Although it can also be used for injury management as well as injury prevention, plyometric strength training for golfers is often performed with the intention of increasing distance.

Plyometric exercises are ones where the muscle is quickly stretched before it shortens, with an example of this being squat jumps.

A traditional squat would have you squat down and then back up at a slow steady pace with a pause in between repetitions, whilst the plyometric version of this would have you jump in the air and upon landing you would quickly drop down into a squat and jump up as high as possible out of the squat position. This would be continually repeated without pausing between repetitions.


Increased distance



Plyometric training is intending to improve the muscular force applied through limb segments, and it’s worth noting that almost any exercise can be turned into a plyometric exercise.


The golf drive




What the experts say

According to Chu, “plyometric training causes changes in the musculotendinous system and the neuromuscular system, helping slow twitch fibres to take on fast twitch characteristics (3).”

Slow twitch fibres are used for endurance-based exercise whereas fast twitch fibres are for explosive powerful activities.

Fletcher et al. studied the effects of such training and found “a significant increase in driving distance and clubhead speed following and 8-week combined weight training and plyometric conditioning program with the increase in driving distance lay between 5.1 and 17.3 m” (1).

Doan et al. also found “a significant increase in clubhead speed following plyometric strengthening over an 11-week period” (2).


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