Fit for Play
The Need for
Clubhead Speed
Add distance to your game with these exercises
by DAVE POND
T
AKE A LOOK at the heavy hit-
ters playing pro golf, and you’ll
see they have a variety of body
shapes and sizes. See, going deep off the
tee isn’t about huge muscles or being built
for power—it comes down to one simple
thing: clubhead speed.
“In today’s game of golf, clubhead speed
is the most important factor, and it’s not
even close,” said Kyle Kelly, PGA golf pro-
fessional at Virginia Beach’s Heron Ridge
Golf Club. “We talk about the pros because
that’s what we have data on, but if you take
the top 10 driving distance leaders and pit
them against the top 10 accuracy leaders,
the driving distance leaders earn seven
times more money.”
But what does that mean for the average
golfer? Kelly cited a recent study in which
golfers were asked to hit three types of
shots: a normal drive, one drive focused
on distance, and a third drive focused on
simply finding the fairway.
Overall, those focused on hitting a shot
in the fairway, found that they became
shorter without improving shot disper-
sion,” he said. “Meanwhile, their drives
that focused on distance gained distance
without sacrificing accuracy.”
And when it comes to lower scores, it
made a big difference: an extra 20 yards
off the tee—regardless of accuracy—
added up to an average of three strokes
less per round.
Today’s generation of golfers is a direct
result of the success Tiger Woods has seen
on tour, as the first widely known golfer to
truly train like a rotational sports athlete.
Whether you’re on tour or not, if you play
golf, you need to train—even if you and the
gym are currently total strangers.
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HIP TWISTERS
›› HIP TWISTERS ALLOW YOU TO IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY TO SEPARATE
YOUR UPPER AND LOWER BODY MOVEMENTS.
1. Stand tall facing a mirror, holding a club in front of you (perpendicular to the ground).
2. Keeping your shoulders facing forward, try to rotate the hips right and left without
moving your upper body.
3. Aim to reach maximum rotation without forcing a stretch.
“Working with a TPI Instructor to fig-
ure out how to get in better golf shape
is a fantastic way to start,” said Kelly,
a TPI certified gold professional. “The
screenings take 10 minutes and give you a
complete guide as to what you do well and
what areas you need to work on.
“Strength isn’t necessarily the biggest
factor in hitting the ball far—strength
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J U LY / A U G U ST 2 0 1 9
helps when hitting out of US Open-type
rough that the average golfer doesn’t have
to play out of very often. Being mobile in
the hips, thorax, shoulders, and neck is a
bigger factor than brute strength.”
To that end, here are a few exercises
Kelly suggests to golfers he trains—all of
which can be done from the comfy con-
fines of your home.
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