Spring Training-Do You Want To Be Average? The Need for Speed!

Have you ever wondered why everyone seems to be “obsessed” with hitting it farther? I have done hundreds of golf schools and golf experiences and I have yet to hear one person say, “I wish hit it shorter”. I do recall a school I did many years ago for ESPN and an elder statesman came to me at lunch (nobody ever sat with me because I was the guy changing their full swings) and shared his theory for why he drove it inconsistently…he said he needed to slow down. I nearly barfed up my lunch! His average drive was under 200 yards. Slow down? He needed and we need to speed up. His ball flight height was about 60 feet high not 100 feet indicating some speed and smash (center face contact).

Have you noticed the golf courses lately? There are not many old builds anymore that are not adding length wherever they can and new builds are longer and longer. We have to adapt if we want to be successful. Have you noticed the athletes lately that are playing professional golf? Take a look at their bodies. Large glutes and quads, narrow waists, broad, retracted shoulders and narrow chests. They work at vertical speed all the time as well as rotational power, they are mobile and stable and strong. These guys and girls are built for speed. The great thing is, you can be too! We all have access to the tools and training the top level pros employ.

I’ll share my own speed journey. I will also share that I had a mentor who believed the older you got the slower got and there was nothing you could do about it. Luckily, I took that as a challenge and not to heart. I felt the opposite because I was seeing athletes of middle age breaking speed records in sprinting and also long drive so I called a friend of mine in that world of golf and picked his brain. I was enlightened right away! I hired a trainer (yes a Coach)  but not just anyone it is someone who is a biomechanics specialist and understands forces (vertical and horizontal) and also one who knows movements to create force, power and speed while staying injury free. Many golfers are caught up in swinging heavy implements and that is fine as part of a larger protocol of wellness..I have used Speed Sticks, Mach 3 (which I love), The Stack System and Golf Forever but there is nothing that can replace jumps, throws, sprints, hinged movements and  swings done correctly. Things you can do right at home or your local gym. If you did 3 sets of 10 air squats, 3 sets of 20 yard high knees skips, 3 sets of 20 yards caroicas  and 3 sets of 10 vertical jumps 3 days a week you’d be better off for golf than doing a traditional workout. To be fast you have to train for speed. I’d also add that speed is intentional. How many times have you ever tried to “swing fast”? For most the answer would be “never!”. We generally think of slower movements for more control but if we move fast than that speed becomes our normal, we adapt and we can push even farther than that becomes our normal. Of course we will plateau but many of us can gain immediately 6-8 miles per hour of speed with just intention.

In my case, I started at 100 mph swing speed with driver when I started my speed journey two years ago and have maintained 110 mph for over a year. That is 250 yards at the beginning total to now as far as 320 total. Hitting it farther is way more fun! My ball speed is faster as high as 175 mph up from 151 mph. Last season my average for drives was 303 yards and I am 61 years old turning 62 soon; I am still trying to find the right shaft and club head for my driver and currently am playing a Callaway PARADYM Black Diamond with a Tense K series shaft. I also went from a 105 gram iron shaft, regular to a 130 gram s400 so there are equipment changes that come with speed and that is fine with me!  I don’t want to be average!

In closing, I think of it this way as I help  many elite and professional athletes with their golf games. They are fast and not one of them swings a weighted club, what do they all have in common? They sprint. They jump. They leap. They move side to side quickly. They throw. We should too! if you need help and want to understand more please contact me at brianjacobsgolf@gmail.com