Jon Rahm is the new World No. 1 after winning the Memorial at Jack’s Place, but he didn’t get there overnight.
He got there by committing to a process that would improve his body, his swing and his on-course performance, a process that started seven years ago with performance coach and founder of the THP System, Spencer Tatum.
Rahm’s backswing is notoriously short, and he has limited internal rotation in his hips, which is why his fitness routine has focused on mobility, stability and sequencing.
Despite his shorter backswing, Rahm is able to generate plenty of clubhead speed, recently hitting 144 mph with a weighted club. The key to this? A workout that trains him to “move well, move weight and move fast.”
In the first video, Rahm is working on his explosiveness. By aggressively jumping out of the half-squat position, he is using the ground to explode up. This strengthens his quads and hamstrings, but also translates to the way he uses the ground to power through the golf ball.
Another important part of Rahm’s training routine is swinging weighted clubs, which has been proven to improve clubhead speed. If you can swing a weighted club fast, just think how easy it will be to swing your own clubs the same way. Rahm hits an impressive 144 mph with this weighted club, which means his clubhead speed with a regular golf club in his hand is even higher.
Maintaining posture is also incredibly important in the golf swing, especially for people who have limited mobility to begin with, because the golf swing is all about limiting the variables. For Rahm, doing a lunge while maintaining his posture helps train the stability he needs in his swing. Including functional, compound movements like this in his fitness routine help Rahm translate this and other basic principles to the golf swing.