The Number 1 phyiscal attribute for CLUB HEAD SPEED!

Want to hit the ball further? 

That may be a silly question, it's something me and Joe have spoken a lot about, actually here's our podcast about Swing Speed.

Golf physical attributes have historically been massively under researched and still lack behind other sports. However we are slowly getting some studies come through and I wanted to break down one I found recently, looking at which Physical Characteristics are strongly linked with Club Head Speed (CHS).

From low to high here is what was found: (Don't worry we won't judge you if you skip to the bottom!)

1. Flexibility

Had a negative correlation on Club Head Speed, now what i want to jump in quickly to say is that yes Flexibility may not enhance your ability to move quickly but a lack of it might hinder it. Mobility and Flexibility is something at Macro Golf is incredibly important for longevity and day to day life. Whilst also helping with injury prevention. Yes it's not going to improve your CHS but has many other benefits.

2. Anthropometry 

(Is the measurement of characteristics of the human body such as- Weight, Height, Body Circumferences, Knee-Heel Length, BMI, Waist to Hip Ration)

This was found to have a small-moderate correlation with CHS, going to quickly summarize this one as some factors we cannot control, having a more athletic body type is going to positively effect your chances of generating more speed. 

3. Upper Body Strength

Was found to have a moderate positive correlation with CHS, Gym bros this isn't good news if you are just banging out chest and biceps!

4. Jump Height 

Now we are starting to talk my language, most of my clients now how much of an importance I deem jumping and being able to use your legs for power. 

5. Lower Body Strength

Lower body strength is the ability of the body to exert a maximum force against an object external to the body in one maximum effort of the lower body muscles

Following on from point 4, we are starting to see where in the body needs to be strong to be able to swing the club quickly. DON'T SKIP LEG DAY!

6.  Jump peak power 

Peak Power (W) = (60.7) × (jump height [cm]) + 45.3 × (body mass [kg]) − 2055. If you did want to track your own

Starting to get interesting now, can you see how power has a higher correlation than strength.

7. Upper Body Explosive Strength 

Exactly the same point here, it's great to be strong but for speed we need fast twitch muscle fibres, you need to move quickly. Some of the guys on tour swing in under a second and most of that is the back swing. 

8.  Jump Impulse

Right what we all came for! The number 1 physical attribute in correlating for CHS. 

Lets start by breaking down what is a Jump Impulse- 

Imagine you have a bouncy ball, and you want to make it bounce as high as possible. To do that, you need to give it a good push or throw it down really fast. That push or throw is like the "jump impulse." It's the force that you give to the ball to make it jump up.

Now, when you jump yourself, your legs act like the bouncy ball. The harder you push against the ground with your legs, the higher you'll jump. Just like with the bouncy ball, the force you give to the ground is your "jump impulse." The stronger your legs are and the faster you push against the ground, the higher you'll be able to jump! 

So again we are talking about combing strength and speed (power). I'm going to do another blog on how we can increase all 8 of there physical attributes, but hopefully this has cleared up any confusion you might have had on what to work on for CHS.

If you are looking for a speed plan to follow check it out on the Macro Golf App