5 Drills & Tips to Increase Golf Swing Speed for Seniors

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Are you looking for how to increase golf swing speed for seniors? If so, you’ll want to check out these beneficial drills from a professional PGA golf coach.

1. How to Increase Club Head Speed for Seniors

Here is a drill that will increase your speed through impact:

  1. Grab a fairway metal and flip it, so the clubhead end is opposite its normal position.
  2. Take your grip on the shaft just below the club head.
  3. Hover the club about 2 feet off the ground.
  4. Take a backswing.
  5. Make a forward swing.

As you perform this drill, you will notice that the club makes a whoosh sound. The goal is to make the whooshing sound close to the impact position. If you hear the whoosh before the impact position, chances are you are releasing the club too early. Your hands should arrive at the impact position before the grip end of the club arrives.

Read Next: The Best Distance Driver for Seniors: Top 10 for Men Golfers

2. Tips to Prevent Golf Swing Speed Decline

how to rebuild a golf swing as you age - shows senior golfer being observed by three golfers as he swings the club.
Swing Tips for Golfers Over 55

Here are some preventative measures to stall your speed decline:

  1. Stay hydrated and keep up-to-date with your healthcare provider.
  2. Join water aerobics classes to maintain an athletic physique.
  3. Be consistent with cardiovascular training.
  4. Read books and play challenging mental games for clarity.
  5. Enjoy your rounds of golf and soak up the comradery of your playing partners.

Length of Arc Definition

If you want to increase golf swing speed, try this simple drill. A significant swing factor that affects clubhead velocity is the “length of the arc.”

By definition, “length of arc” is the total distance the clubhead travel back and through the swing. Increasing the “length of arc” will allow more time to advance your momentum down and through impact. What’s best about this drill is it doesn’t require any golf equipment. All you need is a dining room chair.

  1. Place the chair, so it’s directly in front of you.
  2. Make sure the seat is positioned away from you.
  3. Take your golf stance, so it’s parallel to the back of the chair.
  4. Place your top-grip hand directly centered on the top of the chair.
  5. With your free hand, take a backswing but keep the hand tightly fixed on the chair.

As you perform this drill, you should feel a good stretch in the sides of your body. The goal is to increase the distance your free arm travels. Try turning your hips and shoulders to increase the length of the arc. Now, perform this drill with the hand position changed so you can work on increasing the forward swing.

3. Improve Golf Hand-Eye Coordination Drill for Seniors

Increase Golf Swing Speed for Seniors can be done with drills.  Photo show senior golfer hitting her driver off the tee on a beautiful sunny day.
Golf Hand-Eye Coordination

One of the best practices for improving your hand-eye coordination, in general, is working on active – transfer with your hands. Here is a recommended drill to help improve your ability to follow the ball:

  1. Take a tennis ball and place it in one of your hands, palms up and forearms parallel to the horizon.
  2. Gently and slowly, pass the ball back and forth between your skyward palms.
  3. Watch intensely with your eyes as you move the ball back and forth.
  4. If this is easy, start to widen the distance between your palms.
  5. Maximize your speed but don’t take your eye off the ball!

4. Best Drill to Compress the Golf Ball

Increase your power transfer from clubhead speed to ball speed by improving your ball striking abilities.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to hit your clubs with impact tape fixed on their faces. Impact tape will not only improve your power, but it will also improve your accuracy.

If a ball is struck center of the face while the face is square to the target, the impact tape will record a clean dimple pattern. If the pattern is centered, but the dimple pattern is not clear, the clubface is deemed to be not square

5. Beginner Golf Tips for Seniors to Increase Golf Swing Speed

swing tips for golfers over 55 involves following tips by a professional.  Photo shows professional golfer videoing the seniors swing.
Increase Golf Swing Speed as a Beginner

For those of you who are new to the game and over 50, here are some beginner tips for becoming a consistent golfer:

  1. Learn the difference between a weak, neutral, and strong grip position and how it affects your ball flight.
  2. Understand beginner golf course etiquette.
  3. Join beginner group lessons, so you have others to grow with.
  4. Watch PGA golf on television, so you know basic terminology.
  5. Read Ben Hogan’s: The Five Lessons The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.

Read Next: The Amazing Ben Hogan Golf Story: 5 Lessons to Inspire You

Final Thoughts to Increase Golf Swing Speed

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, your game can always use improvement. Use the drills and tips provided in this article to increase your golf swing speed, coordination, and consistency. If you found this article helpful, you may want to check out our article, Closed Coil Golf Swing for Seniors: 4 Quick Steps & Drills.

Remember to have fun on the course and enjoy time with friends!

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AUTHOR

Brett Francisco is a Class A PGA Professional, PGTAA Master Teaching Professional, SDGA Advanced Instructor, US Kids Certified Instructor, and PGA Hope Certified with over 15 years of teaching and fitting experience.

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