Why Hang High Pulls Are the Best Exercise for Training for the Golf Season

As you gear up for golf season, it’s essential to focus on exercises that will optimize your strength, power, and mobility for a smoother, more powerful swing. While many exercises target specific muscles, few can replicate the dynamic movement required for an effective golf swing like the Hang High Pull. This functional lift not only strengthens critical muscles used in golf but also enhances overall athleticism.

What Are Hang High Pulls?

The Hang High Pull (HHP) lives within the Olympic lifting family, but is a variation which involves pulling a barbell from a "hang" position (just above the knees) to chest height. The movement helps train the explosive action of a golf swing; combining strength, power, and coordination. When done right, the HHP engages multiple muscle groups, with a strong emphasis on the posterior chain (back, hips, and glutes), upper body, and core.

Improves Explosive Power for Longer Drives

One of the most crucial elements of a golf swing is explosive power. The Hang High Pull focuses on developing power by training fast-twitch muscle fibers in your lower body, back, and shoulders. This is essential for generating the speed necessary to hit long bombs.

The movement pattern of the Hang High Pull requires explosive hip drive and upper body extension, mirroring what is required for a strong golf swing. As you extend your hips and shrug your shoulders during the pull, you recruit the same muscles that create force during the downswing. The more explosive your pull, the faster you can generate rotational speed in your golf swing, ultimately leading to longer, and maybe more accurate drives.

Builds Upper Body Strength and Power

The Hang High Pull also works a wide range of muscles in your upper body, including your shoulders, traps, lats, and arms. As you pull the barbell upward, you engage your shoulders and upper back to pull the weight up to your chest. This translates into increased shoulder strength and power, which is essential for maintaining control of your golf club throughout your swing.

Stronger shoulders help prevent fatigue and increase your ability to control the club during your downswing. They also support your wrists, allowing for better grip strength, which directly impacts your shot consistency and accuracy.

Improves GOLF Grip Strength

Adding to that, grip strength is one of the most overlooked but vital components of a golfer’s game. A strong grip is essential for maintaining control over your golf club, preventing slippage, and ensuring that your swing remains consistent, especially during challenging weather conditions or long rounds. The Hang High Pull directly impacts your grip strength because it requires you to maintain a secure hold on the barbell as you pull it upwards.

The muscles in your forearms, hands, and fingers are heavily engaged during the high pull movement, which strengthens the grip over time. Improved grip strength helps prevent club slips and enhances your ability to control the club face, leading to more accurate ball striking and better shot consistency. This is especially beneficial in high-pressure situations or when you're trying to avoid mishits.

Develops Better Posture and Alignment

A proper golf swing requires solid posture and alignment throughout the entire motion. By training the HHP, you improve your ability to maintain an athletic stance and transfer power effectively through the swing.

Additionally, the high pull helps activate the muscles that stabilize your spine, reducing the likelihood of injuries caused by poor posture or improper form. By developing a strong foundation, you’ll be able to maintain better posture, even after hours on the course.

Improves Hip Hinge Mechanics

The Hang High Pull is an excellent exercise for improving your hip hinge, a fundamental movement pattern in the golf swing. The hinge motion, where you bend forward at the hips while maintaining a neutral spine, is essential for executing an effective golf swing.

By practicing the Hang High Pull, you train your body to engage the hips correctly, ensuring that your swing mechanics are fluid and powerful. Proper hip hinge mechanics also improve the efficiency of the swing, reducing the risk of injury and enhancing club head speed.

Helps Develop Coordination and Timing of the golf swing

Golf isn’t just about strength—it’s also about coordination and timing. The Hang High Pull lift requires a combination of hip drive, upper body strength, and explosive power, all while maintaining balance and control. This helps golfers develop better timing and rhythm in their swing.

The exercise forces you to time the drive with the pull, mimicking the timing needed to generate club head speed at the exact moment of impact. The coordination and control developed through high pulls translate directly to the golf course, improving consistency and helping golfers execute a more efficient swing.

Promotes Full-Body Engagement

Unlike isolation exercises, the Hang High Pull engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously. The movement requires coordination between the hips, core, back, shoulders, and arms, making it a highly effective full-body exercise.

This integrated, full-body engagement is essential for golf, where the entire body contributes to generating a powerful and accurate golf swing. A stronger, more connected body will result in better overall performance, from ball striking to course endurance.

Conclusion: The Hang High Pull exercise—A Golf Game Changer

Training for the golf season involves much more than just practicing your swing. To truly elevate your performance, you need a workout routine that builds power, stability, mobility, and coordination. The Hang High Pull is one of the most effective exercises for achieving all these goals, making it a game-changer for golfers looking to enhance their strength, speed, and swing mechanics.

By incorporating the Hang High Pull into your training regimen, you’ll be well on your way to improving your explosive power, rotational strength, grip strength, and overall athleticism—ultimately leading to a more consistent and powerful golf game. Get ready to hit the course with confidence!

SAMPLE TRAINING SESSIONS

Because the Hang High Pull is aimed at generating high power and explosive movement, moderately heavy weights with lower rep schemes are most beneficial. The key is having very high quality of movement.

Some good blocks to throw into your gym sessions could be:

EX 1:

5 sets of 5 Hang High Pulls (~75% effort)

-rest ~2 min between sets

EX 2:

6-7 sets of 2-3 Hang High Pulls (~85-90% effort)

-rest ~3 min between sets

EX3:

2-3 Waves of:

Set of 4 at ~77%

Set of 3 at ~82%

Set of 2 at ~ 87%

-rest ~2 min between sets

As always, make sure to warmup fully and properly before jumping into athletic movements. Prime the working muscles and systems by doing movements that mimic the patterns and engage the muscles that will be required.

Let us know if you have any questions, or are interested in any of our programs!