If you want a faster golf swing speed, there are a few things you need to do besides improve your golf swing… get stronger, get more mobile and get faster. In this article, I cover the best exercises to increase club head speed.
Before we get to those exercises, let’s briefly discuss what your golf fitness priorities should be.
First, you should add legitimate strength training to your fitness program.
Golfers, like everyone else, need to do their best to hold off age related loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone density (ostopenia and osteoporosis).
The best way to do that is with legitimate strength training.
Next, to give themselves a better opportunity to increase the range of motion in their golf swing, golfers need to focus on improved flexibility and mobility.
Lastly, golfers need to train to move their bodies faster.
By working on all three of these areas, a golfer will give themselves far greater potential to hit longer tee shots.
Let’s look at the best exercises to increase club head speed.
Strength exercises to increase club head speed
There are three primary strength exercises you should train to develop overall strength and to train the key muscles used in the golf swing.
These include…
- Barbell squat
- Deadlift
- Overhead Press
The barbell squat (low bar version) is the best exercise for developing general strength because it trains more muscle mass than any other exercise.
The squat trains the thighs, glutes, lower back and abdominals, all of which are involved significantly in the golf swing.
Have a look at many long drive competitors and it is clear that they have strong legs.
The deadlift trains more muscle groups than any other exercise, including the hamstrings, glutes, low back, abdominals, lats, traps and forearms. All of these muscle groups play an important role in the golf swing.
The overhead press primarily trains the shoulders and arms, and it also engages the core when performing the standing version.
An ideal training program for general strength will also include the bench press and another pulling exercise such as pull-ups or bent over rows.
Mobility Exercises to increase golf swing speed
As mentioned, mobility and flexibility training is helpful to increase and maintain the range of motion in your golf swing.
The bigger swing you can produce with good fundamentals, the greater potential you have to hit bombs off the tee.
There are numerous exercises and stretches you can do to increase club head speed.
However, I believe there are two basic exercises you can do that will give you the most bang for your buck.
These include the Thoracic Bridge exercise and a few variations of torso twists.
I’ve put together a couple videos you can check out below.
Speed Exercises to improve golf swing speed
The last type of exercise you need to do to improve your golf swing speed is body speed work.
This should not be confused with overspeed training such as that used with Superspeed Sticks and similar training aids.
This training is all about developing your body in order to withstand the rigors of the golf swing. Overspeed training should only be performed once you’ve made improvements in all three areas discussed.
The absolute best exercise to increase clubhead speed is sprints.
Sprints are employed by virtually all athletes who compete in sports where power plays a significant role.
Sprints can also be performed at virtually any age, as long as you are in good general health.
Plyometric exercises such as jump squats are also useful in developing power.
Lastly, given the rotational nature of the golf swing, a rotational type of exercise such as medicine ball throws against a wall are another solid exercise for improving golf swing speed.
Building a workout program to increase club head speed
If you have never trained, or it has been a few years, your strength training program is best done on a 3 day per week schedule, where you hit all the body parts each session.
The squat is the cornerstone of any legitimate strength training program, and should be trained every workout.
Initially, you would train the deadlift every workout, until the weight on the bar gets much heavier. Then, it is best to train it no more than twice per week.
Because of the stress it places on the nervous system, the deadlift ultimately only needs to be performed once per week when the weight gets very heavy.
The deadlift can be swapped out with bent over rows and pull-ups (or lat pulldowns if you can’t do a pull-up).
You should include one pressing exercise per workout as well.
A typical novice strength training program will alternate the bench press and overhead press each workout, so that each is performed every other workout.
The torso twists and thoracic bridge exercise can be done every day.
I recommend doing them at least every other day, since they really don’t take long to do. You can even do them as part of your warm-up before a strength training workout.
I wouldn’t engage in the speed training until you’ve worked on your strength and mobility for a few months.
These exercises are higher impact, and therefore you will need to have strong joints and improved flexibility before you jump into them.
Speed training should only be done on your non-strength training days.
Starting out, you can do four or five sprints of 40 to 50 yards. Give yourself a couple minutes rest between each sprint.
Be sure to warm-up with some light jogging, running in place, or jumping jacks for a few minutes, followed by some light stretching.
You can follow the sprints with some jump squats (15 to 30 second intervals) and medicine ball throws.
Final thoughts – best exercises to increase club head speed
You now literally have a complete training program for increasing your golf swing speed.
However, none of this will make much difference if you don’t address any major flaws you may have in your golf swing.
To break the 100 mph swing speed barrier and beyond, you need a decent golf swing.
After that, a program that incorporates legitimate strength training, mobility and flexibility exercises, and body speed training will help take your club head speed to the next level.
If you want a detailed program that hits all of these bases, check out my Strength and Fitness training program.
Now, get to work!
