Hit it further and lower your scores!
This month we have had a number of clients (at all levels) take their game out onto the course with increased distance. Much of this has been achieved by increasing their club-head speed by 5-10 mph over the winter with a focus on the development of strength and power in their training sessions.
Increasing your club-head speed is not just about hitting it harder, it’s about applying more force and velocity through movement and the sequence of the golf swing.
So where would you start when looking to increase club-head speed?
1.Develop solid foundation of strength
Basic strength is required in all directions of movement and is necessary for the generation of force. So get squatting, lunging, deadlifting, pushing and pulling.
2. Apply this strength and increasing the velocity of movement (summation of forces)
Once you have developed this increase in strength it is important to start moving through higher velocities – so in a gym environment you would be trying to lift the weight faster!
3. Develop power
Add jumping and throwing exercises to your programme to increase ground reaction forces (key for development of power in the golf swing) and rotational power.
By implementing these steps into your training programme the benefits to your game are massive with the main benefit being to hit the ball further!
Hitting the ball further especially off the tee will mean that you have less distance to the green. Getting to a par 5 in two or hitting an 8 iron instead of a 5 iron can potentially mean the difference of one shot on that hole. Repeat that a few times over the course of the round and you could be looking at 2,3 or even maybe 4 shots difference!
This is going to make you more competitive off your handicap, ultimately help you to reduce your handicap and improve your round consistency – not to mention have you out-driving your Saturday four-ball and intimidating your match play opponents.
Of course we still need to ensure that you make good contact with the club-head on the ball and every golf professional will tell you that path and face are important for good contact. But if it’s distance that you are striving for; then getting yourself stronger, faster and more powerful will only help increase this and will certainly not diminish it.
