Can I Improve My Clubhead Speed During Lockdown?

Article by Golfshake Ambassador Kevin Paver

‘What’s your clubhead speed with driver?”. It seems to be a popular question these days with the huge amount of data we can all get our mitts on. The guys on tour are all obsessed with it and are working hard to increase it. As we have all learnt, a faster swing speed will ‘in theory’ equate to more ball speed and subsequently, longer drives. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want that?

For me personally, I have noticed quite a drop in swing speed over the past couple of years, of around 5 or 6 mph (with Driver). This was most recently noticed during a driver fitting with Callaway Golf, where my average speed was 90mph. I’m not sure of the exact reasons for this drop; perhaps age is playing a part, or maybe it’s down to technique? Either way, something needed to change.

With no golf currently in action due to Covid-19, I figured this was the perfect time to embark on a challenge to increase my speed, with a goal to reach a mighty 100mph (it’s not that impressive when compared to the likes of Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, who are in excess of 125mph!).

What’s The Plan?

To get on with this challenge, I have enlisted the help of two speed training companions.

1. The FREE ‘Get Golf Fit’ Series on Golfshake

This series is awesome, and perfect during lockdown. Not only does it help with speed training, but it helps you stay physically active. You only need minimal equipment (a 7 iron and some resistance bands, which are easy to get hold of online), and you can do it at home whilst watching re-runs of the Ryder Cup! Also, it doesn’t require a huge amount of time… the full programme can be done in 20 minutes.

2. A speed training aid from Swing Speed Golf

The Swing Speed Golf is a training aid developed to help increase swing speed. Essentailly, it’s a golf shaft with grip and three interchangeable weights - 100g, 150g and 200g. It comes complete with a training programme to follow over an eight week period, which last around 10 minutes per session, and is also recommended you do three times per week.

Benchmarking My Swing Speed

With no chance of hitting the golf course anytime soon, off I went on my merry journey to a faster golf swing! To start this process off, I needed to benchmark my driver swing speed, which I was able to do with SkyTrak. When hitting driver shots on SkyTrak, I did notice an even slower swing from my driver fitting in February, which was measured using TrackMan. Whilst there may be some discrepancies between the devices, I figure as long as I start and continue to measure with the same radar, the results will be consistent.

So, my average speed over the benchmark session was:

Club Speed - 87mph

Ball Speed - 128mph

First Two Weeks

The first two weeks of the ‘Get Golf Fit’ series begins with fairly simple exercises, using just a 7 iron. These are super simple to do and took me around 15 minutes. Week one consists of three exercises, and in week two you simply add on a further three (six in total) and focus largely on creating more force with your lower body. I did these three times per week.
The Swing Speed Golf trainer comes with a really simple to follow plan of exercises. In the first two weeks, you set the trainer up with the lightest weight, which is 100g. You then go through the exercises as instructed in the guide, which includes a series of normal swings, step and swings and left handed (if you’re right handed) swings. It’s worth mentioning that I found the left handed swings ridiculously hard to do at first! As with the ‘Get Golf Fit’ series, you do these three times per week, and only take around 10 minutes to complete.

The Results After Two Weeks

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really expecting too much after just two weeks. I did feel like I was able to swing the club faster and still be in control, but as I’m not actually playing golf, I didn’t have any real scenario based evidence to indicate whether I was hitting the ball further. Into the garden I went, with my golf net and SkyTrak and set about measuring my speed.

After warming up with a few 7 irons shots, I pulled out the driver… and these were the results over 8 shots:

Club Speed - 96 mph

Ball Speed - 140 mph

Impressed would be an understatement! After just two weeks, based on data from SkyTrak, I have gained a mighty 9 mph swing speed and 12 mph ball speed. Now, I’m not suggesting I’m nailing them all down the middle, but I wasn’t doing that with a slower swing speed either!

Have I gained more club head speed with my driver? Absolutely… and what’s most encouraging, we still have 6 weeks to go.

You better watch out Rory!

Checked in with my swing speed on @SkyTrakGolf after two weeks with the SwingSpeed Golf trainer. Massively impressed with the increases after such a short time. Now just need to keep going but work on consistency too. Must have been going after it too as I ripped my shorts ???????? pic.twitter.com/nU0NpuD2jU

— Kevin Paver (@Kevinpaver) April 23, 2020

To sign up to the ‘Get Golf Fit’ series on Golfshake, click here.

The Swing Speed Golf training aid has an RRP of £119 - to find out more - visit https://www.swingspeedgolf.com/.