Tag: golf swing speed workout

the speed stick drills is a great golf exercise to help improve your overall clubhead speed.

Why Stick Swings Might Be the Best Kept Secret in Golf Speed Training

If you’re trying to swing faster, hit the ball farther, and get more out of your body—without fancy equipment or heavy weights—then you need to be doing stick swings. This ultra-simple, high-speed drill uses nothing more than a club shaft (or alignment stick) to train your central nervous system to fire at higher speeds, engage the lower body, and improve swing sequencing.

The Science Behind Stick Swings

Overspeed Training:
Using a lighter object (like a bare club shaft) lets your body move faster than normal, helping you rewire your neuromuscular system to access more speed during your actual golf swing.
Deceleration Training:
Swinging opposite handed and in reverse direction works the braking system of your swing—your obliques, glutes, and posterior stabilizers—teaching your body how to slow down safely after fast rotational movement. The better you can decelerate, the more confidently you can accelerate.
Ground Reaction Force:
Adding shuffle steps or progressive footwork teaches your legs to generate force from the ground up, giving your upper body more to work with in the swing.

How to Perform Stick Swings for Speed Training

Equipment:

A golf shaft with no head, alignment stick, or speed training stick (SuperSpeed, etc.)

Phase 1: Dominant Side Swings

Take your normal grip and swing as fast as possible.
Keep it safe but intentional—this isn’t about mechanics, it’s about speed.
Do 3 sets of 5–6 swings at maximum effort.

Phase 2: Reverse Swings

Same stance and grip, but swing in the reverse direction (backswing becomes downswing).
This targets rotational stability and deceleration control.
Perform 2–3 sets of 5 reps.

Phase 3: Opposite-Handed Swings

Switch to a left-handed stance (if you’re a righty) or vice versa.
Swing as fast as possible from the non-dominant side.
This challenges your coordination and targets the muscles responsible for slowing your real swing.
Do 3 sets of 5 reps.

Phase 4: Shuffle Step Progression

Add in a small shuffle or step into the swing to simulate using lower body momentum.
This helps develop rotational sequencing, timing, and ground force production.
Alternate between dominant and non-dominant sides.

Programming Tips

Perform 2–3x per week on non-lifting days or before skill sessions.
Always perform these before hitting golf balls to maximize CNS freshness.
Track your swing speed every few weeks using a launch monitor or radar to measure progress.

Benefits of Stick Swings for Golfers

Increased Clubhead Speed
Train your body to move faster with less resistance—just like sprinting uphill and then running downhill.
Improved Sequencing
Your lower half leads the movement; your torso and arms follow. Shuffle swings reinforce kinetic chain timing.
Enhanced Stability
By working your decelerators (in reverse and opposite swings), you become more stable, which helps prevent injury and swing breakdown.
Greater Mobility & Control
Fast, full-range swings help you gain comfort in end-range rotational positions—key for players with stiffness or mobility restrictions.
Budget-Friendly & Accessible
You don’t need a gym or trainer. Just a stick and some space—indoors or outdoors.

Bonus Insight: Why Opposite Side Work Matters

Your swing is only as strong as your body’s ability to decelerate and control force. By training the opposite side of your body, you’re:

Balancing muscle development (reducing injury risk)
Reinforcing rotational control
Teaching your nervous system to trust higher speeds

This is especially helpful for players recovering from injury or working through compensations and imbalances.

This exercise is just one of the dozens of targeted golf exercises in our PinSeeker Performance Program—a 6-week, lifetime-access golf workout program designed to build mobility, strength, and power exactly where you need it.

🏌️‍♂️ Swing with more rotation and less pain
🏋️‍♀️ Improve strength, flexibility, and balance
⛳️ Play more consistently, regardless of age or experience

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✅ Golf-Specific workouts you can do anywhere

Train smarter, swing stronger, and see real gains on the course with PinSeeker!

our 6-week pinseeker performance program is the best online golf fitness program

We answer the question what is speed training for golf?

Golf isn’t just about finesse—it’s about speed, sequencing, and power. One of the most common goals among amateur and professional golfers alike is to increase clubhead speed to gain more distance off the tee. But what is speed training in golf, and how do you train for it safely and effectively?

Let’s break it down from a biomechanics and performance training perspective, so you understand how to apply these principles to your own golf fitness program.

What Is Speed Training in Golf?

Speed training in golf is the process of improving your body’s ability to produce force quickly and efficiently through the golf swing. It’s not just swinging harder—it’s about improving the sequence of movement, neuromuscular efficiency, and the body’s capacity to accelerate and decelerate.

When done correctly, speed training leads to:

Higher clubhead speed
Greater ball speed
Increased driving distance
Better rotational efficiency
More consistent and powerful swings

Speed Comes from the Body, Not Just the Club

Before focusing on overspeed training tools or fancy gadgets, you must first understand the source of speed: your body. A fast, powerful swing is the result of stable segments working with mobile ones in perfect sequence. This is often referred to as the Joint-by-Joint Approach:

Body Region	Function
Feet	Stable
Ankles	Mobile
Knees	Stable
Hips	Mobile
Low Back/Core	Stable
Thoracic Spine	Mobile
Scapulae (Shoulder Blades)	Stable
Shoulder (GH Joint)	Mobile
Elbows	Stable
Wrists	Mobile
Hands/Fingers	Stable

If you skip over foundational stability and rush into aggressive swinging drills, you’re likely to build dysfunction instead of speed.

Principles of Speed Training for Golf

Here are four key pillars we use when programming speed development into our online golf performance programs:

1. Build Stability First (Core & Glutes)

You can’t generate power from a shaky base. Start by building core strength and glute strength to provide your upper body with a strong platform to push and rotate from. Think of these areas as your engine block—they must hold strong under pressure.

2. Train the Brakes (Deceleration Muscles)

“The body will only move as fast as it knows it can slow down.”
Training muscles like the hamstrings, lats, and obliques to decelerate rotational or jumping movements gives the brain permission to move faster. This is how you unlock new speed ceilings.

Drills like:

Lateral bounds with controlled landings
Med ball slams with forced eccentric stops
Rotational landmine pulls with deceleration holds

…all develop this essential control.

3. Move Fast Under Load

Don’t fall into the trap of only lifting heavy and slow. While strength is essential, speed is velocity-specific—meaning you have to train it directly. Whether it’s trap bar jumps, sled sprints, or med ball throws, we use ballistic training principles to move explosively under controlled resistance.

This builds what we call your ballistic threshold—your body’s ability to produce force quickly while maintaining coordination.

4. Contrast Training Is Key

Contrast training pairs strength movements with speed-based drills. For example:

Heavy trap bar deadlift → Vertical jump
Half-kneeling cable press → Rotational med ball throw
Goblet squat → Band-assisted squat jumps

This combination teaches the nervous system to fire faster and apply max force in sport-specific contexts.

Speed Training for Golfers of All Ages

Whether you’re a competitive golfer looking to break 80 or a senior golfer trying to maintain distance, speed training is scalable.

Younger golfers: Can handle higher loads and ballistic movements
Senior golfers: Focus more on deceleration control, stability, and light-speed drills

No matter your age, the concept is the same—train mobility where needed, build stability in key regions, and develop speed safely through consistent, progressive programming.

Speed Is a Skill—Train It Like One

Speed training isn’t about maxing out one drill or chasing launch monitor metrics. It’s about improving the way your body moves—from the ground up—so it can deliver effortless power through the golf swing.

At Kinetix Golf Performance, our speed training systems are built on these foundations. If you’re ready to gain distance, swing faster, and feel more powerful, it starts with moving better.