Golfers are obsessed with quick ways to gain speed – new drivers, swing tips, speed training, you name it. But according to David Sundberg, a strength and conditioning coach who works with several top PGA Tour players like Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, the best way to gain speed is to take care of your body.
“The first thing we always want to do is keep players injury-free,” Sundberg said. “Once they’re healthy and moving well, we can start adding performance stuff — and for most players today, that means speed and distance.”
Sundberg starts every new player – pro or amateur – in the same place: with a movement assessment. He looks at posture, hip and shoulder mobility, core stability and how well a player can hinge, squat and rotate. These patterns are the real basis for speed.
If anything is tight or restricted, the body simply cannot produce force efficiently during the golf swing. It also makes you more susceptible to injuries.
“If the hips don’t move properly, the lower back takes a hit,” says Sundberg. “If the upper back doesn’t move properly, the lower back takes a hit. And if the upper back is tight, the neck or shoulders take a hit.”
One area he especially prioritizes: the internal rotation of the hip. Without it, golfers can’t load their glutes – and without that glute load, speed is basically limited.
“Internal rotation of the hip is super important,” he says. “If you can’t load your hips properly, you can’t produce maximum power.”
The simple way to unlock more speed
Before players ever step under a barbell, Sundberg has them get their bodies moving. A typical pre-round or pre-exercise routine includes loosening the hips, activating the glutes, engaging the core, releasing the upper back and stabilizing the shoulders.
That combination, he says, helps a golfer rotate more efficiently and creates the separation necessary to produce clubhead speed.
“Once you mobilize something, you want to activate it so that the gains are sustained,” Sundberg says.
Thanks to David Sundberg
Only then does strength training come into the picture. And the good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated. Sundberg trains Tour pros with basic full-body movements — squats or lunges, hinging patterns, rows, presses, core work and a bit of rotational or med-ball strength.
“You can strength train anyone with anything, as long as you can progress with it over time – make it harder, harder and more challenging,” he says.
Sundberg likes to remind people that while the pros he works with, like Schauffele and Cantlay, can bomb the ball more than 300 yards off the tee, they are not superhuman.
“They’re just people,” he says. “Their bodies aren’t necessarily better; they’re just incredibly adept at hitting golf balls.
The takeaway? The things that hold Tour players back are the same things that slow down recreational golfers: tight hips, limited rotation, weak glutes, unstable cores. And the path to solving these things is similar.
How often should you train?
If you’re not doing gym work, Sundberg says even one or two sessions a week will help. But for golfers who really want to see meaningful speed gains, three sessions per week are the sweet spot.
Even better: combine that gym work with a short warm-up before training or a round. Five minutes is enough to get the body moving as it is intended.
Ultimately, Sundberg says the formula for more speed is refreshingly simple: better movement leads to better load, better load leads to more power, and more power leads to more clubhead speed.
“Whether you are a Tour player or a recreational golfer, the principles are the same,” he says. “Move well, become strong, and the speed will come.”
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