Clubhead Speed Training for Golf - Everything you need to know.
If you are looking to gain clubhead speed, you should be SPEED TRAINING.
Alongside your speed training you NEED to be completing a holistic strength and mobility training program.
Doing so is going to provide the necessary support for your speed development.
What should your speed training look like?
Let's dive in!
THE EXERCISE
While many exercises will make up our strength, mobility and speed development training program, when it comes to clubhead speed specific speed training, there is one central exercise that matters MOST.
As we move along the spectrum from strength training, to power training, to speed training we should narrow our collection of exercises to be more sport specific.
This is because we want to make our speed and velocity gains transferable to the golf course.
Don't hear what I'm not saying...
You SHOULD include MANY exercises in your speed and power development training program, including:
Jumps
Medicine ball throws
Medicine ball slams
Sprinting
But, more than anything, start speed swinging.
Like this...
But HOW should you be including these in your training?
Let's break it down...
Volume
Volume is the amount of sets and reps that we complete of an exercise.
For example, if I say complete barbell back squats for 3 sets of 8 reps, the volume is 24 total reps.
For speed swings, we DO NOT want a volume of more than 20 reps - rarely do I do more than 15.
As the intensity of our exercises increase, we want the volume to decrease.
This is because on a per rep basis we are promoting greater levels of stress.
With this stress comes more damage - good damage, but damage nonetheless.
We then proceed to recover from this damage and create adaptations.
For a relatively low impact exercise like a bicep curl you may do 50-100 reps per training session.
But, as intensity increases, we need to scale back the total amount of volume being completed, which is why you should rarely ever complete more than 20 reps of speed swings within a singular session!
Intensity
It should be NEAR MAXIMAL every training session.
In order to produce velocity adaptations, we need to spend time at our max velocity, which requires max effort.
Therefore, nearly every speed training session we should be pushing to get close to max effort.
Therefore, don't complete more than 3-5 swings per set - and take TONS of rest between sets.
That being said, you also need to be self-aware and understand the days where you aren't feeling great.
For example, maybe you just crushed RFE Split Squats yesterday and you are extremely sore.
In which case you SHOULD NOT complete max effort speed swings as your body needs to recover.
Frequency
I highly recommend structuring your training week to make sure you are completing speed training in a relatively fresh state - such as after a rest day.
At minimum, I would recommend 48 hours between speed training sessions minimum.
Most often I recommend 2 speed training days per week!
Rest Periods
When speed swinging you are using your phosphocreatine (PC) energy system.
This is the fastest, most powerful energy system that our bodies can access.
However, because of this, it depletes quickly!
After completing a set of speed swings, you NEED to wait ~3 minutes to achieve ~85% replenishment of your PC energy stores.
Therefore, at minimum, take 3 minutes between sets to ensure that you can produce a MAXIMIMAL intensity and velocity!
Transferring it to a Club/Ball
Lastly, after having 2-3 months of speed, strength, and mobility training under your belt, I highly recommend that you start exploring speed training while at the range with a club in your hand and while hitting a golf ball.
To do so, once per week, I recommend that you end your range session by maxing out your driver for 6 - 12 swings.
Try to swing it as fast as you possibly can while still meeting the ball.
Worry less about the outcome of the ball flight, and more about speed!
Eventually, as higher speeds become more comfortable, you'll be able to narrow in your control.
Grow speed first, control it later.
WRAP IT UP
You should be speed training.
These are my quick hitting recommendations that we just covered...
20 swings or less per session
3 minutes of rest between sets
Twice per week with at least 48 hours between sessions
MAXIMAL intensity
Transfer it to the range eventually
And, if you want to make your life easier and just have it all laid out in front of you, JOIN THE SCRATCH SPEED BLUEPRINT.
Carter Schmitz
Founder and Head Coach - SCRATCHGolfTraining.com
CSCS, TPI
Carter is a strength and conditioning coach out of the Milwaukee area working with athletes, in-person and virtually. Having helped hundreds of athletes, ranging from the middle school to the professional level and beyond, Carter brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to every athlete he works with. He launched SCRATCHGolfTraining.com in the summer of 2021 to help empower golfers to greater performance and longevity.
Carter believes ALL golfers are athletes, and they should be training accordingly.
Become a SCRATCH Athlete today, and start training like the ATHLETE you are!
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