Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
I like trying to hit the ball hard. When I go to the simulator, I always carve out some time at the end of my sessions to swing as hard as I can. There’s nothing more satisfying than catching one just right and seeing a new personal best flash up on screen.
But while chasing speed is a fun conquest, it can also be frustrating. There are days when I feel sluggish and slow, and my swing speed reflects that. Worse yet, there are weeks on end where I’ve felt like I hit a plateau, maxing out on my swing speed for good.
Such was the case for me late last year. And after failing to add any swing speed for several weeks, I felt at a loss. That’s when I turned to swing-speed guru Bernie Najar. Not only is he a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, but he’s also taught some of the longest hitters in the game, such as Kyle Berkshire.
At last winter’s Top 100 Teacher Summit, I teamed up with Bernie for a speed training boot camp to get as many tips and tricks on speed as I could. Check out the video below to see all of them, or read on for a simple tip that will instantly boost your swing speed.
Try this for an instant speed boost
Clubhead speed is measured at the moment you impact the ball, but if you want more power, you need to think about speeding up long before that. In fact, how fast you’re going at impact is directly tied to how fast you start your swing.
“What’s important to realize is that energy into the club happens early in the backswing,” Bernie says. “It’s not ‘take it back slow.‘”
One of the most popular adages in golf is that you should take the club back “low and slow.” But if you are trying to hit the ball longer, well, that’s a load of BS.
To get the maximum amount of energy into the golf club — and generate more speed — it’s important to put that energy into the club as soon as possible.
Think about how it looks when Bryson DeChambeau is swinging a driver. His takeaway is faster than lots of amateurs’ swings — and that’s no accident. If you want to get the most speed possible, you’ve got to start ripping the club back fast.
“We’ve got to get you putting more into the golf club early,” Bernie says. “Putting more into the golf club means you really have to rev it up a little.”
If you’re struggling to get more swing speed, give it a shot. It’ll challenge your need to feel in control throughout your entire swing, but you’ll also find that you have more speed in the tank than you thought.
Bernie Najar is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and the director of instruction at Caves Valley GC in Owings Mills, Md. If you want to learn more about his teaching philosophies, check out his book Speed/Power/Finesse: How to Play the Three Games of Golf.