How to Improve Your Golf Swing Speed

By Tony Brian

A heightened golf swing speed can affect many parts of your golf game, including the distance of your drive, the accuracy of your short game, and the consistency of all your shots. The amount of speed you can gather behind your club dictates the amount of energy transferred to the ball on a shot, directly affecting multiple aspects of each shot. Speed control is a vital part of any well-rounded golf game.

The speed of your club is directly affected by the mechanics of your swing and your physical fitness. If you cannot pull up a full backswing and release as much energy as possible on the ball, you cannot reach the utmost club speed.

Follow Through

Follow through is equally important in ensuring a high, consistent club speed, as it ensures that the full energy displacement of a successful swing has occurred. When you fail to follow through, you pull up at the last second, decreasing your swing speed exponentially in the final steps of your swing. Imagine you are aiming to hit a target a full foot or two beyond where the ball is located. The extra energy you impart to hit this imaginary target will ensure that you exert the maximum energy as you approach the ball.

Fitness

A strong follow through is essential, but only the first step in getting the most out of each swing. To truly optimize your swing speed, you need to be physically fit and flexible enough to wind up a backswing without pulling a muscle or feeling any pain. It needs to be a natural part of your body and the best way to do that is to be a spry as possible.

Use rotational exercises to maximize the strength and range of motion in your shoulders, hips, knees and wrists. Everything in your swing involves rotation, so by strengthening these muscles and loosening your body's approach, you can be sure you get the most out of every swing you attempt.

Good exercises include simple stretches such as touching your toes to loosen your back or twisting in place to strengthen your oblique muscles. By holding a weighted object while doing so, your body adjusts to much greater pressures while twisting, making your golf club seem that much lighter.

You can increase the strength of your rotational muscles by swinging the club with a weight in your hands. Many club manufacturers make weighted clubs for just this reason, providing extra resistance for your body when swinging. If you cannot afford a specialty club, consider using a standard weight that accomplishes essentially the same thing.

By using these simple, inexpensive training exercises, you can increase the range of motion your body enjoys and further increase your ability to push the golf club from backswing to follow through with as much power as possible, speeding up your golf swing in the process. By increasing your swing speed, you can greatly enhance your game in more ways than you ever expected. Be prepared to work hard and train regularly and you can start hitting those 300 foot drives you always dreamed of landing.

Tony Brian is a freelance writer for outdoor sports magazines and a contributing writer for smart parts sp-8 paintball gun specializing in hunting, hunter, and paintball safety goggles

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