How to Increase Clubhead (Swing) Speed for Seniors: Gain Distance in Multiple Ways
Everyone wants to increase their clubhead speed, but seniors may need it most as they begin to lose some over the years. Don’t let a silly thing like age keep you from playing the back tees.
Seniors who increase their clubhead speed don’t have to lose control either. There are methods that allow you to make small adjustments that will make big differences.
Most seniors don’t realize the impact that the wrists have on their swing power, so learning about this and practicing efficiently can have profoundly positive effects.
Learn about optimizing your wrists below and combine that with the other tips and drills to increase your clubhead speed no matter your age.
Increase Swing Speed for Seniors (Key Takeaways)
There are only a handful of things seniors need to do to increase clubhead speed. Review the details below after studying these quick key takeaways.
- Avoid a steep swing plane that produces too much spin, and instead implement a shallow or flat swing plane to optimize speed.
- Monitor and improve wrist release before, during, and after impact.
- Utilize full body rotation and stop trying to produce speed with just arms.
- Control your launch angle, adapt to each shot, and use distance effectively.
- Increase your flexibility and overall physical health.
- Get fit for the proper equipment, not just your driver.
Contents
6 Proven Tips for Seniors to Increase Swing Speed and Distance
Utilizing your body differently to adapt to your age is the best way to regain any lost distance over the years.
Use a combination of all the tips below to gain ten or even 20+ yards to all your clubs.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
Shallower Plane
As we age, our joints and muscles lose their range of motion. To counteract this, the arms start becoming more involved, which always causes a steeper swing. Steep swings increase spin and height, thereby shortening distance.
If you’ve been slowly losing distance over time, then it’s probably a sign that your swing has become progressively steeper.
Shallowing your plane will help you optimize your launch angle and, as a bonus, will make striking your long irons and hybrids much cleaner. Use the drill and advice below to ensure your swing is on a positive plane.
- Video Timestamp: 1:50-2:30
Correct Wrist Release
There is more than one way for seniors to use their wrists in the golf swing to gain swing speed, but the most helpful is proper wrist release.
Too many golfers, of all levels, flip their wrists at impact, which causes a massive loss in distance.
Many don’t realize they do this because it doesn’t happen in their practice swing. Using a system like Hackmotion will identify, diagnose, and treat this, as well as other instinctual errors that are happening in any golf swing.
Proper loading and unloading of the wrists at just the right moment can add 25 yards or more, as proven by Hackmotion’s insights of over a million swings analyzed. Prevent flipping by focusing on optimal wrist hinge and ideal release points.
Click here to access our free Stop Flipping Wrists at Impact video course.
Focus on Full Body Rotation
Not all seniors will be able to improve this aspect of their swing, but for those willing to put in a little practice time, it will make a massive difference in your clubhead speed.
As mentioned before, as we age, our swings tend to get arms-y. Resist this by focusing on turning your torso and hips as much as your health allows.
You don’t need much rotation to make a difference, as long as you hit these key points, you’ll be doing all you can to add speed. Use a mirror or the Hackmotion system to ensure you’re in the correct position and can track your practice to efficiently improve and avoid making the same mistakes repeatedly.
- Turn Shirt Buttons and Belt Buckle—Simply focus on getting these two articles of clothing rotating back and through the ball, and you’ll be well on your way to adding clubhead speed. Extending your backswing with just your arms will only invite inconsistencies.
- Flared Feet—You can increase your mobility by pointing your toes to 11 o’clock with the front foot and just barely 1 o’clock with your back foot. This will loosen your hips so they can move more easily.
- Weight Centered or Forward—Distance doesn’t come from weight shifting, it comes from weight coiling. Keep your weight within the insides of your feet until after the ball is hit, then follow through to your finish with weight entirely on the front side.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
Create a Higher or Lower Launch Angle Depending on the Shot
Every shot you face will present a different challenge. It’s beneficial to have a standard swing that’s both predictable and adaptable.
It may help more to hit a shot that rolls out more, or sometimes you will need a shot that carries further in the air. Knowing the exact distance you need and being able to adjust to each shot will give you a significant advantage.
A simple way to do this is by adjusting your ball position.
If you want more carry, you can move the ball up in your stance, and if you want more roll, move it back.
By how much will depend on which club you’re hitting. For a driver, no more than two ball widths either way, and for a 7-iron or less, no more than a ball width either way.
Keep in mind that more carry doesn’t mean more distance. Because the launch angle is higher, it will have much less roll.
Shots that are hit lower will have less carry but may end up being your longest shots overall, depending on how much roll they get after landing.
Increase Flexibility and Physical Fitness
Regaining some strength you may have lost over the years can be done at home or in the gym. If you’ve been golfing for a long time and notice a decline in swing speed, then regaining it will require some effort.
Simple activities, such as walking around the neighborhood or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, are great ways to get started.
Next, add a simple daily stretching routine that you can do in the morning or, at the very least, before golf or practice.
Seniors who want to seriously increase their swing speed should seek professional personal training and visit the gym three to five times a week. Building muscle in combination with increased flexibility will add clubhead speed without requiring any changes to your swing.
Get Fit for the Correct Equipment
Once you’ve completed everything above, the final step is to optimize your equipment. You will need professional help from a certified fitter to determine if your current equipment is even a problem in the first place.
Be sure to discuss these topics with your fitter so you know exactly what you’re getting.
- Shaft flexibility to create distance while still keeping control.
- Driver shaft kick point and how it affects launch angle.
- Optimized lofts on all clubs to get the correct spin rates.
- Length of each club and finding a balance between distance and control.
- Club type (you may not benefit from blade-style irons anymore, sorry).
- Proper golf ball with the correct compression, spin rate, cover material, and durability.
Drills to Help Seniors Increase Clubhead Speed
Use these dedicated drills on the practice tee to reinforce the tips above.
Simply reading about increasing your clubhead speed is not enough; you must introduce your body to the changes in a pressure-free environment, such as the driving range.
Casting Drill
Eliminating the most common problem of wrist flipping is easy with the Hackmotion system and their specially designed ‘No Casting’ drill.
This was created specifically for golfers who want to optimize their wrists by correctly hinging and unhinging their wrists at the perfect moment in the swing.
Fix Your Casting with HackMotion
Train to fix casting by generating power with your core and lower body.
HackMotion Casting Drill – Step by Step:
- Slow Rehearsals: Make a normal backswing, then begin the downswing by shifting your weight left and rotating your hips. Focus on not pulling down with your arms.
- Maintain Trail Wrist Bend: Check your HackMotion trail wrist data.Keep the trail wrist extended (bent) as you initiate the downswing, avoiding an early “throw” of the club.
- Arms Follow: Let the arms drop naturally; the club should “lag” behind your hands. This maintains stored power and prevents an over-the-top cast.
- Progressive Speed: Start slowly, gradually building up speed in your downswing. Keep monitoring your wrist angles, looking for late release (not early cast).
HackMotion Tip: If your trail wrist extension “straightens” too soon in the downswing graph, you’re casting.
Mini Basketball Drill
To engage your body more, you need to limit your arm movements or have great control over them.
Syncing your body with your arms is a power move and will increase clubhead speed without sacrificing control.
All you need for this drill is a mini-basketball, volleyball, or inflatable beach ball of a similar size. You don’t want a regulation-sized basketball because that will be too bulky for most golfers unless you’re as big as Shaquille O’Neal.
- Video Timestamp: 0:53-3:49
Mini Basketball Drill – Step by Step:
- Take your ball of choice and hold it between your forearms while gripping any club.
- Initiate your backswing while keeping the ball steady and focusing on rotating your body with your arms.
- Do the same on your downswing.
- You can hit small shots with this, but it’s best to start with practice swings. It’s meant to create the sensation of what it feels like when your body and arms are finally in sync.
Motorcycle Drill
Another popular and Hackmotion-specific drill helps further train and understand how seniors can use their wrists to gain clubhead speed.
This drill helps optimize the extension and flexion of your wrists so they can release properly and remain consistent from one swing to the next.
- Video Timestamp: 6:52-9:53
HackMotion Motorcycle Drill – Step by Step:
- After calibrating the sensor, the app will guide you into the perfect setup position.
- Next, it will ask you to go to the top of your backswing and will not let you continue until your wrists are in the correct position.
- When you downswing, it may ask you to repeat the downswing motion multiple times to ensure your wrists stay correct. Twisting them the same way you would a throttle on a motorcycle may be necessary; the app will indicate when this is the case.
- Only swing through when instructed, and once you do, the app will compile the information and give you a rating on how your wrists performed. If successful, great; if not, then the areas that need improvement will be displayed, and you can repeat the drill.
Easy Band Exercise
You don’t have to get a gym membership and lift heavy weights to gain clubhead speed.
Most seniors just need to loosen up and increase their range of motion, and to do this, all you need is an athletic band.
Once you have the band, there are endless exercises and stretches you can do to improve all parts of your body. However, to specifically gain more swing speed, do this exercise once every other day, especially on days when you will be playing.
- Video Timestamp: 1:40-3:54
Easy Band Exercise – Step by Step:
- Get a resistance band and hold it across your upper back along your shoulder blades.
- Secure each end by using your thumbs.
- Take your usual stance and be sure to maintain your spine angle throughout the entire stretch.
- Rotate your torso and hips as far as you can and hold for five breaths. If you can’t hold for that long, then reduce your rotation.
- Do this for both sides to maintain balance in your muscles.
Final Thoughts
Losing clubhead speed as time goes by is common, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get it back. Of course, when we’re all younger, our bodies are more responsive, but you can still improve your condition and swing mechanics at any age.
Educating yourself and practicing proper wrist movement with the Hackmotion system is the closest you can get to a guaranteed increase in club head speed for seniors. Wrists are often underutilized and can be intimidating to start tinkering with unless you have an instructor or a premium training program like Hackmotion.
Use this advanced technology along with the other tips and drills to regain your speed and keep your scores low, if not lower than earlier years.
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