Matt Fitzpatrick: How a training aid helped me stack up my swing speed

Matt Fitzpatrick might not share the physique of some of the longest drivers in the professional game, but the Englishman can keep up from the tee box.

The 2022 US Open champion isn’t quite built the same as Bryson DeChambeau or Jon Rahm, but this year on the PGA Tour, the 29-year-old has averaged north of the 300 yard mark.

But it wasn’t always this way. So where is that distance coming from? According to Fitzpatrick, it’s all down to long hours put in using the Stack System.

“I use a training aid called the Stack and I think it’s the best one on the market. I think there’s two components to it that make it great,” Fitzpatrick explained to bunkered’s James Tait.

“There are variable weights, there are so many different combinations that you can have. Then, I also think the app itself is really good. It uses an algorithm to work out what you need throughout your programme. The algorithm has had thousands of players going through its programme, so it knows what you need to be doing to improve.”

The Stack System, which was developed by Dr Sasho MacKenzie, is aimed at one thing and one thing only: to increase the swing speed of a golfer.

Essentially, this is a golf shaft, where variable weights can be added to where the clubhead would usually sit. These are changed depending on the needs of each player and, as Fitzpatrick explains, the results can be massive.

“I probably started the process at the end of 2020. I came out at the start of 2021 and I was way faster. That was big at the start of the year, but then I kind of had a dip in form due to injuries, but I got a good off-season in the gym before the 2022 season. I was using the Stack and it got to May time and all of a sudden, my speed just jumped. That was kind of the big thing, because everything else just came together with it.

“I had been a bit longer over the past years than what I was previously, but the combination of everything [gym work and the Stack System] just magnified it.”

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Although Fitzpatrick, who is now keeping up with the likes of Cameron Young and Viktor Hovland when it comes to driving distance, is pleased with the gains, he explained it’s not just something that can be left by the wayside.

“I still do it regularly. It’s one of those things, you need to stay on top of it and do it regularly.

“If you leave it for a while then you will lose the speed, that’s the problem.

“The Stack is very tiring and very time consuming, but you need to be doing it every few days.”

If you’re unconvinced about the benefits of driving the ball a long way, then a quick look at some stats might change your mind.

Although it’s important at the professional level, it might be even more vital for amateur players.

Data from Shot Scope shows that for the average scratch player, the Performance Average with the driver on the course is 285 yards. That number drops a whopping 24 yards for a five index player, who will average 261 yards with the driver.

Interestingly, in that data set, five index players actually average more fairways than a scratch golfer. Accuracy might be important, but getting the ball a long way off the tee is crucial.

That’s a point that takes us back to Matt Fitzpatrick, who now averages nearly 15 yards further off the tee than he did before he started his speed training. In that time, he’s gone from a fairly new face on tour, to now being a regular contender at the top of leaderboards, and, crucially, a major champion. If that’s not proof that speed works, we don’t know what is.

Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor