident in your body amongst all situations and tasks that it will be asked to complete?
That is the end goal of training. To create a physical body that is capable of adapting and adjusting to everything you ask of it.
To train this quality, you need to 1.) be consistent and 2.) always be exploring outside of your comfort zone.
Add more weight. Try a new exercise. Go play a new sport.
Becoming more adaptable requires us to continuously expose ourselves to novelty.
Piece #2 - Technique
I am by no means an expert on this aspect of speed development, but the technique that we swing a golf club with will have a significant impact on hitting the golf ball further.
If you are looking for more information on the technique side of golf, I highly recommend reading Adam Young's The Practice Manual.
Piece #3 - Swing faster
The third and final piece of swinging faster is to, quite literally, swing faster.
Many golfers try these complex initiatives to swing faster. They try to alter their biomechanics. They research, test, and buy different club shafts. They buy expensive speed programs and equipment.
I am not saying any of these things are bad or negative.
Some are even necessary if you want to maximize your speed gains.
But, have you ever just tried swinging faster?
This is by far the lowest hanging fruit when it comes to gaining speed.
Swing faster, to swing faster.
In training, I recommend completing 1 - 2 speed training days weekly where the only goal is to swing a weighted stick or PVC pipe as fast as your possibly can for 15-30 reps.
Read this article I wrote about making and using your own speed sticks.
In practice, while on the range, I recommend at least once per week attempting to max out your swing speed WITH a ball.
Spend your last 8-12 range balls swinging for the fences.
We all remember watching this clip of Bryson at the Master's in 2021.
If you want to swing faster, practice swinging faster.
It's as simple as that.
Conclusion
Gaining speed is a very complex process.
It's not as simple as do X to gain 20 yards (even though many on social media try to sell it this way).
It's a complex puzzle of building physical outputs, engraining a technique that allows for speed, and then simply swinging faster.
At SCRATCH we work to help you develop the physical outputs necessary for more speed.
We provide you the blueprint to creating a physical body ready to swing faster.
Build an athletic body ready to swing faster.
Carter Schmitz
Founder and Head Coach - SCRATCHGolfTraining.com
CSCS, TPI
Carter is a strength and conditioning coach out of the Milwaukee area working with athletes, in-person and virtually. Having helped hundreds of athletes, ranging from the middle school to the professional level and beyond, Carter brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to every athlete he works with. He launched SCRATCHGolfTraining.com in the summer of 2021 to help empower golfers to greater performance and longevity.
Carter believes ALL golfers are athletes, and they should be training accordingly.
Become a SCRATCH Athlete today, and start training like the ATHLETE you are!
