Author: WhyGolf WhysGuy
We want to preface this guide with the acknowledgment that neither WhysGuy nor anyone from the WhyGolf team claims to know everything about the golf swing. We don’t want anyone to treat what we say here as gospel. While much of what we’ll say is a reflection of decades of dialogue with PGA instructors and players, we’re always learning and we understand that knowledge about the sport of golf will continue to evolve over time.
In this post, WhysGuy will cover:
- Key factors that lead to clubhead speed in the golf swing.
- Why increasing your clubhead speed is important and reasons it's important to optimize.
- How you can use WhyGolf Pressure Plate to increase your clubhead speed in no time.
Golf seems to be all about hitting bombs these days and golf courses aren’t getting any shorter. As time passes, it'll become more and more critical for golfers to increase and optimize their clubhead speed and driving distance so as to avoid hitting hybrids into par 4's all day.
But what’s the secret to hitting it long?
A new driver, speed training, weight lifting, or something else?
At the end of the day, it comes down to one thing - clubhead speed… which comes from a variety of factors including proper swing mechanics, weight and pressure transfer, equipment, and more.
All these factors are important, but we argue that the most essential requisite to generating clubhead speed is a proper transfer of weight and pressure in the golf swing. If you aren't able to get your weight and pressure to your lead side at impact, it'll be extremely challenging to create clubhead speed.
Luckily, we designed the Pressure Plate which will help you identify and correct your weight and pressure transfer in your golf swing.
Keep reading to learn how to generate speed and ways you can use the Pressure Plate to ultimately hit it farther.
1. How to Increase Clubhead Speed in Golf
When it comes to clubhead speed, you need to understand it before trying to add it to your swing.
Speed is not tempo - you can have a slow tempo but still generate a lot of clubhead speed. Telling somebody to simply swing harder won't do the trick either, as we're most concerned with trying to maximize speed at impact with the golf ball.
Instead, speed is a combination of the right 3:1 tempo, accelerating through the golf ball, and moving your weight and pressure effectively throughout your golf swing.
2. Pressure Plate Basics
With your Pressure Plate, start with your weight 50-50 or slightly forward of center. As you make your backswing, we recommend getting 60% of your weight to your trail leg - without swaying. You'll know you've accomplished this when the board tips to your trail side (away from the target).
But the downswing is where the real magic happens. As you transition into your downswing, you should begin applying pressure to your lead foot. To tip the Pressure Plate toward your target, you need 70% weight on your lead side. It's imperative that you get your weight and pressure on your lead side before impact.
This will allow you to use ground reaction forces (i.e., forces that result from leveraging the ground), which ultimately can lead to effortless clubhead speed. Put simply, when we push into the ground, the ground pushes back, and we are able to translate this force to the golf ball.
3. Pressure Plate Drills to Increase Clubhead Speed
As you can see, this training aid will transform the way you swing the golf club. This device works great on the driving range and makes it easy to practice with purpose.
With the Pressure Plate, there's no ambiguity. You're provided real-time feedback so you can make critical upgrades to your golf swing. Here are a few ways you can use the Pressure Plate on the range or at home to increase clubhead speed.
Clubhead Swing Speed Drill #1: 3 x 3
Mount your Pressure Plate and take easy swings to get the feel of it. Ensure you're getting the board to tip away from the target in your backswing, and toward your target into your follow-through.
Once you get the hang of it, alternate hitting three shots on the board, then three shots without the board. The idea here is to apply the feeling you created on the Pressure Plate to a shot without the board. This is the key to making swing changes!
The great news is that you don’t need to always hit golf balls to make swing gains from the Pressure Plate either. You can do several drills at home to benefit your swing and ingrain solid fundamentals that you can take to the golf course.
Clubhead Swing Speed Drill #2: Activate Your Lead Side
If you watch long drive competitors, you'll notice they use their lower body incredibly well. Specifically, they create ground reaction force by pressing aggressively into their lead side on the downswing.
You can learn this clubhead speed trick too!
At home, stand on the Pressure Plate (without a club). Practice rocking back and forth as you would in your golf swing. Try applying pressure with your lead foot to begin your backswing and again through impact. Do this 15-20 times a day to create that aggressive motion that you’ll need to add clbuhead speed and hit longer drives.
Without turning this article into a scientific paper, we want to point out that learning to generate swing speed is less about building muscle and more about training your muscles to move explosively. It's about teaching your nervous system to move quickly. Keep this in mind while you train!
Clubhead Speed Drill #3: Lead Leg Lift
Another reason long drivers create so much speed is they aren’t afraid to lift their lead leg on the backswing. You even see this happen on the professional golf tour when players want to rip a drive 10–15 yards longer. We can train this motion on the Pressure Plate as well!
As you hit balls on the Pressure Plate, feel your left foot (assuming you’re a right-handed golfer) come off the board. You’ll pretty quickly feel more rotation in both your hips and shoulders on the backswing.
As you transition into your downswing, press down aggressively with your lead leg through impact. If done correctly, you'll feel yourself pushing off the ground and your ball should come out with more speed.
This drill can also be accomplished without a golf ball. Do this 15-20 times a day and watch the magic happen!
How to Increase Clubhead Speed - Key Takeaways:
- A golfer looking to increase his or her clubhead speed should look to optimize their weight and pressure shifts.
- The three drills outlined above can help increase clubhead speed.
- The WhyGolf Pressure Plate is a perfect tool to learn how to hit it farther. Don't be afraid to use it in your living room as well!
Ready to start hitting bombs immediately? Get your Pressure Plate here.
How can I increase my clubhead speed?
There are many ways to increase your swing speed, but the most important elements of your golf swing to monitor are your weight and pressure shifts.
Whether you’re hitting golf balls or practicing at home, the Pressure Plate gives you the feedback you need to ultimately hit bombs that'll upset your friends.
What clubhead speed is needed for a 250 yard drive? How about 300 yards?
To hit it about 250 yards off the tee you need around 100 mph of clubhead speed. To hit it 300 yards you’ll need to swing closer to 110mph. To give some perspective, the PGA Tour average clubhead speed is about 114mph.
What’s the easiest way to add clubhead speed in golf?
The fastest and easiest way to add speed and hit it longer off the tee is learning to shift your weight and pressure properly. Overspeed training, new equipment, and golf workouts can help but you need to focus on the fundamentals first to benefit from the other methods.
It can be challenging to add clubhead speed to your golf swing, but with time and dedication, it's totally possible no matter your age.
What else can I do to increase my clubhead speed?
If you want to improve your golf clubhead speed, there are several other methods you can try. Here are a couple of examples:
Yoga and Pilates - These exercises can help you improve your flexibility and core strength, which are important for generating power and speeding up your swing in golf.
Boxing and Martial Arts – These activities can help you improve your hand-eye coordination, footwork, and overall body control, which can lead to a faster and more powerful golf swing.
Resistance Bands - Including resistance bands in your workout routine can help you strengthen the muscles involved in your golf swing, such as your core, back, and legs.
Medicine Ball Throws - Performing explosive throwing exercises with a medicine ball can help you improve your rotational power and swing speed.
Plyometric exercises, which involve explosive movements such as jumping and bounding, can help improve your overall power and speed in golf.
While these unconventional methods aren't for everyone, they can be a fun and effective way to change up your training routine and improve your golf game. Remember that improving your swing speed takes time and practice, but with the right approach and consistent practice, you can achieve your goals and hit longer, more powerful shots on the course.
Is strength or flexibility more important when trying to add clubhead speed?
Strength and flexibility are important factors in improving clubhead speed in golf. If you have to choose between the two, however, flexibility is arguably more important.
If you're strong and unflexible, you may not be able to take advantage of your strength. Professional golfers aren't generally super bulky. They are, it appears, quite flexible, which leads us to believe that flexibility is an essential element to creating speed.
Most golfers reading this probably don't have 4 hours a day to train in the gym like many professional golfers. However, a simple 30 minute daily routine that addresses your unique flexiblity and mobility deficiencies can make a world of a difference when it comes to the quest of increasing clubhead speed.
How can the Pressure Plate help me add clubhead speed?
Our Pressure Plate can be a great tool to help you achieve your goals of increasing clubhead speed. You can get instant feedback on how your weight is shifting throughout your swing by stepping onto the plate and swinging your club. When you properly transfer your weight, you create a more efficient swing that maximizes your body's ability to generate speed and power.
Additionally, using our Pressure Plate can assist you in identifying any swing flaws that may be impeding your swing speed. For example, if you're not properly transferring your weight, you could be losing speed and power in your swing. By identifying these flaws, you can work on correcting them and gradually increasing your swing speed.
Finally, using our Pressure Plate can help you improve your swing's timing and rhythm. You can develop a smoother, more efficient swing that maximizes your speed and power potential by practicing with the plate.
Where can I buy a Pressure Plate?
What's the best way to monitor my clubhead speed?
Launch monitors are great tools to use from time to time to identify your clubhead speed and track your progress. It tracks the flight of the ball using radar or camera technology and provides data on various aspects of your swing, such as clubhead speed, ball speed, launch angle, and spin rate. Some launch monitors are even portable, allowing them to be used on the driving range.
Alternatively, you can indirectly track your clubhead speed by simply looking at changes of your ball flight across time. If your shots are consistently going farther and higher than what you're used to seeing, your swing speed has likely increased.
Working with a golf instructor every so often may also be a worthy investment for your golf game. Having a second pair of eyes can really help you stay on track and accountable!
Check Out Our YouTube Channel For Drills and Tips
