increasing swing speed

[MTNEER MAN]

Check out some of Ryan Winthers videos, I had them somewhere but lost them. He uses overspeed training along with weighted gloves to increase his swing speed. Granted he is a beast anyway he has gotten some amazing results. I think his fastest swing speed is like 160ish and 200+ ball speed. His lifting is all very heavy weight, low reps and slooooooow movement when doing the lifts. Ill see if I can find the videos again.

[bradski]

On the golf channel they had a golf fitness academy with us olympic javelin trainers, They really had the right idea on power and speed training. The athlete that was demonstrating I've heard stories of 340 yard slices from him. (not a great golfer).

[GoTime]

The fastest people in the world over short, individual distances are power lifters.

[sjsfan15]

Found a good one for fast twitch muscles in the forearm: Hold your arm straight out in front of you and bend your wrist back so that the back of your hand faces you. From that position, open and close your hand as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then switch arms. Do 3 sets per arm. You should feel a slight burn in the forearm when done.

[contranonvalentum]

I am 56, have been playing since I was 28, have been a single digit handicap since I was 35 and, until a year ago, rarely swung all out. Today, I hit the ball further than I ever have.

A year ago, I discovered a simple solution to longer driving that has worked for me. I started taking [b]practice swings[/b] with the intention of [b]accelerating the shaft and clubhead as much as I could[/b] as they passed the impact position. For a week or two, I would just take these practice swings without hitting the ball. I began to notice that the ball was going farther with the driver when I played even though I was not trying to swing faster or hit it harder. Later, I started hitting practice drives this way although I'm not sure this added anything. I did not let fear of a wild shot prevent me from maxing acceleration when I tried hitting balls this way. Sometimes, I would practice by hitting a driver, then taking 5 max speed practice swings, then hit another driver (sometimes swinging fast, sometimes just swinging normal). But when I play, I just make what feels like my normal swing and the ball goes a lot farther. I got more distance almost immediately without having to try exotic workouts or purchase training aids.

There are some guidelines that I followed. On the BACKSWING, I take the club back SLOW and easy and do not overswing. I do not rush the TRANSITION; to the contrary, it want it to feel SLOW and lazy. But after the transition, I make an effort to ACCELERATE the shaft AS FAST AS I CAN. The idea is to try to make the clubhead go as fast as I can while staying in balance. I don't care how out of control it feels. I was surprised by how tiring it was to make 10 swings this way. I wears me out.

I have a pretty good swing . I would not recommend this drill to a beginner or someone who has trouble making consisent contact. Caveat: my short game sucks (but it sucked for over a year before I discovered this technique).

[russian7]

[quote name='phillypros06' timestamp='1277832291' post='2544767']
Ok so my SS with the driver is 105-110, I am a 5 handicap with very good flexibility and strength . I have gotten lessons and my swing mechanics are pretty solid. All that being said, how can i get my SS to 115 on average. My routine is swinging the swing fan and speedstik 100x a day with a 100% swing. Any thoughts/suggestions? Has anyone had any luck increasing their swing speed without increasing strength or flexibility before?
[/quote]

Work on strengthening your core: this is where power is created, but you need flexibility too to stretch, lengthen the muscle.

[russian7]

[quote name='contranonvalentum' timestamp='1310833906' post='3396399']
I am 56, have been playing since I was 28, have been a single digit handicap since I was 35 and, until a year ago, rarely swung all out. Today, I hit the ball further than I ever have.

A year ago, I discovered a simple solution to longer driving that has worked for me. I started taking [b]practice swings[/b] with the intention of [b]accelerating the shaft and clubhead as much as I could[/b] as they passed the impact position. For a week or two, I would just take these practice swings without hitting the ball. I began to notice that the ball was going farther with the driver when I played even though I was not trying to swing faster or hit it harder. Later, I started hitting practice drives this way although I'm not sure this added anything. I did not let fear of a wild shot prevent me from maxing acceleration when I tried hitting balls this way. Sometimes, I would practice by hitting a driver, then taking 5 max speed practice swings, then hit another driver (sometimes swinging fast, sometimes just swinging normal). But when I play, I just make what feels like my normal swing and the ball goes a lot farther. I got more distance almost immediately without having to try exotic workouts or purchase training aids.

There are some guidelines that I followed. On the BACKSWING, I take the club back SLOW and easy and do not overswing. I do not rush the TRANSITION; to the contrary, it want it to feel SLOW and lazy. But after the transition, I make an effort to ACCELERATE the shaft AS FAST AS I CAN. The idea is to try to make the clubhead go as fast as I can while staying in balance. I don't care how out of control it feels. I was surprised by how tiring it was to make 10 swings this way. I wears me out.

I have a pretty good swing . I would not recommend this drill to a beginner or someone who has trouble making consisent contact. Caveat: my short game sucks (but it sucked for over a year before I discovered this technique).
[/quote]


That's like overswing training which works to teach the muscles to go beyond normal limits.

[360_CS]

I'm no expert but would boxing help to increase swing speed even just punching a punching bag, or even shadow boxing? It requires speed, power and a strong core.

Just my 2 cents.

[whochee]

close your eyes and swing as hard as you can....

[Beatings]

my experience is to hit the gym hard. When my overall strength increased my ss increased as well. I did basic lifts and i dont know how this can be disputed because all else being equal the stronger person will be able to generate more speed.

[funghow]

Interesting stuff here. I'm stuck at 98-104. I just want 5-10 mph faster. I will do the whoosh and lag/wrist exposion, and alt hvy driver and normal one.

http://www.somaxsports.com/ go hips?

[MaxDrive88]

Looks like alot of the ld guys have had good luck with the speed chain , ive been told by a few guys at incept.ca heaver clubs are no,no's

[408yds]

I am really surprised that nobobody has queried a 635yd drive with a swingspeed of only 110, with the best will in the world, and assuming a smash factor of 1.50+ the ball speed could only be approx 170mph, this would equate to a carry distance of approx 265, whilst technique is important it is no substitute for ball speed.
As an aside, my coach would always make me make flat out practice swings before hitting any balls in earnest, if you go on a swing speed monitor you will be amazed at the difference between your practice swing speed and your actual, then all you have to do is imagine that theres no ball there and surprise yourself. Another interesting point is that my son is a rower (and golfer) and since starting his training with the local team his ball speed has jumped up to 190+ from 160+.[quote name='rossjack' timestamp='1283208750' post='2669746']
[quote]I'm no champion by any means but when I started in the sport I was only swing in the mid 130s. With a lot of practice and work I've been recorded at 152.3 mph club head speed on a zelocity launch monitor. So it is possible.

[/quote]

how far do you hit it with a 152,3 mph club head speed?

why do you guys want more club head speed? if its for distance? i think working on technique would be better than trying to get a faster club head speed

last time i had my check testing the superdeep TP i was 110mph im 6" 2 10 stonne built like a rake lol and im hitting a big ball, like just afew weeks ago playing spey valley ( scotland ) i got to the front of the green on a 635 yard par 5 on a flat calm day, thats scotlands longest hole and im only swing it 110 mph so i wouldnt get too hung up on club head speed if i was use tbh
[/quote]

[lookma_nobackswing]

[quote name='MadGolfer76' timestamp='1298265954' post='2996901']
Cool. I am adapting these exercises to try to get the same result without actually using drumsticks, but if you want the real deal, let me know.

1) Place your elbows and wrists together in front of you."Clap" your hands together rapidly without separating your wrists or elbows. See if you can manage 3-4 claps per second and sustain it for a couple minutes.

[/quote]

i love this one, thanks!

[HoselRocket]

So I know I'm beating a dead horse here but the key is "overspeed training". Thank u for posting the TPI/Sadlowski vids., so I didn't have to. There's a reason why Olympic athletes do the same thing. Outside of all the obvious cross traing, one in particular training technique you'll see in the video is the best ive seen. I've started this recently. My gamer at std weight, and 2 additional clubs, 1 @ 15% heavier, [email="1@15%"]1 @ 15%[/email] lighter. Swing as hard as you can 10 times while hitting the ball with the heavy club. Repeat with light club, then finish up with your gamer. You should see an imediate increase of 5mph with your gamer. That's good for about 15yds. You would want to do this twice a week for optimal results. Good luck!

[dlam]

[quote name='contranonvalentum' timestamp='1310833906' post='3396399']
I am 56, have been playing since I was 28, have been a single digit handicap since I was 35 and, until a year ago, rarely swung all out. Today, I hit the ball further than I ever have.

A year ago, I discovered a simple solution to longer driving that has worked for me. I started taking [b]practice swings[/b] with the intention of [b]accelerating the shaft and clubhead as much as I could[/b] as they passed the impact position. For a week or two, I would just take these practice swings without hitting the ball. I began to notice that the ball was going farther with the driver when I played even though I was not trying to swing faster or hit it harder. Later, I started hitting practice drives this way although I'm not sure this added anything. I did not let fear of a wild shot prevent me from maxing acceleration when I tried hitting balls this way. Sometimes, I would practice by hitting a driver, then taking 5 max speed practice swings, then hit another driver (sometimes swinging fast, sometimes just swinging normal). But when I play, I just make what feels like my normal swing and the ball goes a lot farther. I got more distance almost immediately without having to try exotic workouts or purchase training aids.

There are some guidelines that I followed. On the BACKSWING, I take the club back SLOW and easy and do not overswing. I do not rush the TRANSITION; to the contrary, it want it to feel SLOW and lazy. But after the transition, I make an effort to ACCELERATE the shaft AS FAST AS I CAN. The idea is to try to make the clubhead go as fast as I can while staying in balance. I don't care how out of control it feels. I was surprised by how tiring it was to make 10 swings this way. I wears me out.

I have a pretty good swing . I would not recommend this drill to a beginner or someone who has trouble making consisent contact. Caveat: my short game sucks (but it sucked for over a year before I discovered this technique).
[/quote]


I think this is the same idea as when taking the the driver upside down and trying to "swish" the handle as though it was the clubhead
I believe its more effecient to try to get that 'swish' just sligthly in front of the ball, so that if feels like my max acceration is ahead of the ball.
then graduallly move that point to the ball, rather than the other way around it it seems to me that preseravation of acceration is better than lost of speed .

[Toph84]

[quote name='contranonvalentum' timestamp='1310833906' post='3396399']
I am 56, have been playing since I was 28, have been a single digit handicap since I was 35 and, until a year ago, rarely swung all out. Today, I hit the ball further than I ever have.

A year ago, I discovered a simple solution to longer driving that has worked for me. I started taking [b]practice swings[/b] with the intention of [b]accelerating the shaft and clubhead as much as I could[/b] as they passed the impact position. For a week or two, I would just take these practice swings without hitting the ball. I began to notice that the ball was going farther with the driver when I played even though I was not trying to swing faster or hit it harder. Later, I started hitting practice drives this way although I'm not sure this added anything. I did not let fear of a wild shot prevent me from maxing acceleration when I tried hitting balls this way. Sometimes, I would practice by hitting a driver, then taking 5 max speed practice swings, then hit another driver (sometimes swinging fast, sometimes just swinging normal). But when I play, I just make what feels like my normal swing and the ball goes a lot farther. I got more distance almost immediately without having to try exotic workouts or purchase training aids.

There are some guidelines that I followed. On the BACKSWING, I take the club back SLOW and easy and do not overswing. I do not rush the TRANSITION; to the contrary, it want it to feel SLOW and lazy. But after the transition, I make an effort to ACCELERATE the shaft AS FAST AS I CAN. The idea is to try to make the clubhead go as fast as I can while staying in balance. I don't care how out of control it feels. I was surprised by how tiring it was to make 10 swings this way. I wears me out.

I have a pretty good swing . I would not recommend this drill to a beginner or someone who has trouble making consisent contact. Caveat: my short game sucks (but it sucked for over a year before I discovered this technique).
[/quote]


Judging by your screen name I take it you are a lawyer?

[cavemeister]

Here's a funny exercise. I was very long for years. I think part of it came from playing golf in the back yard using a golf wiffle ball and a badmitton racket. I would hit the balls off grass with that racket--its light, air wooshes through it and its light...
[quote name='phillypros06' timestamp='1277832291' post='2544767']
Ok so my SS with the driver is 105-110, I am a 5 handicap with very good flexibility and strength . I have gotten lessons and my swing mechanics are pretty solid. All that being said, how can i get my SS to 115 on average. My routine is swinging the swing fan and speedstik 100x a day with a 100% swing. Any thoughts/suggestions? Has anyone had any luck increasing their swing speed without increasing strength or flexibility before?
[/quote]

[jhoffman27]

Does anyone have a good stretching/flexibility program to help SS? About 2 years ago my SS was 118-122 and I was averaging about 310 or so, but a couple of years of weight training and too little golf have left me physically stronger but less flexible. As a result, my SS has declined to the 112-115 range (and of course my distance has dropped too). So I'm looking for something to bring my flexibility back up to snuff so I can take advantage of the added strength.

I've also gone back to swinging my momentus and orange whip 30-40 swings each a day, which I was doing back when my SS was higher. I'd love to hear any tips to get my flexibility and SS back up. Thanks

[QuigleyDU]

Um,. stretch...Work your glutes and hip flexors and well pretty much everything.

[lukesmurf59]

I'm gonna try the clapping thing. I feel this is probably the only area I can improve in as I already have a very late release, a pretty long swing and good flexibility. Any other drills people have? I want something physical because every swingthought I try works amazing for a little while but the magic always wears off. If it is physical in my body, I know as long as I maintain it, I don't have to worry about physical strength disappearing.

[QuigleyDU]

Do lots of plyo, box jumps, squat jumps, lateral jumps lunges, Anything where your intent is explosive motion. If you would like a good routine let me know. I started working with a olympic level discus thrower and that has added a ton of explosivness to my swing. Those guys can move their bodies.

[BobbieDollar]

[quote name='360_CS' timestamp='1313543174' post='3493882']
I'm no expert but would boxing help to increase swing speed even just punching a punching bag, or even shadow boxing? It requires speed, power and a strong core.

Just my 2 cents.
[/quote] Been working on this for a few months. Started at around 108-110 on SwingSpeed Radar and have been maxing out at 136 now. Its very hard work and requires that I be in shape and flexible or I wouldn't do it. Key for me again and again is gripping the club itself very,very lightly. If you muscle the grip in any way you cannot load the shaft and then unload it. Swing speed is about learning to load the shaft imo and developing a feel for it. I practice loading the shaft right at the takeaway which in vids of Jamie and Zuback you can see clearly. Very full shoulder turn is key and I practice whipping the club well behind me to develop the loaded feeling. Very fast weight shift and hip rotation is essential and I use rubber expanders tied to a post to practice this on both sides. The mind needs to learn and accept higher and higher speeds as 'normal' in order to form new pathways or engrams in the brain. I am careful about a lot of heavy muscle training. Your grip will tightern at first and you can actually slow your swing down the very next day doing that imo. Swinging as fast and as hard day to day is a simple and big help in forming the new normal I think and always testing with the SS will motivate me but it is a difficult process. I will try to order a lighter Fuji shaft this Spring to help it along. My drives are definitely 10% farthere and at a higher threshold but my dry swings are still faster by 5% than my contact swings and I think this is just pschological, the body needs time to confidently adjust. Just my two cents.

[BobbieDollar]

one other thing for what its worth. Lot of swing preachers talk about lag in the swing. But if you try to hold anything while your swinging centrifugally at 130 mph, good luck. Your brain is more likely at that pt. to trigger hesitation and slow your swing down imo. Real lag is naturally created by two things, the very rapid leading shift of the hips which cause the hands to trail and catch up and very loose,relaxed wrists and hands, without which your wrists will be unable to hinge deeply since they will be too fixed and tensed. The preachers who talk about waiting till the last second and then massively accelerating thru the impact zone sound good but in physical reality the clubhead is actually decelerating in the impact zone due to a leveling off of gravity. I can see where this technique might be good for swing mechanics and getting a little more power out of a 100mph swing but I think just thinking it is counterproductive at higher and higher speeds.

[dlam]

Hi Bob, thanks for reviving an old thread.
I agree with big muscles training and flexablity to maximize swing speed.
I have been able to go from 95 mph swing speed to 115 mph in a 2 years.
As far as the arms go, I a believer they are passive and tighten in response the massive CF the swing produces.
I started a thread a couple of years ago, about forearm muscles role as i too was a bit confused , and Monte S was able to gave some insight about how strong his grip and forearms were in comparison to "bigger" guys in the days when he won the long driving competitions. He could out arm wrestle bigger guys
The discussion center about how easily some guys lose SS cause they dont have strong enough forearms. I think that what some players mean but "holding the lag"
So i think one can create massive SS by how they like to bring the club back, but if you dont have enough taut in the forearms , can not hold in to high enough SS of the clubhead.
Anyway, I been improving both my flexablity in my core muscles, and making sure my forearms muscles are loose enough to fire the club back but strong enough to tighten up and hold the maximal clubhead speed I can muster.

[BobbieDollar]

I'm unclear about the grip stuff Diam but I get your point, I think its very important that they be strong to avoid repetitive stress at high speeds, I just think the hands have to be very soft thru the swing since they are like conduits for the kinetic chain of energy from the body into the shaft. I do reverse barbell curls 3x a week using 75-100 lbs and dumbelll related stuff. Working on the wide-narrow wide swing and emphasizing the head being well behind the ball at impat for leverage and counterweight. MMY dryswings are still faster than my contact swings though some of this has to do with where you place the SS monitor and some of it is natural resistance encountered when hitting a golf ballwhich should slow clubhead speed sown a tad..

[BobbieDollar]

also Diam check out the reverse pivots in Ben Tuaone and Dominic Mazza and some others and how this enables a huge back wing width. Its pretty clear. Its definitely an insult to the swing preachers out there giving instruction. Nicklaus had it too.