Every year Canadians shake the winter doldrums off their golf game, and head out to the fairways. Those early weeks in the season as we whip the rust off our games can be a challenge. With that in mind, each week in April, Golf Town Instructor Franco Sirianni will share a tip on how to prepare for the season. 

Consider this your Golf Town Spring Tune-up.

The Concept: On the heels of last week’s tip about swinging for power is my suggestion about how to improve your speed through training. Physical fitness is a very important aspect in all sports and it’s no different in golf. There are many training aids in the market to build strength in your golf swing. For example:

• Wind resistance training with a swing fan can build proper power that increases upper body strength.
• A heavy weighted training club is another training aid to build on your strength while you are rehearsing your swing.

Drills

You have to keep your reps of continuous non-stop swinging action to about 10 swings. Pause for two minutes and then repeat for a maximum total of three reps.

There are other drills you can use as well to promote faster movement. For example, you can improve your strength training simply by turning a club upside down.

Grip your club up by the head, with the shaft pointing horizontally in front of you. It’s much easier to create and experience speed when making a flat, baseball-style swing.

Find your speed limit: Swing the club around you, keeping the shaft horizontal. Simply try to create the loudest swish you can achieve. You’ll find that the faster you try to swing the shaft, the more your entire body wants to engage.

Baseball hit: Now grip the club as you normally would on the tee, but also swinging it parallel to the ground. Your goal is the same–to find your loudest swish. This will come when you allow your lower body rotation to pull the club forward, your hands and arms arriving later at the ball.

Speed of sound: Finally, with that feeling of speed fresh in your muscle memory, take your posture and swing the club normally. Take that freedom from the baseball swing into this action and you’ll hear the same “swish” sound that came with the two previous drills. You’ll also get more speed at the right time during impact.

WATCH THE INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO. 

A Class A PGA of Canada Professional, Franco Sirianni teaches at Golf Town’s store in St. Hubert, Que. He can be reached at fsirianni@golftown.com.