What Powers Elite Golf Swing Speed? This Overlooked Movement Could Be The Key

Looking to speed up your golf swing? Compelling research suggests it’s time to start jumping. When scientists tested a group of elite college golfers on a range of athletic indicators (vertical jump height, sprint speed, rotational flexibility), one measurement stood out above all others: how far an athlete could jump sideways off one leg.

The study, from the University of Kansas and Oklahoma State University, examined 21 NCAA Division I golfers. Researchers found that lateral jumping ability tracked closely with about three-quarters of the variation in clubhead speed. The finding challenges conventional golf training and points to a specific type of explosive movement that most programs overlook.

The golfers came from two programs that finished 5th and 6th nationally in 2024. Within the past decade, the men’s team won three national championships while the women’s team reached the finals six times. Both squads represent an ultra-elite contingent of golfers worldwide.

The Jump That Predicts Golf Swing Speed

Study authors, led by Dr. Quincy Johnson of Kansas’ Athletic Performance Laboratory, designed a lateral bound test specifically for golfers. Athletes stand sideways as if addressing a golf ball, drop into a 90-degree knee bend, hold for two seconds, then explode laterally and rotate a quarter-turn in mid-air to land with both feet parallel.

Male golfers bounded an average of six feet laterally. Females covered about four feet. The non-dominant leg test (the leg furthest from the target in a golf stance) proved especially predictive. Athletes who jumped farther consistently swung faster.

To understand why, consider the golf swing. Power doesn’t flow straight up and down like a vertical jump. It transfers diagonally and rotationally through the body. A lateral bound with a quarter-turn mimics this exact movement pattern. The test reveals whether a golfer can generate explosive force in the transverse plane and redirect it efficiently.

Vertical jumps also mattered, just not quite as much. Males jumped about 24 inches high while females reached 16 inches. Both jump types showed strong relationships with clubhead speed, but the lateral bound was the strongest single link researchers found.

How Golfers Find Their Speed Sweet Spot

The research team also discovered golfers achieve peak rotational speed at specific resistance levels tied to body weight. Using a cable machine, they measured how fast athletes could rotate while pulling 12%, 15%, or 18% of their body mass.

For a 170-pound golfer, that translates to about 20, 25, or 30 pounds of resistance. For a 140-pound golfer, it’s roughly 17, 21, or 25 pounds. The percentages stay constant regardless of the golfer’s size.

Peak rotational speed at 15% body mass lined up best with normal swing speeds. For maximum-effort swings, both the lighter (12%) and heavier (18%) loads showed similar relationships. The pattern suggests that different resistance levels target different aspects of swing speed.

Males rotated at about 8.3 feet per second at peak velocity across all three loads. Females hit around 6.7 to 7 feet per second. This gap mirrored the clubhead speed difference: males averaged 116 mph normally and 120 mph at maximum effort, while females averaged 94 mph and 95 mph.

Interestingly, when researchers measured average rotational speed rather than peak speed, the gender gap nearly disappeared. Males and females moved at similar sustained velocities even though males could generate higher peak output. Elite female golfers appear to move with comparable efficiency despite producing less absolute force. The findings are published in the International Journal of Strength and Conditioning.

Rotation Range Wasn’t What Separated Faster Swingers

Swing kinematics told a different story. Using a smartphone motion-tracking app, researchers measured chest rotation, hip rotation, and the separation between the two (called an X-factor). In this group, none of these measurements correlated with clubhead speed.

Males rotated their chest about 99 degrees at the top of the backswing. Females rotated 97 degrees. Hip rotation measured nearly identical at 45 degrees for both groups. The separation between chest and hips averaged around 60 degrees regardless of gender or performance level.

This work challenges a common training focus. Golfers spend considerable time working on flexibility and range of motion, assuming more rotation equals more speed. Yet, among these elite athletes, rotation range on its own didn’t separate the faster swingers from the slower ones. You can twist back as far as you want, but if you can’t explosively accelerate forward, the extra flexibility won’t add clubhead speed.

“Is there a physical prototype for the best golfers? I’m not sure we can say that, but this does give insight into how we identify strength and how to come up with plans for improvement in an important aspect of the sport,” Dr. Johnson says in a statement. “If you are an athlete, coach or sports performance professional who wants to improve club head speed, this paper highlights how vertical jump and rotational velocity may help contribute to that.”

How to Train for Rotational Speed

The researchers recommend a three-stage progression. Start with 15% of body weight to build rotational velocity that translates to normal swings. Move to 18% body weight to develop maximum force production. Finish with 12% body weight to train explosive speed while maintaining form.

A 180-pound golfer would begin with about 27 pounds of resistance, progress to 32 pounds for strength work, then drop to 22 pounds for speed training. The sequence could run in blocks (spending weeks at each load), in a linear progression (gradually increasing load), or in an alternating pattern (changing loads workout to workout).

Before adding any rotational resistance work, golfers need a strength foundation. The study authors recommend building baseline strength first through standard exercises: squats, deadlifts, presses, and pulls. Once that base exists, layer in the golf-specific rotational training at the prescribed percentages.

The Physical Gap Between Male and Female Golfers

Male golfers in the study averaged 5 feet 9 inches and 172 pounds. Females measured 5 feet 4 inches and 148 pounds. Despite the size difference, body mass index came out nearly identical at 25.4 for both groups, suggesting similar body composition at elite levels.

The 24 to 25 mph gap in clubhead speed between genders stems primarily from differences in explosive force output, not technique or flexibility. Males generated higher peak forces in lateral jumps, vertical jumps, and rotational movements. The swing mechanics looked remarkably similar between groups.

This marks the first time researchers have applied load-velocity profiling to golf. The concept has been used for years in sprinting and jumping, where coaches measure how athletes perform at different resistance levels to identify whether they need more strength work or more speed work. The same framework appears to apply to the rotational demands of golf.

For college programs and serious amateurs, the findings offer an assessment and training roadmap. A simple lateral bound test can identify athletes with high speed potential. Rotational velocity measurements at three specific loads can reveal whether a golfer needs to focus on building strength, developing speed, or both. And the training percentages provide concrete targets rather than guesswork.

In summation, the sideways jump might just be golf’s most underrated movement.

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