Strength training for golf: does it add clubhead speed?

Power goes with clubhead speed. Flexibility doesn’t, in the research so far. · 2 min read · Updated October 2, 2026

In short: Across studies, golfers with more jump power and explosive upper-body strength swing faster, while flexibility shows no clear link. Training studies are small but mostly positive: programs combining strength and golf-specific work averaged about a 4% gain in clubhead speed. In one small trial of low-handicap golfers, driving only improved after 12 weeks of training, while strength had risen by week 6.

How we made this guide: we built it from the research below and checked every number against it: Brennan et al., clubhead speed meta-analysis (2024); Ehlert, clubhead speed correlations (2021); Uthoff et al., resistance training and clubhead speed review (2021); Thompson et al., older golfers (2007); Alvarez et al., 18-week strength program (2012); Parker et al., pre-elite golfers (2017).

Golf fitness advice often leans on stretching and mobility. The research on clubhead speed points somewhere else.

What goes with a faster swing

A 2024 meta-analysis of 20 studies (Brennan et al.) and an earlier quantitative review (Ehlert, 2021) looked at which physical qualities go with clubhead speed:

Quality	Linked to clubhead speed?
Jump power (how explosively you jump)	Yes (jump impulse was the strongest single link in the 2024 meta-analysis)
Explosive upper-body strength (e.g. medicine-ball throws)	Yes (the strongest link in the 2021 review)
Lower- and upper-body strength	Yes, moderately
Flexibility	No clear link
Balance	No clear link

These are correlations: stronger, more powerful golfers swing faster, which doesn’t by itself prove that training makes you faster.

Does training actually add speed?

A systematic review of 20 training studies (Uthoff et al., 2021) found programs that combined general strength work with golf-specific movements averaged about 4.1% more clubhead speed and 5.2% more hitting distance. General strength training alone averaged smaller gains in speed (about 1.6%), though its hitting-distance gain (about 4.8%) was close to the combined programs’ 5.2%. These groups come from different studies, not head-to-head comparisons. The authors found the most effective programs ran about 8 weeks, with golf-specific movements done fast, 3–4 sets of 5–15 reps. Those percentages are simple averages across small studies, not a pooled meta-analysis.

In one small trial, older golfers improved too. In 18 men averaging about 71 years old (Thompson et al., 2007), an 8-week functional program (flexibility, core, balance and resistance work) raised maximum clubhead speed by about 6.3 km/h (roughly 3.9 mph).
It takes time to transfer. In low-handicap golfers on an 18-week program (Alvarez et al., 2012), strength rose after 6 weeks but driving performance only improved after 12.
Not every study finds gains. In pre-elite golfers (Parker et al., 2017), 9 weeks of added power training didn’t raise clubhead speed.

The studies are small (often 10–20 golfers) and mostly men, so evidence for women and older recreational golfers is thin; treat the numbers as a guide, not a promise.

What this means for your training

Our reading of the association data, not a tested program:

Train power, not just mobility. Jumps and medicine-ball throws go with speed in the research.
Add golf-specific, fast movements alongside general strength.
Give it a few months. In the one trial that tracked it, strength rose first and driving later.

Track it long enough to see it

A program whose swing gains may lag by weeks is easy to quit early; a record of your sessions shows whether you stuck with it. We built My Track Record so each session is one spoken sentence: say the exercises, sets, reps and weights, and last week’s numbers are on record.

General information for healthy adults, not medical advice. If you’re new to lifting or jumping, have back or joint pain, or a medical condition, learn the movements with a qualified coach or physiotherapist and build up gradually.

Log your gym sessions by voice, all season.
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By Andrew, founder of My Track Record. Andrew has been active all of his life across a variety of sports and continues to stay active through climbing, swimming, weight training, golfing, snowboarding, and more. He built My Track Record so logging food and training takes one spoken sentence and can support any activity. He puts these guides together from published sports science research cited on each page. About Andrew

Sources

Brennan A, et al. Associations between physical characteristics and golf clubhead speed: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2024;54(6):1553–1577. Source
Ehlert A. The correlations between physical attributes and golf clubhead speed: a systematic review with quantitative analyses. Eur J Sport Sci. 2021;21(10):1351–1363. Source
Uthoff A, Sommerfield LM, Pichardo AW. Effects of resistance training methods on golf clubhead speed and hitting distance: a systematic review. J Strength Cond Res. 2021;35(9):2651–2660. Source
Thompson CJ, Cobb KM, Blackwell J. Functional training improves club head speed and functional fitness in older golfers. J Strength Cond Res. 2007;21(1):131–137. Source
Alvarez M, et al. Effects of an 18-week strength training program on low-handicap golfers’ performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2012;26(4):1110–1121. Source
Parker J, et al. Effects of nine weeks isokinetic training on power, golf kinematics, and driver performance in pre-elite golfers. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2017;9:21. Source