The Power of Golf (TPI Training)
By Mark Pajich
In 2009 there were 43 players on the PGA Tour that averaged a ball speed of over 170mph. That equals 34% of the players that were fully exempt to play that year. By 2013, this number had jumped to 66 players or 53%. In 2020, 100 of the 125 players or 80% have an average ball speed of more than 170mph. Golf is very quickly becoming a power sport.
Hitting the gym is now the norm for anyone who wishes to improve their game. Current world No. 1, Dustin Johnson, arguably one the of fittest golfers, works out 6 days a week. Rory McIlroy, Camilo Villegas, and more recently Bryson DeChambeau, to name just a few, have shown exactly what fitness training can do to your game.
So How Do They Do It?
For most professional players strength and power training starts during their teenage years, however for any golfer looking to improve their clubhead speed or ball speed, it is never too late to start.
Titleist Performance Institute, or TPI, breaks strength and power training into 4 stages: Strength, Speed, Speed-Strength and Opposite Side Power.
Stage 1: Strength Training
Strength is essential. Without a base platform of strength, it will be impossible to build any real power. Additionally, strength is required to stabilize and control the excessive forces generated in the golf swing and it is at this stage that learning correct strength training techniques is crucial for safety and injury prevention.
Stage 2: Speed Training
Just like strength training, speed training is required to produce power. Speed training teaches the body and muscles to move faster. Speed training exercises include such things as sprinting, throwing, jumping, kicking, and over-speed training.
Stage 3: Speed-Strength Training
To truly generate power, we need to combine strength (force) with speed (velocity). Lifting weights in the gym without the speed component increases strength but it will not increase power.
Exercises at this stage involve weighted implements such as medicine balls or kettlebells moving as fast as possible.
For the fittest of the fittest, Olympic lifting is the best form of power training and this is favoured by the likes of Dustin Johnson and former world No. 1 Long Drive hitter, Jason Zuback.
Stage 4: Opposite Side Power
Finally, TPI recommends the final form of training to improve power is some form of opposite side training. Professional athletes across many sports know that training both their dominant side and non-dominant side improves overall performance. If you are right-handed this means practice batting left-handed, running backwards, throwing a ball left-handed or hitting golf balls left-handed.
Test, Test Test.
So how do you start? Test, test, test! There are a series of tests that Pinnacle Fitness and TPI conduct to measure current fitness, mobility, strength, and power. Over the next couple of months, we will go through some of the simpler tests as well as some exercises you can start to do yourself.
For more information on golf-specific fitness programs please contact us at 012-334-1511 or send us an enquiry here.