This year I came to a shocking realization. If you want to hit the ball more, you need to start training at the gym.
It may seem obvious, but it’s a truth I’ve been avoiding for years. I figured that with proper technique and a little speed training, I could increase my swing speed. and in the meantime teeth Indeed, there is no substitute for going to the gym.
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“Think of it like upgrading your engine,” Mike Carroll, strength and conditioning coach and founder of Fit for Golf, explained it to me succinctly when I spoke to him over the summer.
For those who didn’t have much Saw At my first weight setting in over 10 years, this was a tough pill to swallow. Nevertheless, I was eager to increase my head speed even more, so I headed to the gym.
Start
For the first four months of working out, I didn’t really have a plan. I went to the gym and worked out my legs one day and my upper body the other. It certainly helped get my muscles used to working out again, but the rewards were minimal in terms of what I got out of the course.
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That’s when I met David Sandberg. Sandberg, a strength and conditioning coach who works with several top-ranked players on the PGA Tour, including Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, explained that working out is the foundation for increasing clubhead speed.
“Whether you’re a tour player or a recreational golfer, the principles are the same,” he said. “Move well, get stronger, and get faster.”
So what exactly should you do? I Are you doing it at the gym? Well, Sandberg had plans for me. He was kind enough to put together a 5-week basic strength training plan for me. This is at the end of this article. And if I followed it, Sandberg was confident that I would significantly improve my swing speed.
program
When I first started a basic strength training program, I never expected to see such great results. In fact, after my first week of working out, I said to my girlfriend, “It’s easy.”
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The exercise may have felt easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less effective. Thanks to Sandberg, I was able to focus on modifying muscle groups and building strength where needed to increase swing speed.
“Our program was only five or six weeks long, but there was a systematic progression: specific sets, reps, weights,” Sandberg told me in a post-program debrief. “The idea is to start at a level high enough to create a new stimulus, let your body recover, and then the next week increase the load a little and do the same movement pattern again. This gradual increase in load allows your body to adapt and get stronger without doing too much.”
Each week, small adjustments were made to the program. Early on I had to increase my reps, but later in the program I added more weight. I kept doing the same set of exercises, getting a little stronger each week.
Best of all, the program was tailored to work the muscles used in the golf swing, giving me functional strength that I could actually use on the course.
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“In the golf swing, your glutes are loaded during the backswing,” Sandberg says. “In impact, you use your quadriceps to push off the ground with your front foot and stand up, transmitting force throughout your body. So these exercises directly support that movement. The same goes for pushing and pulling (with your arms). The front and back of your upper body. Because it targets almost the entire body, it provides the greatest gains in time compared to individual exercises. For most golfers, especially those who are new to structured strength training, this is enough to accelerate improvement.
result
As I mentioned earlier, I have been training at the gym and doing speed training since summer to increase my ball speed. But after a few months, I felt like I had reached a plateau.
When I started training seriously, my swing speed peaked at 160 mph and my ball speed peaked at around 150 mph. After a few months, I was able to get my swing speed up to about 162 miles per hour and my ball speed to about 152 miles per hour, but that seemed to be my limit.
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After a few weeks of Sandberg’s basic fitness program, I broke both records. Over the past month, my maximum swing speed has increased to 165 miles per hour and my maximum ball speed has reached 154 miles per hour. I know progress is rarely linear, and these aren’t exactly Bryson’s numbers, but adding so much speed in one month was an exciting development.
what’s next
It’s officially off season here in New York City. I’ll be taking a few trips to warmer climates over the winter, but I won’t be able to play golf in the Northeast until things thaw in the spring.
Most people hate winter for that reason, but I see it as an opportunity. Last offseason, I worked on my fundamentals like my life depended on it, and I came out of the winter much healthier technically. This winter, I would like to prepare my body properly for the upcoming season.
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I’ve already talked to Sundberg and he has an offseason plan that I will continue through the winter. If the results are anything like what he did after his basic fitness program, 2026 should be my best season yet.
If you’d like to try Sandberg’s foundational strengthening program, check out:
Basic physical strength routine (3 days a week)
goal: Build fundamental strength, control, and stability with moderate loads, unilateral emphasis, and minimal risk of fatigue.
structure:
Day 1 – Lower body session
Approximately 50-60 minutes
1. Warm up
After 5 to 10 minutes of light aerobic exercise, do the following:
Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch with reach – 30 seconds per side
90/90 Hip Rotation – 8 reps per side
Open Book T-Spine Rotations – 6 times per side
Glute bridge with band abduction – 10-12 reps
Side Plank – 20-30 seconds per side
Wall slide – 8-10 times
Intro Prios (Level 1) – 60 seconds rest between sets
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Sidetrack Hop – 2×8 in each direction
Squat jump to stick (controlled landing) – 2×5
Goal: Prepare tendons, joints, and neuromuscular system for muscle strength.
2. Strength block (main work)
Focus: Unilateral control with quadriceps/hamstring balance.
A. Single Leg Quad Dominant
Rear-foot elevated split squat (DB or bodyweight)
Rest: 120 seconds between sets
Choose a weight that allows you to perform 12 repetitions (proper technique).
Week 4: 3×6, 6, maximum number of repetitions
Week 5: 2×6 @ 50% weight (deload)
B. Single Leg Hamstring Dominant
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift (DB)
Rest: 90 seconds between sets
Choose a weight that allows you to perform 12 repetitions.
Week 5: 2×6 @ 50% weight (deload)
3. Hip stability and core strength
Run as a circuit. Keep breaks between practices to a minimum. 90 seconds after each round.
Mini band side walk – 3 x 10 steps one way
Half kneeling anti-rotation press (Palof) – 3×10/side
Dead Bug (Slow Tempo) – 3×10
Single leg balance reach (3D/Y balance style) – 3×5/leg
Purpose: Strengthen pelvic stability and core stiffness during rotation.
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Day 2 – Upper body session
Approximately 45-55 minutes
1. Warm up
After 5-10 minutes of light aerobic exercise:
Serratus Wall Slide with Foam Roller – 10 times
Light band external rotation – 12 times
Cat and Cow to T-spine rotation – 6 times per side
Bandpur Apartment – 12 times
2. Strength block
A. Push (horizontal focus)
dumbbell incline bench press
Rest: 90 seconds between sets
Use a weight that allows you to perform 12 repetitions.
Week 4: 3×6, 6, maximum number of repetitions
Week 5: 2×6 @ 50% weight (deload)
B.Pull (horizontal focus)
Arms prone DB row
Rest: 90 seconds between sets
Use a weight that allows you to perform 12 repetitions.
Week 4: 3×6, 6, maximum number of repetitions
Week 5: 2×6 @ 50% weight (deload)
Perform A and B consecutively and rest for 60 seconds. Repeat for the total set.
C. Push/Pull Accessory (Scapular Focus)
3. Core and stability
Perform the exercise continuously and rest for 90 seconds. Repeat for the total set.
Stability ball rollout (knee) or plank walkout – 2×10
Day 3 – Full body session
Approximately 45-55 minutes
1. Warm up
After 10 minutes of light cardio:
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Serratus Wall Slide with Foam Roller – 10 times
90/90 Hip Rotation – 8 reps per side
Cat and Cow to T-spine rotation – 6 times per side
Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch with reach – 30 seconds per side
Glute bridge with band abduction – 10-12 reps
Side Plank – 20-30 seconds per side
Band pull apartment – 8 to 10 times
Intro Plyos (Level 1):
Side track hop – one way 2×8
Stick from squat jump – 2×5
2. Strength block
A. Push (scapula focus)
Half-kneeling mine press
Rest: 90 seconds between sets
Week 1: Empty bar; 3×8~10
Weeks 2-4: Add 5-10 pounds each week. 3×8～10
If you miss a rep, maintain the same load in the next session and aim to beat the previous rep.Week 5: Empty bar; 2×6~8
B. Squat pattern
From goblet squat to 18 inch box/bench
Rest: 90 seconds between sets
The box teaches proper hip sitting and a neutral spine.
Start with dumbbells that weigh about 30% of your body weight.
Week 4: Increases to approximately 40% of body weight. 3×6～8
Week 5: 2×10 @ 50% Week 4 Weight
C. Horizontal pull
One-arm half-kneeling lat pulldown (high pulley)
Rest: 90 seconds between sets
Week 1: Light load. 3×8～10
Weeks 2-4: Add 5 to 10 pounds each week. 3×8～10
If your reps are short, maintain the load and exceed your previous number in the next session.Week 5: 2×6–8 @ 50% Week 4 Weight
In this post, I followed a PGA Tour trainer’s strength-building routine. The results that shocked me were first published in Golf.
