How to Increase Clubhead Speed

Clubhead speed plays a key role in how you are able to strike the ball, as well as the outcome. However, so many people feel that their clubhead speed is not up to par, but this is something you can work on in order to then improve your game.

So, we are going to check out some tried and tested ways to increase that all-important speed. It’s up to you as to which ones you go for, but ultimately you need to be aware that there’s a need to have the optimum swing speed possible to really transform your game.

Why Speed is Important

Speed is important as it translates directly into power and distance on your shots. Also, do note that we aren’t only talking about driving off the tee either.

Instead, clubhead speed has an impact on every single shot no matter if you are talking about a pitch onto the green. However, it’s a sensible thing to state that most people focus on increasing speed when they are hitting off the tee, or when they have a long second shot on a par 5.

But let’s quickly get into some mechanics.

More speed equates to more energy. The faster the clubhead, then the more energy that is transferred from the clubhead to the ball.

As the energy from the clubhead to the ball increases, so does the speed at which the ball leaves the clubface. That energy means longer distances, and hopefully better shots at the same time.

But onto ways in which you can increase that speed.

Building Strength

At times, building strength is going to be the best approach if you want to build that speed. The best method is to look at you starting to lift weights in the gym. We are talking about raw power here, and that’s something you need to work on.

But here is where people make a mistake.

The automatic assumption is that you need to build your biceps, your shoulders, and your chest muscles to hit the ball harder. However, if you thought that, then you are wrong.

Instead, the muscle groups you need to work on when it comes to strength training for this very reason has to be focused more on your abdomen, hips, and your forearms.

The reason why those muscle groups are so important is simply because of the fact that those are the muscles we engage when we are doing our swing. So, by increasing their strength, it should then mean you will swing the club faster leading to those increases in the speed of the clubhead.

Working on Flexibility

Now a number of people will combine flexibility training with strength training, and for good reason. They both work in synchronicity with one another, and this is the best way to get the best possible results.

One thing to keep in mind is that golf does not require the same huge amount of strength as other sports. This surprises people as they automatically believe that you must be powerful to hit huge distances. 

Well, it does play a role, but only to a certain extent. Your flexibility, mixed in with your technique, are just as important.

By working on your flexibility, it means you need to focus on certain areas. It’s going to allow you to turn your body with more ease. You will be able to leverage your body more than before which then leads to greater clubhead speed thanks to your ability to turn through the swing.

By achieving this, it will lead to you adding some distance onto your shots simply because you are able to follow through correctly on your swing. It means the swing is not stunted, so you get maximum speed and power.

In order to work on your flexibility, you should try to do the following as way of an example.

A Flexibility Method

First, take your arm and wrap it across your chest. Take your other arm and secure it to your body. Then, you need to push on your arm which should mean you feel a stretch happening on your shoulder. You need to then repeat it with the other arm.

After you have finished doing that, you need to find a wall, and make sure you are at 90 degrees to it. You must then look at turning your abdomen to feel a stretch on it with one side. Then, hold onto the wall and then press against it to feel more pressure on your side.

The idea here is that it will encourage all those muscle groups to feel as if you are in the middle of your swing. It allows them to recognize the actions, and then when it comes to you doing your swing with a club in your hand, then your muscles are ready for it.

The Idea of Overspeed Training

But let’s move onto something different know, and it’s the concept of overspeed training. 

The best way to describe this idea of overspeed training is to look at baseball. If you see guys coming up to bat, then they will be swinging their bat with a weight on the end. 

The idea here is that it makes the bat heavier. That means when they come to swing the real thing, then it feels significantly lighter. As a result, it will swing faster, and they can hit the ball harder and faster.

What you need to do is to look at investing in these small donuts that can be put onto your clubs. Add them, and take a few practice swings before you head out onto your round.

This will then effectively trick your muscles and body as they will be expecting something heavier, so when it ends up being lighter than expected, things move faster and with more flexibility.

But don’t use this method too much. It can alter your swing, so don’t think you need to do a huge number of reps, as you don’t. Instead, a couple of swings before a round is going to be enough to make a bit of a difference. 

Changing Your Swing

The final option we are going to look at is not the easiest of things to do, but changing your swing can often lead to improvements in your clubhead speed. 

The difficulty here is that people starting out, or enthusiastic amateurs, will often go by feel when it comes to their swing. However, feel is not always the best approach to take. 

Instead, there will often be a point or moment in your swing where you are losing a significant amount of speed. There can be slight pauses or changes in weight distribution that is then taking a lot of speed off the swing, and that results in lost distance.

The key to your swing is to really optimize your natural power and flexibility to the best of your ability. Of course, we are all built differently, and that then translates into us all having a different swing, so there’s not one single cure that is suitable for every single individual.

The thing to keep in mind here is that a good golf coach will be able to study your swing and let you know those moments where you are perhaps pausing slightly, or doing something that leads to that decrease in swing speed.

But here’s a problem.

If you have a bad swing, and you focus on flexibility training and building muscle in the right muscle groups, then all you will be doing is making your bad swing even worse. That makes the problem bigger, and then you have a harder time in trying to rectify the swing.

What this ultimately means is you need to spend time getting to grips with your swing, and seek professional advice on this before you go all-in with the power and flexibility side of things. By all means, work on those muscles and ability to twist at the same time, but please don’t ignore your swing.

A pause in the downswing, even something that you cannot spot yourself, is going to have a huge impact on your ability to hit your maximum distances. Even something that reduces your swing speed by a tiny fraction will result in a number of yards being lost, and that’s not something we want.

So that is how you work at increasing your clubhead speed. As you see, there are several approaches you need to take if you are going to be able to get those improvements that you so desperately want to see.

It’s not a single approach. You must be prepared to put in the work as it won’t come naturally to you. Also, have some patience with this. It is going to take time to add some speed to your swing, so don’t expect there to be a change overnight. 

Make life easier for yourself by going to a professional who is able to assess your swing, gauge your speed, and then guide you toward how to make those all-important improvements.