How to Increase Your Swing Speed in Golf

At Swing Align, no golfer has ever asked us how to hit it shorter!  All golfers want more distance. How to increase your golf swing speed is about good fundamentals, power, efficiency and timing rather than just swinging harder.  There is a direct correlation between increased swing speed and success.  On the PGA Tour players with higher swing speeds make more money.  For the rest of us a higher swing speed almost always means a lower handicap.

You can improve your swing speed by building your swing fundamentals including your grip and set up, increasing your body rotation, and improving your power and timing. There are a number of training devices available to help you to increase your swing speed.  This article will cover multiple ways to get faster so you understand the options available to increase your golf swing speed.

Body Position and Swing Speed

A good set-up position and spine tilt is vital to increase swing speed. When setting up to hit your driver there are a few things you can do to ensure the right attack angle, which will prime you for maximizing your club head speed. The first step is to align squarely with the ball position forward in your stance. This creates space to give you more time to build up swing speed throughout your swing. The first step will help the second, which is tilt your spine back to angle your shoulders slightly up at address. The spine tilt will help you to hit up on the ball at impact, deliver the club with the proper loft at impact and keep the club's attack angle from getting too down or steep which causes excess spin. This body position also provides a more secure foundation for your backswing, which will allow you to turn your shoulders under your chin to coil deep against the brace of your trail leg without swaying. Remember to turn both your shoulders and hips to create maximum rotation at the top of your swing for the highest possible club head speed at impact.

Swing Form and Swing Speed

The best way to increase golf swing speed is to maintain good form throughout, starting with a good set-up and takeaway, progressing with proper body rotation to the top, and a well timed and connected transition and downswing.  But how can you work on all aspects of your swing in one easy way?

Swing Align and Swing Speed

Setting up square at address is of particular importance when working on how to increase golf swing speed. Setting-up square to your intended target line with your shoulders, chest and lower body aligned, with the proper amount of tilt in your shoulders, more tilt for a driver and less for your irons, is the bread and butter of the Swing Align device. Swing Align will help you see if you’re in that great body position we talked about above to increase your golf swing speed.

When using Swing Align you can easily stop at the top of your swing and check the position of the alignment rod to see if you have fully turned away from the ball. If the rod is perpendicular to your target line you have rotated properly. If the alignment rod is level or angled slightly down towards the ground at the top you have stayed on the proper swing plane and are now ready to deliver the club with maximum speed.

When wearing the Swing Align device your arms and body will stay connected and together allowing you to use your big muscles to create club head speed at impact!  For more instruction on alignment, takeaway, rotation and arm connection see the Swing Align Instruction Blog.

There are other effective training aids and methods to increase your golf swing speed and improve your timing and delivery to impact.  Swing Align offers outstanding speed products to help you swing faster.  Use a Power Stick to increase your strength and flexibility, and see how counterweighting helps you swing faster with stability.  Use a Speed Stick to see how arm speed and body rotation work together to increase golf swing speed. Use a Click Stick or challenge yourself with a Swing Align Whip to improve your timing from backswing to transition to impact.

Grip & Club Head Speed

A correct Grip is essential to properly squaring and freely swinging the club through impact to produce higher swing and ball speed. Fail to get the club square, and you’ll fail to increase speed at the most vital point in the process - impact! The biggest difference between good and average players is the ability to control the face to path relationship of the golf club.

A good place to start is with the top hand. You want to grip the club not in the palm, but where your fingers and palm meet. This will provide the proper amount of grip pressure and control while allowing you to release the club squarely and freely, producing maximum golf swing speed without your hands inhibiting a free motion or turning the club face. Having the club sit properly in your fingers gives you a lot more control over the face and matches the club face to your club path properly.

Common Swing Speed Questions

The question of how to increase club head speed will inevitably lead you to a number of related questions. The more answers you can find on the topic, the better prepared you will be to face the realities of increasing golf swing speed. We’ll attempt to debunk some of the more common questions here, and save you from the google search rabbit hole.

Does swinging a weighted golf club help swing speed?

Yes! But remember it’s not all about strength it is also about timing and speed.  Speed training where you alternate between swinging a heavier and lighter weight helps train your body and mind to increase your golf swing speed.  Learning to build speed from the top of your swing through impact with better timing and rotation is also helpful.

Does golf shaft flex affect swing speed?

Shaft flex can affect your golf swing speed and influence your timing. It is a good practice to base your choice of shaft flex on your swing speed and tempo.  In general, the faster you swing and the quicker your tempo, the stiffer you want your shafts but strive to play the softest shaft you can without losing control.  A shaft that is too stiff robs you of feel and timing.  Remember, it is not always how fast you swing the club, it is how you swing it fast.  A well-timed swing with the proper shaft flex that matches how hard and how fast you swing will always produce a better result.

Does golf club weight affect swing speed?

Overall club weight can affect your golf swing speed and influence your timing. A club with a lighter shaft is easier to swing faster.  But a lighter club can also be harder to control.  You should choose a shaft that is as light as you can control.  Recently, shafts that are slightly counterweighted, particularly driver shafts can help you swing faster.  Counter weight, which is essentially more weight close to or under your hands, makes the club feel lighter in the head while the weight near your hands adds control.

Does the golf club you play affect speed?

Yes!  If you are buying new equipment get a club fitting to match the product to your game.  Buying a club without being fit is like buying a car without test driving it.  And if your equipment is older consider upgrading.  Modern clubs are built for speed with better materials and construction, lighter, faster faces, more forgiveness and stability.  Forgiveness or MOI is actually just faster speed as the less energy your club loses to twisting on off-center hits, the more energy goes into the ball.  That means more distance!

What is the average golf head speed?

The average club head speed for many male, amateur golfers is between 80-90 mph. Leading LPGA players come in around 90-100 mph. Tour pros tend to have average golf swing speeds in the 120 mph range or even higher, and long drive competitors are all the way up in the 140s or higher.  However, an equally important number is your ball speed. If you have the chance to hit your driver on a launch monitor, ask about your ball speed.  You want it to be as close to 1.5 times your swing speed as possible. This shows how effectively you have used your club speed. Ball speed can quickly show if you are getting as much as you can out of your swing and your clubs.

What is Tiger Woods’ swing speed?

Tiger Woods’ average golf swing speed clocks in just over 120 mph. This is closer to tour average now versus near the upper end of club head speeds you see on the tour these days which approach 130 mph. The slowest swingers on tour all still swing above 110 mph.

Improve Your Speed With Swing Align

Swing Align helps you increase your club speed by improving your set-up position and keeping your swing connected with your arms and body in the right structure from takeaway to finish.  Being able to feel and stay “connected” through the swing is one of the great benefits of the Swing Align device and something players of all skill levels including PGA Tour players benefit from.  PGA Tour player Tom Hoge uses Swing Align to keep his arm structure solid at the top of his swing restricting any arm run off which would get him out of position.

Swing Align is particularly effective at helping you rotate the club square without trying to flip the club through impact or following through with the dreaded chicken-wing finish.  Steering and guiding the club through impact with bad timing will always reduce your speed, so check out all the different Swing Align products and start hitting it farther in no time!