Most “golf-specific training” misses the point. It’s not about mimicking the swing. It’s about producing force, quickly, and transferring it through a rotational system. Derek Smidt lays out a clear 4-phase model that builds from general strength to elastic power, all tied to what actually drives club head speed and keeps athletes healthy.
What Golf-Specific Training Actually Means
The swing is fast: under 300ms from top of backswing to impact. That changes everything.
The goal isn’t just force production. It’s impulse: high force, delivered quickly. Add in vertical ground reaction forces and rotational stretch-shortening, and you get a clearer target:
1. Build hip extension and upper body force
2. Deliver it in a short time window
3. Transfer it through rotation efficiently
Phase 1: Build Capacity Before You Chase Output
This is reset and rebuild. Tempo eccentrics, full ranges, and controlled loading. The key here isn’t intensity. It’s restoring movement and building tolerance.
The main programming points are slow eccentrics (6–10s) and full range of motion at the hip, knee, and ankle.
This phase also quietly sets up everything later.
Phase 2: Max Strength Without Compromise
This is the only real window to push force hard. Two things stand out here:
1. Eccentric overload done safely
-Instead of chasing load, you create situations where the athlete has to resist high force with "Eccentric Boost". That’s where real mechanical tension shows up without unnecessary risk
2. Isokinetics as a force builder
-Extend sets beyond typical ranges by letting data dictate when to stop. Maximize the opportunity to push until force actually drops off
This phase is intentionally fatiguing. It’s the bottom of the curve before adaptation.
Phase 3: Power Is About Timing, Not Just Output
Peak power isn’t the goal, time to peak power is. If power shows up too late, it doesn’t transfer to the swing.
So instead of just chasing the highest number:
-Select loads that hit peak power around ~300ms
-Use contrast loading to shift both output and timing
-Let data guide load, not feel
In practice, this often means slightly lighter loads outperform heavier ones, even if peak power is lower.
Phase 4: Elastic Power for Performance and Injury Prevention
The goal is improving how quickly athletes transition from eccentric to concentric. That “switch” is everything.
You’re looking for sharper force curves. More “V”, less “U”.
-Faster eccentric speeds
-Higher concentric outputs
Case Study: From Pain to Performance with Ben Griffin
Derek shares an interesting case study from top PGA golfer Ben Griffin. From chronic knee pain to his breakout year, here was the progression:
-Early: isometrics + slow eccentrics which created immediate symptom relief
-Off-season: full integration of isokinetics and strength work
-Power phase: large jumps in rotational power output
Results:
-Club head speed +2.3mph in one year
-Significant increases in force outputs and power metrics
-Breakout competitive season with multiple wins
Key Takeaways
Golf performance comes down to force, time, and rotation working together. You need enough capacity first or the later phases won’t stick, and you need a real window to push max strength if you want meaningful change.
From there, power becomes about timing, not just output. If it shows up too late, it doesn’t transfer. And the final layer, elastic qualities, isn’t just performance. It’s what keeps athletes healthy.
This is what “golf-specific training” should actually look like.
Published: April 6, 2026