Want more clubhead speed? Remember these 3 keys

Hitting the ball longer off the tee is something all golfers should strive for. As advanced analytics have illustrated, the more distance you have off the tee, the easier the game becomes.

That’s why we’ve seen such a distance boom in the pro-golf ranks in recent years. With the stats showing just how important distance is, pros have focused on doing everything in their power to optimize their swings so they can squeeze every last yard out of their drives.

Recreational golfers may not have the luxury of being able to optimize everything about their setup — but that doesn’t mean there aren’t distance gains to be had. In fact, with a majority of amateur players swinging in an inefficient manner, there are even more gains available to weekend warriors than there are to the pros.

I discovered this fact firsthand when I went through a speed training session with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Bernie Najar, during which I gained over 10 mph of clubhead speed from where I started.

So, how can you see similar gains? I’ve outlined three big keys below.

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3 keys for maximizing your clubhead speed

1. Up your intensity

Golf is typically viewed as a “leisurely” sport. But if you want to hit the ball at your maximum potential, you need to dispel that notion.

Think about any other sport in which you are going for a personal record. In all of them, you will try to hype yourself up beforehand so you can give max effort. The same principle applies when speed training.

“I’m a big believer in getting your intensity up,” Najar says. “In your case, you need to get your heart rate up.”

For me, that meant doing a series of jumping jacks before hitting a set of balls. You can also opt for a quick set of sprints or even just some fast walking. All that matters is that you get your heart rate up.

It may seem silly at first, but once you start hitting balls, you should see your clubhead speed jump up by a couple of mph.

2. Generate speed early

Have you ever heard the old golf adage “low and slow” as it pertains to the takeaway? Well, if you want to maximize your clubhead speed, you have to ignore it.

Hitting the ball longer starts with moving the clubhead faster, and that means throughout the entire swing — backswing included.

“One of the ways to get [energy] into the club is to put some [energy] into it a little bit earlier,” Najar says. “We are going to start the club out in front [of the ball] and then rip it back.”

If you’ve ever watched pros who are big into speed training (think Bryson DeChambeau or Matt Fitzpatrick), you’ll see that they take the club to the top as fast as they can. That’s no coincidence. If you want to hit it like they do, it’s important you adopt the same tactic.

“Putting more into the golf club means you really have to rev it up a little,” Najar says.

3. Don’t worry about accuracy

One of the hardest things about speed training effectively is letting go of the result of the shot. We as golfers are hard-wired to try to make the ball sail down the fairway with supreme accuracy. But when you are speed training, you can’t worry about where the ball is going.

“One of the things Kyle Berkshire would tell you,” Najar says. “If you are in a speed session, if you don’t have a big miss, you’re not going fast enough.”

There were a few swings during my session in which I damn near missed the ball — but that’s ok. Speed training is not about trying to hit fairways. It’s about increasing your maximum clubhead speed.

One thing I’ve found useful for addressing this is heading indoors to a simulator and speed training without the shot tracer on. All I put on the screen is clubhead speed and ball speed, and then I swing as hard as I can.

When I do this, I have no idea where the ball is headed. The only feedback I have is my speed numbers. Each time I do this, I find that my speed creeps up just a little higher than when the tracer is on. If you are struggling to let go of your subconscious accuracy biases, I’d recommend giving it a shot.

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