WHAT ARE GOOD EXERCISES TO INCREASE MY CLUBHEAD SPEED IN GOLF?

One of the best ways to increase clubhead speed is to develop more strength and power in your hips. Two golf specific exercises that will have you bombing it farther than your buddies are planking on a physio ball with hip rotation and using resistance bands on your ankles while doing your golf rotation with an 8 lb. to 10 lb. medicine ball. Golf Digest Fitness Editor Ron Kaspriske demonstrates these two exercises that will help you generate more power and distance off the tee.

Power in the golf swing comes from the torque we generate by our contact with the ground through our feet, legs, and hips resisting against our core muscles as we rotate in our backswing and downswing. You can build additional power by focusing on the backswing's movements under a little extra resistance. Each of these movements can be done inside or outside, completed as part of your overall fitness regimen, and is guaranteed to help you build more power from the ground up.

Physio Ball Planks with Hip Rotation

First, planking on a physio ball (or stationary bench) while making hip rotations, is an amazingly simple exercise for building core strength and promoting better hip mobility and power. A plank position is very similar to a push up position, except you rest on your forearms, not your hands. Once you are in this plank position, your core muscles will be instantly engaged. You should feel some tension and flexing of your stomach, hips, back and even hamstrings. Once in this prone position you will bring one knee toward your stomach and twist it inward across your abdomen. This simulates your golf rotation. You will feel a lot of tension in your core as those muscles seek to stabilize and balance the rest of your twisting body.

Two sets of 10 rotations in each direction will have you sweating. You will find it provides some unanticipated cardio work.

Resistance Band on Ankles with Medicine Ball Throws

Changing direction from your backswing to your downswing with torque and speed creates that whip effect and more club head speed. Using resistance like an 8 lb. to 10 lb. medicine ball will help train the smaller muscles in this movement. Make these moves part of your golf fitness routine, and you will be bombing the ball like never before.

Place a resistance band around your ankles. Hold and 8 lb. to 10 lb. medicine ball and turn and hold it on your right hip as you load your pelvis and simulate your golf hip rotation. That's creating a nice little stretch and some torque against the ground. Next, step laterally, feeling the resistance of the band around your ankle, while swinging the medicine ball in a similar motion that you would swing a golf club. Do this ten times in a row. Next, you'll throw the medicine ball after loading and releasing your pelvis. This will be done with almost no arm movement. You can really feel yourself digging to the ground so it's great use of the ground. The ground is where we create all of our power from. 

These two movements nicely complement the power building exercises that can be found here and here.

Ron Kaspriske - Golf Digest Fitness Editor