Welcome to Golfer-to-Golfer, where we try to learn from all different kinds of avid players out there, in hopes that the rest of us can take away something that might improve our own games.
Everyone wants more speed in their swings — and that includes the pros. If you offered any player a few extra mph of clubhead zip, he or she would take it in an instant. Speed unlocks power in a way that no other traits do, and it’s taken over the game as a result.
Over the last few years, advanced analytics have quantified the advantages that power gives, and it has changed the game as a result. Bryson DeChambeau’s chase for speed is the most famous example of the phenomenon taking over pro golf, but plenty of others have followed his lead. Bombs are all the rage these days.
Hannah Gregg, a social media influencer and pro golfer, is one such example of a new-age player enamored by the need for speed. She spent much of her second year as a pro chasing speed gains, and by the end of the season had added nearly 10 mph to her clubhead speed.
Here’s how she did it.
Okay Team- Here are the 3 things I did in 2021 that I believe have made the difference in my ability to hit #bombs. These may not work for you, and that’s okay. I am just sharing what worked for me, a 5’4 hyper-mobile second year pro golfer 🧵:
— Hannah Gregg (@hannahbggg) December 31, 2021
1. Mass > mobility
Gregg was already quite mobile before her speed journey, but she lacked the strength needed to properly utilize that advantage. So she focused on building muscle so she could use that hyper-flexibility.
“I’m very flexible, so I didn’t feel like there was much ‘snap’ to my swing – just a long, fluid motion,” she wrote. “We worked on building muscle (specifically glutes) & ACTIVATING muscles instead of stretching them.”
2. Technique tweak
Gaining speed doesn’t just require faster swing speed. You also must swing more efficiently. For Gregg, that meant better using the ground to generate power.
“I used to be very in-to-out with very little use of the ground & my swing relied heavily on timing,” she wrote. “If I’d swing faster, the ball would go sideways. My swing had to improve before I could add speed, so my coach helped me make a plan to do that.”
3. Max out
Like a powerlifter trying to notch a new personal best, sometimes you have to go all out. Gregg said that at the end of every range session, she’d hit 20 balls at maximum effort.
“I do this at the end of my practice so that I’m tired to build endurance,” Gregg wrote. “For those 20 balls, I don’t allow myself to care where it goes or how the contact is. Strictly speed focused.”
