If you don’t recognize the golfer in the photo above, it’s Cameron Champ. Albeit he was a bit younger in this photo—he’s 30 now—Champ has aged well. How well? If you missed the RBC Canadian Open this past June, then you might be interested in knowing how far Champ drove the ball on the ninth hole in the third round.
Here’s a graphic from ShotLink.
Granted, this is a relatively flat tee shot and the TPC of Toronto isn’t exactly in the mountains (it’s 1,300 feet above sea level). And there was a little breeze, but come on, a 400-yard drive on any hole that isn’t the 18th at Kapalua is astonishing. His ball speed was 195 miles per hour and he swung the driver at 129 mph.
We’re gushing here, but the point of this article is to explore how pro golfers are able to destroy golf balls—while most of us can’t.
Coordination, practice, confidence and training all play a role, but if you’re looking for ground zero, it starts with the legs, says Tom Hemmings, a PGA Tour trainer and one of Golf Digest’s 50 Best Trainers in America. Hemmings works with a lot of pros at the Sea Island Resort in St. Simons Island, Ga.
“You absolutely need lower-body strength and stability to hit the golf ball a long way,” says Hemmings, a Golf Digest Certified Fitness Trainer. “Good golfers know how to push into and off the ground and transfer that energy into their swings.”
With that said, Hemmings has four exercises you can put into your workout routine right now and improve your foundation. He’s a big believer in progressions, meanining exercises that increase in difficulty as the person’s strength improves.
“This progression is designed to take the athlete from the ground position to a staggered stance to a split stance and then finally to a single-leg stance. The four exercises allow us to activate the musculature of the lower body, when considering the lunge, squat and hinge motions that are essential for human movement and program design.
“As the athlete progresses through this series of exercises, the stability demand goes up. The athlete can enhance each exercise by adding more reps or adding weight. However, if the athlete is selecting one of these exercises to implement to a current routine, they can consider starting on the ground, then working up. This way the progression is the positional change.”
Watch this video demonstration from Hemmings (below) to ramp up your lower-body power and start hitting your drives longer. Maybe not Champ long, but how does 15 more yards sound?
Here is his “how to” for each move:
Dumbbell single-leg bridges: Lift the hips off of the floor and hold for three seconds at the top. Perform this by applying pressure into the heel and the toes to ensure correct activation. Do one set of 10 repetitions on each side as an activation exercise or two to three sets for a strength focus.
Dumbbell split squats with thoracic rotation: From a split-squat stance, turn the chest toward the knee in front to challenge the core/anterior-sling connection. Slowly drop for three seconds, then explosively push upwards. Do one set of eight repetitions on each side as an activation exercise or two to three sets for a strength focus.
Dumbbell staggered-stance hip hinges: Applying the majority of your body weight into the straight leg, bend from your hips while maintaining a straight spine. Use the bent leg as support, not the loading leg. Slowly drop for three seconds, followed by a controlled tempo coming upward. Do one set of eight repetitions on each side as an activation exercise or two to three sets for a strength focus.
Dumbbell single-leg squats: While standing on one leg, the other hovering and extended, hold a dumbbell at chest height and sit into a squat while maintaining a straight spine. Strong foot contact with the floor is essential for success with this exercise. Hold for three seconds at the bottom of the motion, then push upward. Do one set of eight repetitions on each side as an activation exercise or two to three sets for a strength focus.
