How to Add Clubhead Speed Without Wrecking Your Swing with Adam Harrell

How do you create more clubhead speed without sacrificing center contact, control or the ability to repeat your swing under pressure?

Mark Immelman sits down with respected golf instructor Adam Harrell, longtime coach of PGA TOUR player Michael Brennan, to explore the principles behind one of Mark’s favorite swings in professional golf.

Harrell began working with Brennan as a young player with aspirations of reaching the PGA TOUR. From the beginning, speed was intentional—but never at the expense of fundamentals. The result is a swing built around center contact, neutral fundamentals, an efficient clubhead orbit, proper release, rhythm and the freedom to let the club move fast.

Throughout the conversation, Mark and Adam unpack how everyday golfers can apply those same principles to their own games.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn: 

1. Why speed should be trained as a skill
2. How Michael Brennan developed clubhead speed from a young age
3. Why center contact remains the foundation of distance
4. How to increase speed without losing balance or control
5. Why even a 1 mph improvement matters
6. How a golfer’s mental “governor” can limit speed
7. Why neutral fundamentals make a swing easier to repeat under pressure
8. The importance of grip, setup, ball position and takeaway
9. How the clubhead should naturally orbit around the golfer
10. Why the body and club must work in harmony
11. How the hands and arms contribute to speed
12. Why energy transfer matters more than simply moving your body faster
13. What golfers misunderstand about “flipping” and releasing the golf club
14. How Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy demonstrate an effective release
15. Simple drills for improving plane, release and clubhead speed
16. How a metronome can improve putting distance control and full-swing tempo.

 Key Takeaways:

• Speed Is a Skill You Can Train - One of the most important ideas Harrell introduced to Brennan as a junior was simple: go faster intentionally. Instead of hoping speed would appear as his technique developed, they measured clubhead speed, established numerical goals and practiced producing progressively more speed. But there was an important condition: speed still had to work alongside center contact and a functional golf swing.
• One Mile Per Hour Is Still Progress - Golfers often expect dramatic increases when beginning speed training. Harrell recommends a more patient approach. Establish your current maximum, try to beat it and gradually raise the ceiling. One additional mile per hour may not sound dramatic, but incremental gains accumulate—and a few extra miles per hour can eventually translate into meaningful additional distance.
• Sometimes You Need Permission to Go Faster - Harrell shares the example of a 14-year-old student already swinging her driver around 96 mph. After challenging her to reach 100 mph, she broke through that barrier almost immediately. The lesson goes beyond physical ability: golfers sometimes place an unconscious ceiling on themselves. Giving yourself permission to swing faster can reveal speed you already possess.
• Build Speed on Top of Fundamentals - Michael Brennan’s swing is fast, but it is also exceptionally organized. Harrell emphasizes a neutral grip, sound ball position, proper alignment and a reliable setup before adding speed. His philosophy is to eliminate unnecessary variables so the golfer has fewer compensations to make during the swing. A neutral foundation makes it easier for the motion to repeat when pressure rises.
• Impact Is Everything - Drawing from his time working with Jim McLean and the influence of John Jacobs, Harrell repeatedly returns to impact. The objective is not simply to produce an attractive golf swing. The positions and aesthetics should ser