In my previous article, I explored the concept of power training for golf and highlighted the importance of executing strength with speed. This month, I’ll dive into how we can incorporate speed into our gym training with the goal of increasing clubhead speed.

Over the last few articles, we’ve covered the key elements that contribute to greater distance in golf. Distance is a hot topic in the game today, particularly among Tour professionals and junior golfers.

The important thing to understand before adding speed training to your regimen is that you must first establish a foundation. This means ensuring you've addressed hypertrophy (muscle building), strength and power training. Without these foundational elements, your potential for speed will be limited, and the risk of injury will be higher. This is why I refer to speed training as the "iceberg" of training: it’s the flashy part we see on social media, but there’s a significant amount of unseen work that must happen first to truly benefit from speed training in the gym.

With that said, speed training is incredibly enjoyable and often gets plenty of attention on platforms like Instagram. But to maximise its effectiveness, speed training requires precision and intentionality in technique and movement execution.

The main method for training for speed in the gym is plyometrics, often referred to as “jump training”. Plyometrics involves a rapid muscle stretch (eccentric phase), followed by a swift and immediate contraction (concentric phase) of the same muscle. This type of training teaches your muscles to generate maximum force in the shortest possible time.

Plyometrics can be applied to different parts of the body:

● Lower body: Box jumps, broad jumps, lateral jumps and pogos.

● Upper body: Medicine ball chest passes and slams, and explosive push-ups.

● Core/rotational movements: Rotational tosses, shot-put throws and elastic band rotations.

Each plyometric movement has a key phase where the muscles are lengthened under load (eccentric phase), using either body weight or equipment like a medicine ball or weights. This phase activates the Stretch Shortening Cycle (SSC), which stores elastic potential energy within the muscle.

The next phase, the amortization phase, is the transition between muscle lengthening (eccentric) and muscle shortening (concentric). In golf, this mirrors the transition from backswing to downswing.

Finally, the concentric phase involves the shortening of the muscle through rapid contraction, typically seen in movements like a medicine ball toss or a box jump. This is when the elastic energy created in the eccentric phase is converted into kinetic (movement) energy, which can then be transferred through the body into the object we’re holding – in the case of golf, a club.

There are other methods of developing speed in golf, such as over- or underspeed techniques, commonly used with systems like The Stack or Speed Sticks. However, in my professional opinion, it’s best to start in the gym before incorporating these over-speed methods. Building a strong foundation through proper strength and power training should be your priority before focusing on adding speed to your golf swing.

Here are some examples of plyometric movements I use in the gym with golfers to increase speed:

● Lateral bound to medicine ball slam:

https://youtube.com/shorts/nO-xplgRnds?si=7od18zKNZXiZy1xZ

● Lateral step to shot-put pass:

https://youtube.com/shorts/jyEa1SDmYQY?si=gZfzLgk5eCR9IM_h

● Chest throws on Smith machine:

https://youtube.com/shorts/PewStj3xhk8?si=SzHr-c2k-nxrAMAx

● Box jumps:

https://youtube.com/shorts/pXQk1eH98Ro?si=cHnegnd67sWvpjn-

If you have any questions around training or speed training, or would like to know more, you can contact me via my website gavingrovestraining.co.za

IMAGES:TYRONE WINFIELD/SUNSHINE TOUR/SUPPLIED