07/31/2026
🚨Speed training🚨
Auditory feedback can be such a useful tool. Growing up I loved karate, and other than sparing, popping paper during striking drills was my favorite. Keith Elkins, the dojo owner and instructor, always had a pile of used X-rays papers in a box, and we would take turns throwing punches and kicks through the paper. The faster and more solid we could strike, the louder that paper would pop. It sounded like a shotgun when you got it right, and I loved it. My Dad also had some little clapping-strike pads that we’d use around the house that employed the same feedback. My brothers and I beat the heck out of those things. 😂
Flash forward to today, and the same principles apply to the little golfers I’m teaching…. And there are so many benefits to speed training drills like this. Dynamic balance…sequential coordination…. Killer timely feedback…. Lots of good stuff.
1- Basic swoosh swings… in a basic golf posture. At this stage, all we’re worried about is the pitch of the swoosh. Lower is slower…. Higher’s a flyer. It doesn’t take them much time to nail down a good sequence once they key in on the auditory feedback. We also want that speed THROUGH impact… “out front” as Mach3 Speed Training calls it.
2. Impact bag blasts- now we’re in a solid golf posture, and we’re learning to transition that new speed into a really good foundational impact position. The bag is aligned at the tee, and if they create speed through the bag while matching up the sequence so that the hands and “clubhead” meet the impact zone together, the stick smacks flat and they get a booming “POP!” It is LOUD… ear ringing loud.
3. Tee Smacks- we’re off to a hitting mat with a rubber tee and no balls. We’re swinging driver now, and trying to reproduce our speed swings while smacking the tee as loudly as we can. We’re also focused on not allowing our arc to crash into turf.
4. Balls- time to transfer into balls and targets downrange. It’s incredible how much speed these kids can pick up in just a few station rotations.
They can bust em 💪🏻