How do I increase my club head speed?

Question

Looking for some ideas on how to increase my club head speed on my driver. Any suggestions??

Answer 1

Clubhead speed is something you're born with...The longest hitters have a fast twitch muscle fiber that allows them to create more speed...I was born a long hitter(300-360) and haven't lost any distance since I took up the game 20 years ago...If I were you, I would accept this and work on parts of your game that can offset this...I must say though, that being as long as I am off the tee gets me into trouble quite a bit, it's an advantage if you can stay patient and not try to over power every course...One thing to try is trying to take the club back as wide as you can...Feel as though you are extending your hands as far away from your body without swaying and keeping your left inside your right foot....The bigger your arc, the more time you have to build speed...Best of luck

Answer 2

Work on releasing your wrists as late as possible, try some swing weights too. Another option is to work out, bodyweight or free weights, both work.

Remember that ball contact in the middle of the club face is extremely important as well!

Answer 3

I tend to think Owen Frey is correct. Although one time we were putting on a green of a hole about 320 yards long, and uphill from the tee. There was a group of high school kids (golf team) on the tee and as we were putting a ball came rolling up to us. There were a couple of tallish kids, and one average size kid, and a tiny kid about 5'5" tall, and thin, maybe 140 lbs. Guess who's ball that was on the green?

Yup! So what is this tiny kid's secret? Fast twitch muscle? Maybe, but his technique must be excellent. Granted, sheer strength certainly has something to do with it, but technique does also. Equipment too -- where I think people swing way too light of clubs. People used to think that the lighter the club the faster the clubhead speed and the farther the ball would go. Just not true. At some point you need mass so that when the clubhead hits the ball the clubhead does not slow down, but keeps moving forward. A clubhead with more mass will keep moving forward. If you are a bigger person you could easily swing a heavier clubhead, and not lose much (if any) clubhead speed, and the ball should go further, because on contact the clubhead won't slow down as much. (I read that Tiger swings "E" weight clubheads, which is "heavy.")

I'll say this; drivers right off the rack are quite light in weight. You can buy "lead tape" and stick that on your driver head (or any of your clubs) to get more mass.

The right ball can help too. I find the Callaway "tour HX "goes about 20 yards further on the drives than their "tour HX 56" (However, Callaway just renamed their golf balls, something they do every 2 years or so).

But like Owen says, don't be worried about your length so much, work on your accuracy. Study the mechanics of the swing and that's the real name of the game. You'll find what your maximum distance is for sure that way, that is, you will come to a point  where you KNOW your swing mechanics are right (because you hit the ball just perfect every time, no matter how far it goes) and you score really low. And once you know your swing mechanics are right there is only a couple of more things you can do: 1) swing harder (with the risk of losing balance and control, unless you were underswinging all along and really do have more power to deliver to the swing), or 2) build your muscles and swing a heavier clubhead that will not slow down as much when it hits the ball (where in this case you keep your swing speed the same, same tempo basically, but that heavier clubhead matched with your greater physical strength and increased body mass will translate into a longer hit ball). *

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* A little footnote here; this is just the physics of the thing. Increased body mass will give you a "balance" or "stability" advantage too. If you are really dedicated, and will build up your muscles, and you will find that the heavier clubhead in the "E" swing weight range feel just as light as the clubheads in the "C" range (which are the weights most off-the-rack clubs are) before you did your body building.  You might also check your clubhead speed at a golf shop that has club demos and a clubhead speed computer right there so you can see your clubhead speed. You might find that going to an E-weight clubhead is alright to do right now, that it doesn't affect your clubhead speed much at all.

Answer 4

Here's a few.  Swing the club with your arms as relaxed as possible without losing your grip on the club..  Another good one is to feel as if your slowing your swing down a touch.  A swing in balance is more productive than trying to crush the ball.

Answer 5

Longer shaft if possible.

Answer 6

Keep you wrist square with the driver head. And your left arm straight as long as you can on your backswing and on your downswing. To help keep your wrist square put a credit card underneath your watch.