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Over the past ten years, you have probably
noticed the increased demand for speed and power
from all top level players. The advantages of
increasing one’s ball speed are too numerous to
list, but let’s just say, it’s a big advantage!
For this reason, I like to encourage all my
junior players to add some component of speed
development to their training program. My
favorite workout program for developing speed
involves cross training in several different
rotary sports, which helps transfer athletic
speed into the golf swing. I am going to
review my three favorite cross training
activities that I think you should add to your
program.
Throwing:
 Have you ever noticed how good
major league baseball pitchers are at golf?
They are usually very talented when they pick up
the game. This is not a fluke. It is due to
the similarity of throwing to the motion of the
golf swing. There is a backswing load, hip and
shoulder separation, weight shift towards the
target and transfer of energy from the ground to
the implement (ball verses club). For this
reason, we encourage lots of throwing activities
with our junior golfers. Our players will throw
different objects and throw for distance and
accuracy. We use tennis balls, footballs,
baseballs, Frisbees and bean bags. It is also
important to spend time developing throwing
velocity on the non-dominant arm. For every two
balls you throw with the dominant side, add one
with the non-dominant arm. I encourage at least
ten high speed throws per workout.
Batting:
 Baseball or softball batting helps
develop hand-eye coordination, rotary speed,
spatial awareness, weight shift, upper and lower
body speed and balance. I like to start with
hitting balls of a tee-ball stand using light
weight bats and balls. The key here is to focus
on hitting the ball as hard as possible. Make
sure you use a stationary ball at first and
progress to moving balls. I like a minimum of
10-15 swings per workout. Beginners should use
large ball sizes, large hitting areas, large
target zone and speed is always encouraged. For
advanced batters progress to smaller balls,
small hitting areas, smaller target zones, start
tracking distance and carry. Remember to use a
baseball grip, not a golf grip, plus single
hand, single leg and non-dominant side batting
should also be introduced.
Sprinting:
 Sprinting trains the central
nervous system to produce rapid and powerful
movements. It is amazing to see how well this
transfers into ball speed gains. Sprinting
helps enhance neuromuscular coordination, which
helps improve rhythm, timing and synchronization
of all the body parts. I have my athletes start
on a flat surface and progress them to running
uphill, downhill and with assistance (like
pulling them with a rope). I would encourage
all of you to add at least a few sprints on a
downhill slope. This will encourage faster
speeds and better coordination. The most
important part of the sprint is the first burst
of speed. So there is no need to sprint for
longer than 20 yards. Try to implement at least
five quick sprints per workout.
Hopefully these three cross training
activities will not only add more distance to
your drives, but fun to your workouts. Good
Luck!
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