..

[sprcoop]

I used to work out with a guy that was 5' 10" 170lbs could bench 335, squat 400 (very low, like A2G), close to 10 second 100yd (yes, I'm that old) didn't dead lift. Couldn't hit a golf ball 200yds if you held a gun to his head.

[Warrior42111]

Possibly shoulder issues? My numbers get skewed because of it 225 / 505 / 365

Also of the big 3 bench is probably the least direct in affecting his swing speed and its lower body and core powering the swing

[Rosco1216]

i know guys of all sorts of height and weight that are sub 4.5 40 and warm up with those numbers and deadlift more that can’t hit the ball 200 yards.

[stingerfade]

You would be right on the stocky part. Broad shoulders, big booty and legs for my height :)

still working on getting it out there like you though lol

[Jkfuller]

I think strength training absolutely can improve your game. Gives you more stamina and strength. But if all your after is hitting it further, then a faster swing is the answer.

[stingerfade]

Yes me too know very strong guys who can’t hit it past 200, also some string beans that hit it a mile. I believe this is from technique and actual golf ability. Like I said in a previous post I’m working on better sequencing to gain some yards as I get ahead of the ball on driver and just leave so much on the table. The workouts for me are mainly for health and fitness reasons but definitely aid in golf because I’m stronger I’m more stable and balanced.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Right, but there is a base level of coordination required to even hit a golf ball too.

The fact is, athletes are all starting to look far more fit than in the past. Look at all the players now versus 30 years ago. The median height, weights and fitness levels are looking very close to the entire spread. They all look like body clones with few exceptions.

Even my son is about 5’11” 165 can overhead press 220, swings a golf club 118-122 on Trackman, and he’s not unusual for most athletic kids these days. His coach from high school had them all train at a performance institute. Even the most out of shape kid ended up looking pretty buff at the end of the first season and more than 6 of the 10 could drive 300 yards. The “runt” in the team could still average 260. All 6 scored 36-42 consistently beating every team in their league. Those other teams are now starting more aggressive training programs too.

There’s no doubt you need to be in shape to compete these days with few exceptions and that trend will continue.

You need the coordination, but now you need the golf specific fitness too. No doubt.

[puresurfr]

Perhaps those numbers are in kilos

[puresurfr]

I see a lot of comments on knowing big strong guys who cant hit it 200 yards. ive played a lot of golf and seen a lot of big guys and the guys who are massive and scratch or better all can move the ball. I have not met a young golfer who looks like a linebacker and is a scratch handicapper who cant drive the ball 200. The big strong young kids who are good golfers practically kill the ball. On the other extreme , there may be a case where a guy can bench 700 squat 900 and deadlift 1000 but cant hit the ball 150 yards.

*im one of those rare examples of a strong guy who cant hit very "far" mostly due to low swing speed.

[GoGoErky]

those would be massive numbers for someone that appears to only have recently started powerbuilding/powerlifting.

[puresurfr]

I agree, those would be world class numbers for squat and deadlift , the bench would still be below average though compared to his deadlift and squat.

[stingerfade]

kind of assume if a guy can’t hit it 200 with driver he’s not a scratch golfer.

[puresurfr]

Cant assume that, since there are massively strong guys who can't hit far, maybe they are short game wizards ???

[Pepperturbo]

Though you're correct regarding LPGA and PGA tour distances, technology is the cause, it's NOT the only cause. Unlike years past, today woman are hitting the gym like men; old far*s not so much. The latter segment talks but doesn't walk the walk. My gym is full of some pretty amazing women doing the same lifting and weights us men. Not nearly as many guys my age. Check out Lexi's IG page. You'll see some of her workout regime is similar to men, including mine.

As I have said, I am pushing 70 years old. Yesterday on two short Par 4 tee boxes I pulled 3 iron for 190+ yards down the middle on one hole, and 2i for over 210yds, left middle using ProV1X on the other. It's NOT theory like much of what hits this DB. I been working out since my football days. The only reason I am still effective with irons IS the combination of golf technology and strength. One without the other won't get the same result. Also reason I don't support Nicklaus's banter about the ball.

[stingerfade]

I meant how you said all the big guys you know hit it far AND are scratch golfers. I’ve yet to meet a low handicap who can’t drive it 200 yards that’s all I meant. 215 maybe and then they are about a 4 and wizards with hybrids wedges and putter!

[dpb5031]

Strength and speed are clearly not synonymous. There's certainly a relationship, but it'sfar from perfectly linear. As has been stated, most players will see more significant distance gains from improving swing technique/sequencing rather than strength training.

In terms of CHS, improving strength helps most if ya already have decent mechanics, but may have substantial or specific strength & mobility deficiencies. I further think strength training helps us to hang on to our speed as we age. Seems that speed deteriorates with age more and sooner in life than strength...or at least strength as we commonly view it.

I said this in another thread, but if strength correlated so directly with CHS, there should be no way my 19 year old nephew can swing a driver 120 (he does), yet I max out (at age 52) at about 109 on Trackman, and realistically only about 104-105 on the course. I can still move substantial weight in the gym in all of the basic lifts, whereas my 5'8 145 lb nephew's arms & legs get wobbly benching or squatting 135...lol!. In terms of swing, I'm a scratch, and he's an 18 hc. It's not like he's got perfect mechanics or anything, but he sure can generate speed.

I do think as a player approaches his limits, strength and power training can help him continue to make some incremental gains and get the most out of what he's got. I remain a huge proponent of weights and have been at it since my early teens. Still, the truth is that some people are just really fast, while others are (relatively) slow.

[bluedot]

There are two reasons that golfers refuse to believe that there is a link between working out and distance off the tee.

They don't want to work out. Most people are busy and/or lazy, and a good workout is demanding and tiring. It becomes addictive, and a goal in it's own right, but that can take awhile, and most people lack the time and motivation to see it thru. I hate going to the gym the first few weeks after New Years until the "resolutions" crowd dies down...They already work out, but they haven't seen any changes in their distance. (BTW, that doesn't mean their golf game isn't benefiting; just means the benefits don't include distance. Distance just happens to be quantifiable.)So ignore #1; that's no different than people who say they don't need to practice, or they don't need to warmup, or anything else that we say to justify what we don't WANT to do by saying that we don't NEED to do it. And a key point in all of this is the technical part of the equation; if you swing isn't good enough, or if you are using the wrong equipment, you can work out until Jesus comes back and you aren't going to hit the ball any farther. So everything from here on assumes that you have a good golf swing AND that you have the right equipment.

So #2 is where things get complicated, because the VAST majority of what we call "working out" has very little to do with creating speed in the golf swing. It might be creating overall fitness, or general strength, or helping with the aging process, or maintaining a healthy weight, or combating depression, or a host of other very good reasons to work out (some of which actually DO help your golf game, btw), but unless you are terribly weak to begin with, being really strong doesn't help you move a 330 gram driver faster. (330 grams is less than 3/4's of a pound, if you are keeping score at home and routinely bench huge weights but can hear your drive land...)

If you go to somebody who really specializes in speed training, especially the golf swing, the workout that they devise for you will not even resemble what is commonly thought of as "working out" or weight lifting. It WILL involve medicine balls, it WILL involve mobility in key areas, it WILL involve separation between the upper and lower body, and so on. They will differentiate between what they will call "speed" vs. "power", by testing and then comparing percentiles, and they will go to work on the areas in which the INDIVIDUAL golfer is deficient. 5 golfers could end up with 5 very different workouts, depending on what is deficient in the way THEIR body moves. One golfer might have flexibility issues, a second one speed issues, and a third power issues. The fix, and the particular workout for each is going to be different.

This is why the Super Speed protocol work for some people and not others. It's why traditional weight lifting works for some people and not others. It's why yoga works for some people and not others. None of this stuff is a "one size fits all" prescription for hitting the ball farther, but almost everybody can find ways to hit the ball farther IF they do the right workout. And that's the hard part.

[Warrior42111]

Excellent post!

Also, to point 1 I hate working out in January too. I think people trying to be more healthy is a great thing, but so many people over do it. They start a new diet and workout out of the blue. The body is going to break down trying to introduce that many drastic changes and that is a reason some people stop the same applies to golf (swing changes or working out).

If you never did any of those golf workouts you mentioned, the first few weeks to a month is probably going to shock your body to your golf game as you're using your body differently, and will have muscle fatigue. They will see no change or even a loss and quit thinking it doesn't work when they didn't have the patience to see the full workout plan through.

[Long Shot]

Functional Performance Training. Programs such as TPI focus on the body and how it functions throughout the golf swing. Identify that weakness and lack of flexibility, target them in order to get the body to function better in the golf swing (or whatever athletic motion you are training for).

[bluedot]

Exactly! This is why TPI and similar facilities put different golfers on different programs, and why there is so much confusion caused by the term "strength training". And this stuff is VERY hard to do on your own, simply because there isn't any way to accurately assess your own levels of deficiency in the various parts of the swing.

[sprcoop]

I thought this was an interesting simple process to see if there was some strength exercises that would help your golf:

 

[oikos1]

I'd love to see the science as to how and why they chose those numbers and percentages.

[Trav1989]

I have no ideal but I would say all the longer hitter that they have tested are in that range and the shorter hitters are not

[oikos1]

I've got a buddy over 50 and almost three bills. No way he is doing 8 split lunges with 150lbs with no problems. He can carry driver 250 plus.

[Trav1989]

I get what you’re saying but that test in my opinion would probably not apply to everyone especially someone his weight because if I had to guess strength would not be one of his weakness

[Trav1989]

But like I said I really have no clue on this subject just trying to see both sides of the agreement

[dpb5031]

Great video! Still, it brings up some questions.

Interesting that he uses terms like "adequate" and "strong enough...."

Adequate/strong enough for what?

 

 

[puresurfr]

I like to see everybody numbers on these 3 exercises and their relative swing speed and ball speed

I got a standing vertical of 31", threw the exercise ball from situp 37' and chest pass was 26' Swing Speed as measured by SSR is 112 with driver ( 105 prior to Swing Speed exercises ). Ball speed prior to swing speed is 156 mph, and I have not had a chance to get out there and test, this seems counterintuitive but the SSR reads faster and faster yet I feel like im getting slower, if I did not have the radar, I would have guessed that I am slowing down.

My first sport was basketball and the holy grail when I was growing up was dunking a basketball, I did years in the weight room which helped but the gains were hardly noticeable. Then I got some "strength" shoes, which is the name of the company, It was a sneaker with a base that made you only stand on your toes, included were a set of exercises, not sure whether it was the shoes or the plyometric exercises, but they put my vertical through the roof, I gained about 10" in one step vertical . I would say it was the equivalent of swinging 105 and then swinging 135mph.

[stingerfade]

Jimmy likes vertical leap

 

[bluedot]

I think perhaps you are looking at this incorrectly. Assuming that your buddy really can't pass the power test for split lunges, then a certified athletic trainer would probably say he is swinging the club faster than his body is really prepped for and that he's an injury waiting to happen, probably to the lower back because he putting extra strain there to compensate for the lower body weakness. And, of course, by closing the gap in lover body strength was his current club head speed, he gets longer and straighter AND less injury prone.