Top 3 Things Senior Golfers Should Focus On For Increasing Clubhead Speed
You know that distance is king in golf. I’m sure you’ve seen all of the PGA Tour players chasing more distance. Unfortunately, you’ve probably noticed that as you get older, you may be losing more and more distance on your shots. Now what used to be an 8 iron into the green, might be a 6 or even a 5 iron. In working to improve clubhead speed in senior golfers, I have found that there are 3 areas they should focus on.
Pain
Pain can really slow you down in more ways than one. The subject of pain can be tricky, as it is a different experience for each and every person. But the pain that you’ve been experiencing in your back, knee, or shoulder may just be what’s holding you back.
Let’s say the back pain you are experiencing is tolerable. Even if pain is tolerable, your brain may stop you from doing what you want in the golf swing. How?
Well, the golf swing is a very quick and powerful movement, which requires movement of the body in multiple directions. If your brain senses that their could be more pain by moving in a certain direction or speeding up the swing, it’s going to say “absolutely not.” Your brain and body are very smart at avoiding pain and allowing you to move in a way that does so. There are many techniques that I have implemented to get clients out of pain, which usually results in improved mobility and function. Including improved swing mechanics and faster swing speeds!
Sometimes the actual site of pain is not the true source of the pain. Which brings me to the next section…
Mobility
You need to have ample mobility in various body parts for everyday activities, let along the golf swing. Maybe you’re noticing less motion with reaching behind your back or with turning your head while driving your car? This loss in mobility can eventually lead to pain because you may use compensatory patterns.
A lot of times, I will see a golfer who complains of back pain or elbow pain where the main cause of the pain isn’t actually the area that is in pain. The back and the elbow just happen to be the innocent bystanders that end up being in pain because of a lack of mobility.
There are 4 main rotational centers that are required in the golf swing: neck, shoulders, mid-back, and hips. Without enough mobility in these 4 areas, you can modify your swing or be satisfied with your loss in distance. You can test out each of these areas by watching this playlist here to see if you’re lacking mobility in any of the 4 rotational centers.
You’ll be happy to know that there is no age limit on which mobility can’t be improved! The key is to find out where you’re limited and learn how to address those exact limitations. No person will have the exact same limitations or even respond to the same interventions, therefore you will need a specific set of movements so you can play your best.
The best part is that you don’t need to spend hours at a time to improve your mobility. You can improve your mobility just by spending 5-15 minutes per day with specific drills just for you. Not only will those mobility improvements help on the course, but you’ll see improvements off the course as well!
Power
The last area for clubhead speed in senior golfers to focus on is power. Power has to do with moving weight quickly. That is exactly what the golf swing is, a very quick and forceful movement.
But as we age, we lose muscle strength and size. However, we lose power at a much more significant rate. You may have been able to add weight to your bicep curls over the past year. But how does that compared to your ability jump high and throw a ball quickly? If you’re not working on moving quick, you’re getting slower!
Just as with mobility, there’s no age limit to when you can improve your power. There are golf-specific power tests that I take all of my clients through to see where they’re lacking the most power. With the results from those tests, you’ll have a specific plan that’s made just for you to get more powerful. There are plenty of drills you can do to become more powerful, even if you have limitations with jumping or throwing because of an injury or surgery you may have had.
By working with golfers to decrease their pain, improve mobility, and increase power, I’ve seen clubhead speed gains of at least 4-5mph in as little as 6-8 weeks. That’s a 10-15 yard increase off the tee!
If you’re local to the Portland, Maine area and would like to work with me to get more distance off the tee, you can book an evaluation at this link here. If you’d like a little more information, you can set up a free in-person session to really dive into what’s going on and how we can help you.
Not local to the Portland, Maine area but would still like to work with me or want more information on how we can specifically help? You can set up a free call here.
If this was helpful or if you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me in email at joe@puredrivephysio.com.
