I dreamt I was in the Masters with Bryson DeChambeau… but then someone stole all my clubs—except the driver, the power club.
 
In the World Long Drive Championships, I’d win locals and set records, then freeze in the final step before Worlds.
 
Fear of standing out → tiny self-sabotage (eliminated by a yard).
 
Ever done something like that?

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

Got cut from JV. Earned a Minnesota Twins tryout. A pickup-game collision tore my ACL, but I still made the college team. How you respond to failure can make a difference.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

In Episode 010 of The Long and Short of It, Jaacob and Jennifer pull a card that reads: “Tearing my ACL after senior year + NBA dreams,” and trace how a knee injury at 17 shifted Jaacob’s trajectory—and his mindset. He describes making a college basketball team while braced and tentative, the long tail of that fear in later competition (from long drive to Speedgolf), and even recurring dreams about performance at moments of truth. Together they examine how early trauma can create protective patterns that mute our power, how to spot those “blind spots,” and how the point of some setbacks may be to redirect us toward a new path.

Would you believe there are golfers far more talented than Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods? In this clip from The Long and Short of It podcast (Episode 009), Jaacob reflects on how the system weeds out potential greats, while Jennifer shares the story of a village kid with a beautiful swing.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

When I turned pro in golf at 27—after starting as an average golfer only six months earlier—I wasn’t sure where the journey would lead. By the time I neared 30, I didn’t know how I was going to keep going. But even if my golf career didn’t work out, I already felt like I’d won—because it brought me to Jen.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

In Episode 009 of The Long and Short of It, Jaacob and Jennifer open with the “rainbows” in the room (spoiler: window crystals) before diving into what they’d tell their 20-something selves—now that Jennifer is 46 and Jaacob is 49 (50 soon). Starting, as usual, from a moment in Jaacob’s golf career, they revisit his mid-20s leap from a stable corporate job to professional golf—despite being an average golfer at the time.

Golf is played in three-dimensional space—swing technique, shot dispersions, equipment, strategy. But what if we can access other dimensions to play differently—and better?

In this Short, I'm talking about shifting awareness into one-dimensional space: no hole, no wind, no separation—just oneness and flow.

Pulled from a longer experimental round blending golf with quantum physics,
spirituality, and philosophy.


The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.

As part of a 6-hole experiment at Belle Isle Golf Detroit, I played across dimensions of space. Felt the wind in strong 3D, then softened into 1D before a birdie putt. 

Putter: custom-fit L.A.B. Golf Directed Force 2.1


The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.

Is it possible that a better way to play golf exists beyond traditional means?

In this experimental round, I push the boundaries of the game to explore golf as a multi-dimensional experience—where quantum physics, philosophy, spirituality, play, and more all collide on the course.

Club: Sterling Irons Lob Wedge

Golf can be more than just mechanics—it can also be a practice in balance and awareness. In this short, I use golf as a meditation by syncing my breath and body with the environment around me. Surrounded by the water, earth, air, and sun of Belle Isle Golf Detroit, I walk into each shot with calm focus, working to release tension and stay grounded. This is golf as mindfulness in motion, where every swing becomes a way to connect with nature and inner balance.

Club: Sterling Irons single length iron 8-Iron


Watch the full video here.

Have you ever hit golf balls as a form of meditation? In this short, I share how I turn a simple driving range session into a grounding practice. Using breathwork, visualization, and educational kinesiology, I connect with the earth’s energy, calm the mind, and find flow through the golf swing.

Filmed at Belle Isle Golf Detroit, this is golf as moving meditation.

Club: Sterling Irons single length iron 8-Iron


Watch the full video here.

Golf can be more than scorecards, technique, and competition—it can also be a form of meditation. In this video, feeling exhausted, I head to Belle Isle Golf Detroit’s driving range to reset, recharge, and re-balance my energy through mindful practice.

I share some backstory on how I use golf as moving meditation, then walk you through a session while hitting shots. Finally, you’ll simply watch the flow of swings—golf as meditation in action.

Club: Sterling Irons 8-Iron

Perseverance is one of the 11 wealth-building habits Jaacob uncovered. In this clip, he shares how obstacles were coming from every direction, forcing a choice: give up or keep going. Neither path is inherently right or wrong, but those who ultimately succeed often credit their perseverance through the inevitable storms.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

Continual learning is one of the 11 wealth-building habits Jaacob uncovered. In this clip, Jennifer discusses how different generations are embracing—or ignoring—AI in their work and lives.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

In Episode 008 of The Long and Short of It, Jaacob and Jennifer break down 11 wealth-building habits and how to apply them—through the lens of a working pro golfer and two entrepreneurs. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with millionaires and billionaires, Jaacob shares the patterns he reverse-engineered as they unpack each habit into practical actions.

Part 2 of 2.

Starting off at Belle Isle Golf Detroit’s 6-hole Par 3 with the 65-yard Hole 1. This fun little gem sits right in the city—quick to play and surrounded by the nature and calm of Belle Isle and the Detroit River.

Onto Hole 5 at Belle Isle Golf’s Par 3 course—an island escape in the middle of the Detroit River. Perfect for a quick round, short walk, and nature reset.

Join me as I play the 6-hole Par 3 course at Belle Isle Golf Detroit. If you’re in the city, it’s a great little spot to get in a few holes, sharpen your short game, unwind after the day, and soak in some nature on Belle Isle.

Ball: Titleist ProV1
Lob Wedge: Sterling Irons
Putter: L.A.B. Golf

Hole 15 at Yellowstone Club on TrackMan at Five Iron Golf Detroit. Hit 3-wood 345 yards, then Sterling Irons 8-iron 195 yards, and got home in two on this par 5. Two-putt birdie.

Playing Yellowstone Club on TrackMan at Five Iron Golf Detroit. On Hole 11, my Sterling Irons Gap Wedge almost went in for a hole-in-one.

I popped into Five Iron Golf Detroit Downtown to play a few TrackMan simulator holes from the Yellowstone Club — a stunning mountain course in Big Sky, Montana.

You’ll see full-room views plus on-screen data for every shot. (Note: the club shown on each hole intro isn’t always the one I used — for example, Hole 11 fly-in says 9-iron, but I actually hit Gap Wedge.)

Need money? Just use the country club!

But what if you can't afford to get in the country club?

A clip from "The Long and Short of It" podcast Episode 7, breaking down 11 wealth-building habits and how to apply them.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

The gated knowledge of using responsible debt to grow...a clip from "The Long and Short of It" podcast Episode 7, breaking down 11 wealth-building habits and how to apply them.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

In Episode 007 of The Long and Short of It, Jaacob and Jennifer break down 11 wealth-building habits and how to apply them—through the lens of a working pro golfer and two entrepreneurs. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with millionaires and billionaires, Jaacob shares the patterns he reverse-engineered as they unpack each habit into practical actions.

Dedicated to Mr. Moses, their 18-year-old cat, who passed peacefully two days after filming (he appears in Ep. 6).

Part 1 of 2.

Here's me playing the first hole of Arthur Hills at The Harbor Springs - Boyne Golf, which I've also played outdoors in Michigan PGA | PGA of America tournaments.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

Here's me playing the first hole of The Heather at The Harbor Springs - Boyne Golf, which I've also played outdoors in Michigan PGA | PGA of America tournaments.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

I ducked into Five Iron Golf Detroit Downtown to play a few simulator holes on Trackman from two Michigan courses at The Highlands at Harbor Springs — The Heather and Arthur Hills (both courses I’ve also played outdoors in Michigan PGA tournaments). Full-room view + on-screen data so you can see the shots and numbers.
 

My strength and extreme risk tolerance was sabotaging approach shots. Digging into the data revealed a hidden edge—and a smarter way to score.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

Data revealed a hidden edge—I was lag-putting better than PGA TOUR player and former world number one Jordan Spieth, widely hailed that year as the best—and it rewired my on-course strategy.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

In Episode 006 of The Long and Short of It, Jaacob and Jennifer explore Jaacob’s high tolerance for risk, how data analysis and self-study (including astrology and personality assessments) have shaped his golf strategy—particularly his approach shots and putting—and the balance between external validation through metrics and internal confidence. The conversation evolves to touch on comparisons, competition, joy, and reframing success beyond purely competitive measures.

What the title said…

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

It’s not so easy to make a hole-in-one, even on a short little 35-yard hole on a par 3 course. In fact, from just 25 yards in the fairway, pros will only make the shot about 1 in 105 times.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

Can I make a hole-in-one on the 4th hole at Belle Isle Golf Detroit?
 
It’s a short par-3 course, and this hole is only 35 yards. I’m playing off a mat to protect the tee box, and it’s not a traditional round.
 
Still, the shot isn’t simple. I’ve got to go under a tree and over a bunker. The wind varies. I can’t see the cup. The slope near the hole is an illegally steep 7.51%—for context, the PGA TOUR typically limits pin placements to slopes between 0–4%.
 
A statistician told me that the odds of a pro like me holing out from just 25 yards in the fairway are about 1 in 105. From 35 yards, with these conditions? The odds are definitely worse.
 
Mathematically, I shouldn’t make it.
 
But can clear intention help beat the odds?
 
Let's explore it!
 

In Episode 005 of The Long and Short of It, Jen and I shift from our usual format and dive into a deeper conversation sparked by a difficult round of golf I played the previous day.

Jen references an article I recently wrote for GolfWRX.com about how world ranked #1 golfer in the world Scottie Scheffer doesn't find winning to be a fulfilling life.
 
Read the article here:
 
https://www.golfwrx.com/763664/on-scottie-scheffler-wondering-whats-the-point-of-winning/

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

In Episode 005 of The Long and Short of It, Jen and I shift from our usual format and dive into a deeper conversation sparked by a difficult round of golf I played the previous day, his day at the office made worse by my attachment of extra perceived importance to the round.

The full episode is on my YouTube Channel.
 

In Episode 005 of The Long and Short of It, Jaacob and Jennifer shift from their usual format and dive into a deeper conversation sparked by a difficult round of golf Jaacob played the previous day.

Jen observes how Jaacob came home feeling off—wearing bright orange (his subtle signal for "caution")—and they use this moment to explore the emotional layers beneath a bad day at the office.

The dog attacks helped lay a foundation of inner work for our relationship…and her perspective helped me shift my own.

Episode 004 of The Long and Short of It is now live on YouTube.

German shepherd attacks changed both our lives…

Episode 004 of The Long and Short of It is now live on YouTube.

Imagine you’re in a video game. You get to design your golf avatar—mentality, body, swing style, gear… even your vibe. Break it all down and build out the player you want to play.

Be the CEO of your golf game. That means setting a clear mission, vision, and values—just like a business. When you do, you start attracting exactly what you need to make it happen—and it makes it more clear the decisions that you need to make as far as what direction to go.

In this second of three videos, I continue to elaborate on one of the things I’ve been working on in 2025 — something I call my “Swing Vision.”

In Part 1, I focused on the qualities I want in my golf swing. For Part 2, I ended up finding an old piece of paper with my swing vision, in which I expanded on the qualities. Part 3 will dive deeper into the visual model I’m working toward.

Together, these three videos lay the groundwork and provide context for many things to come.

We pulled our first conversation starter card — and it took us back to 2003.

That was shortly after I took a leap of faith and left the stability of a corporate job to see if I could make it on the PGA TOUR… starting as an average golfer.

Episode 2 of The Long and Short of It is now live on YouTube.

Ahead of the PGA TOUR Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club, I got in a calm round on the North Course — the same course my fellow pros are playing this week.

Come take in some of the course & shots with me in this short video.

Hope to see you out there!

After 20+ years on tour and in the golf industry, I’ve decided to go through a rebrand.

This raw video is the first of a new chapter—one that’s more aligned with who I truly am, what I stand for, and what I want to share with the world.

In this video, I talk about:

• Why I’m rebranding
• What changes are coming
• How you can be part of the journey


Want to support the journey?

• Click on the in-video ads
• Subscribe for weekly videos: golf, growth, and the road less traveled
• Like this video if it resonates
• Comment — I love to read your thoughts
• Share this with someone who’s into golf or personal transformation

Thanks for being here!

The 5th video in Be Better Golf's series with me is live!

In this episode, after filming at Costa Mesa Golf Club, Brendon and I headed over to John Ortega's Ortega Puttlab. John, who works with PGA TOUR player Jake Knapp, generously allowed us to use his gym equipment and hitting bay equipped with a Trackman launch monitor.

In the video, we dive into aspects of the swing like foot flare, stance width, and a few other elements that can make a big difference in your game. It was great to get hands-on with the Trackman to break down these details and share them with you.

Have a look at the clip below:

Video 4 of my afternoon with Brendon of Be Better Golf is out. This clip is a follow-up to the 3rd video talking about swing speed training.

Have a look here!


And if you missed the other first two clips, here are those again:

Video 1: A bit about my rapid transformation from 14 index golfer to professional golfer
 

Video 2: The Mike Austin golf swing (golf's 515-yard man)

Brendon from Be Better Golf released the 3rd video from our afternoon of filming together in Costa Mesa, California!

If you missed the first two videos, you can catch them here:

• Video 1 – My rapid transformation from a 14-index golfer to a professional golfer.
• Video 2 – An exploration of Mike Austin’s legendary 515-yard drive and his unique golf swing.

In this 3rd video, we dive into Swing Man Golf’s swing speed training protocols. Swing speed training has been gaining more awareness recently, especially after Bryson DeChambeau’s well-known increase in swing speed.

But did you know it’s been around for quite some time?

I launched Swing Man Golf back in 2007, and since then, it has been recognized as an industry-leading resource for swing speed training. We’ve even received the prestigious Golf Fitness Association of America (GFAA) award every year for our work in this field.

Check out the video below to learn more about our proven swing speed training methods:


I hope you enjoy it!

Remember to like, comment, and subscribe to both our channels for more great content.

Brendon of Be Better Golf has released a second clip of our afternoon together talking golf. In this one, we talk about the Mike Austin golf swing, which is where I got my start in golf in 2003. Austin, if you are familiar, is the man who hit a Guinness World Record 515-yard drive in the 1974 US National Senior Open with a 43.5" steel-shafted persimmon wood driver and balata ball. The swing is a big part of what led me to winning the Pinnacle Distance Challenge with a televised 381-yard drive.

Here's the clip with Brendon:


Speaking of Mike Austin, if you haven't ever seen my 2012 video about the Mike Austin swing, it's available on my YouTube channel here. I bootstrapped the video together with virtually a zero budget, but it's holding up quite well to the test of time and people in the comments really seem to love it.

Make sure to like and comment on both videos as well as subscribing to both our channels!

I finally had the opportunity on Monday to meet up in person with Brendon of Be Better Golf to talk golf for a few hours. Here's the first clip of our conversation.

Thanks to host Fred Greene of the Golf Smarter podcast for having me on as a guest for the 5th time!

Description:

"Episode 888: Jaacob Bowden of swingmangolf.com and jaacobbowden.com was convinced that someday he would be a competitive Tour level golfer. He’s now been around the game for 20 years and his quest has brought him to the Speed Golf World Championships, World Long Drive Championships, and becoming an excellent golf instructor. In this episode we discuss his journey and how golfers at any age or skill level can increase their swing speeds which results in greater distance."

Chapter Markers:

0:00 Intro
1:31 First time we met
2:41 Making the PGA TOUR
6:27 Being a starving artist
12:50 Mindset in long drive
17:18 Losing the ego
18:47 Swing speed training
20:16 Benefit of swing speed training
25:04 How to increase swing speed
28:56 Speedgolf
31:26 What clubs do you carry in Speedgolf
34:19 Running on a golf course
38:38 Tour experience
40:47 PGA TOUR experience
43:52 Plans for 20th anniversary
47:55 Swing Man Golf

Listen to Episode 888 here:

Listen to "Speed Swing Training - Without Bulking Up Like Bryson, featuring Jaacob Bowden | #888" on Spreaker.
Watch the episode on YouTube here:


Listen to the other 4 episodes with Jaacob as a guest on Golf Smarter below:

02/06/18


11/13/12


06/05/12


12/19/09

Be sure to check out my latest article for GolfWRX titled "U.S. Open qualifying and learning from a "bad" round".

It felt a bit slow, rigid, and awkward because I hadn't done it for a while, but for this video I decided to try to see if I could make the original Austin swing I had previously made years prior.

Recently, I've been going through a lot of my old laptop and backup files and reorganizing things. In doing so, I came across some old footage from 2003-2006 that I thought would be fun to share.

My college friend Jasper Jan and I had been documenting a lot of my journey in going from average length hitting 14-handicap golfer to professional golfer and long drive champion ever since I started that golf journey at age 27 in 2003.

Back then, we had tentatively called the film "Chasing the Dream".

Here is a teaser that Jasper had cut. The timestamp on the video file said March 22, 2006, although it may have been created earlier.


The sunset shot was recorded in 2003 when I first started. I believe it was on the driving range at Tierra Rejada Golf Club or another similar club nearby.

The voices you hear are Jasper interviewing the late Dan Shauger (died 2014), who was helping me with my game and who had introduced me to the late Mike Austin (died 2005).

Unfortunately, somehow nearly all of our old film footage got lost or misplaced and we subsequently couldn't finish the project.

In going through my files, I also found some old promotional footage that Jasper had put together. Of course, Chasing the Dream was supposed to be about me…but it was also supposed to be about baseball player RA Dickey too. Keep in mind that when we were filming this, RA had not yet made it back to the majors and little did we know that he would later go on to become a Cy Young Award winner.

The film concept was pretty cool. Obviously, it was about chasing dreams…not only for myself and RA, but Jasper too, as he was fairly new to the film industry and had the dream of being a Hollywood producer. However, Jasper also wanted to contrast the journey of an individual golfer dealing with poor circumstances, being broke and in debt, sleeping in cars and tents, practicing for hours rain or shine, etc…to a team sport like baseball where a lot of money was behind the team and it's players.

The promotional footage was intended for private promotional viewing purposes only. It was originally cut with "Foo Fighter - Best of You". However, in order to post it publicly on YouTube, I had to cut out the audio.

Here's the footage.

Here are a couple of my full golf swings filmed at Pebble Beach's driving range at age 29.

There's a lot about Golf Digest that I'm not a fan of - click bait, non-golf related content, exaggerated word choice, ads framed as articles and the related lack of transparency to readers/viewers about advertiser relationships, etc. These are the types of things we need to evolve past as a society and they are in part why I don't subscribe to the magazine anymore nor click on certain types of content.

However, I did really enjoy this video from today that showcases Pebble Beach's recently renovated par-3 Peter Hay Course, now called The Hay.


First of all, I really love well thought out meaningful creations, I very much enjoy quality work/products (I'd rather have 1 awesome thing rather than 10 crappy things), and as someone who is excellent with efficiency, spatial arrangement, intuitive design, and improving things, in the video I really appreciate:

• The apparent smart flow of traffic from the new range area, through the short course, down to Pebble Beach's clubhouse
• The arrangement of holes to maximize the view of the bay (this wasn't done in the original design)
• The fun variety of shot options (ex. being able to putt from the tee box on 8 of the 9 holes, incorporating different hole directions, etc)
• Mimicking the famous 7th hole from the main Pebble Beach Golf Links courses
• The selection of yardages to tell a story about Pebble Beach's history

This new renovation looks spectacular and I'm very excited to play it one day.

The video further tugged at my heart strings for two very important personal reasons.

I first moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea in early 2004 towards the start of my golf career. At the time, there was this deal where you could hit unlimited range balls and play Peter Hay as many times as you want for around $400/year.



It was a fantastic deal for locals…and particularly for a guy like me who was dealing with circumstances of student loan debt, credit card debt from having switched to my golf career, and an income near the poverty line.

I don't want to come across as name dropping or putting people on pedestals, but because it was Pebble Beach, there would always be well-known people playing there. I remember seeing Kenny G and Clint Eastwood. I walked 18 holes chatting with Charles Howell III at Del Monte. Nick Watney was kind enough to give me golf advice about going from the then Nationwide Tour to the PGA TOUR. I hit balls and chipped with Rocco Mediate, who I found to be so lovely, friendly, and engaging.

I'd hit tons of balls and play Peter Hay over and over. I shot the unofficial course record of -6 for 9 holes and it's where I've had my 3 hole-in-ones.

• 1st Hole-In-One - November 6th, 2004 - 9th Hole - 9-Iron from 74 yards
• 2nd Hole-In-One - October 9th, 2005 - 8th Hole
• 3rd Hole-In-One - October 10th, 2006 - 3rd Hole

Off and on from 2004 to 2006, I lived all around the peninsula in a number of places that included:

• Carmel-by-the-Sea (rented a bedroom in a cottage for $200/month)
• Seaside (rented half of an old construction trailer in a back yard)
• Carmel (rented a basement studio for $500/month)

I played Bayonet, which hosts PGA TOUR Q-School and US Open qualifiers. I played Poppy Hills Golf Course (formerly hosted a PGA TOUR event) and the Preserve Golf Club. I drove past Cypress Point Club often. I passed my PAT (Playing Ability Test) for the PGA of America at Laguna Seca with a 78-72.

At one point, I also worked for the Pebble Beach Company at Spanish Bay and was fortunate to play the company's four courses (Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, The Links at Spanish Bay, and Del Monty Golf Course) many times for free as an employee.

But aside from all the amazing golf experiences, the peninsula is also where I met my wife Jennifer, who was attending graduate school at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

We had many wonderful adventures that included:

• Walking on Carmel Beach
• Having brunch at Clint Eastwood's Mission Ranch
• Going to the night baths at the Esalen Institute
• Dining at Nepenthe in Big Sur
• Hiking in and around Big Sur
• Checking out the shops in Carmel-by-the-Sea

If you haven't ever made a trip out to this part of the country, I'd highly recommend it. You can fly in direct to the small Monterey airport. However, San Jose is only about an hour drive towards the north…and San Francisco and Oakland (and Napa Valley for wine drinkers) are similarly close within about two hours.

Bryson DeChambeau has made news lately with his recent muscle and distance gains.

GolfWRX.com asked me to write a perspective piece about it.

Here it is!

Read the associated article from GolfWRX here.

Read the associated article from GolfWRX here.

By this point, you might be a little sore, particularly if you are not used to this type of training. Although we’ll be taking tomorrow off to rest and recover, generally speaking, take rest and recovery time at any point you need it. It’s an important part of training. If you are feeling tired and fatigued, your performance is dragging, you are agitated or moody, etc…take a day or more off to come back fresh.

We want to keep you healthy and this training to be fun!

That being said, if you’re ready for Day 3 of our week-long golf fitness training program, we’re going to do two things we’ve already done from yesterday’s workout. But this time, we’ll add in a new block of training, the Dynamic Downswing Overspeed exercises using our resistance bands.

Read the full article at GolfWRX here.

Watch the associated video below.

Via GolfWRX.com

We’re back for workout two of our weeklong at-home golf workout program.

For our first workout, we did a few basic exercises to break you in, mostly targeting the downswing.

In case you missed it, here again is that video.


And if you’ve followed GolfWRX for the last few years, I’ve actually previously talked about these Day 1 starter exercises in this article:

6 exercises using resistance bands for more distance
For our second workout, we’re going to add in two more blocks of training, along with a variation of our first workout.

• Day 1 – Dynamic Swing Strength
• Day 2 – Isometric Downswing Strength, Dynamic Swing Speed, Full Swing Repetitions
• Day 3 – Isometric Downswing Strength, Dynamic Downswing Overspeed, Full Swing Repetitions
• Day 4 – Rest & Recover
• Day 5 – Isometric Downswing Strength, Dynamic Swing Strength, Dynamic Swing Speed, Full Swing Repetitions
• Day 6 – Dynamic Downswing Overspeed, Full Swing Repetitions
• Day 7 – Rest & Recover

First, we’ll do some isometric training exercises to target your downswing.

I first learned about isometric training in the mid-2000s when I was competing in long drive and was researching other sports and athletes. Back then, there was no YouTube and there was almost no info on golf fitness training online. So, I had to look outside the golf industry to figure out ways in which I could increase my strength and clubhead speed.

When I was a kid, my brother Aaron and I watched a lot of Bruce Lee movies. I remembered how fast and powerful he was despite not being very big. After reading some books about Bruce’s training, I learned more about isometrics…and then simply applied those principles to the golf swing, particularly the downswing.

Second, we’ll do the same exercises as our first workout. However, this time, we’ll drop the resistance roughly in half and up the reps. Originally, I went to college to be a pharmacist, and I remembered from Physics class that Power = Force * Distance / Time. When I was training to win the 2003 Pinnacle Distance Challenge with a 381-yard televised drive, I was spending time experimenting around in the weight room to get more golf swing power. Based on the power equation, I thought I should train to not only increase my strength, but also to safely train with the weights at speed.

I remember that at some point, the weights got to be too heavy and with the loss in speed I was also losing overall power. So, sometimes for variety, I would drop the weight down enough so that I could go faster. I had also learned about various power principles from reading some of Fred “Dr. Squat” Hatfield’s thoughts on powerlifting, and as I studied, learned, and experimented for application to golf, I was further influenced by Louis Simmons and Westside Barbell, a famous powerlifting gym in Ohio. Westside’s athletes have tons of powerlifting and strength records and I recall some of their training routines could involve a couple of strength days per week combined with a couple of speed days.

Integrating these type of things among many other training concepts from other sports (Example: professional basketball dunkers, explosive track and field disciplines, etc) really lead to amazing results that hadn’t yet existed in golf, not only for myself but also for other golfers who I was training.

Lastly, we’ll get in some reps, specifically working on increasing the useable controlled speed of our full swing, ideally using a radar device like the Sports Sensors Swing Speed Radar.

Have more of a look below in Video 2 of our 5-part video series on golf workouts that you can do at home.


To read this article on GolfWRX.com, click here.

What would the same swing look and sound like a different speeds?

Have a look and find out!

It was brought to my attention the other day that I authored the top two most viewed articles ever at GolfWRX.com…collectively generating millions of views.

#1 - How Far Should You Hit Your Golf Clubs
#2 - Carry Distance Vs Swing Speed Chart

It got me wondering what else I might have authored or created that's had over a million views. This video is close….today sitting around 917,000 views.

Let's get it over 1,000,000!

TXG Tour Experience Golf just reviewed the Sterling Irons® single length irons.

Check out the video along with some great quotes pulled out that are listed below the video.

Get your own set of Sterling Irons® here.



4:26 – “I think that flew the exact same yardage. No, we did not press replay!”

7:24 - “Feeling good so far. Sound good. They really sound nice. Yeah, it’s not like you’re going to pick these up and they feel different than what you’d be expecting from a Titleist or something like that. They feel quite nice.”

8:14 – “It’s gotta be a massive value to literally anyone.”

12:35 – “You know one thing I’m definitely aware of here is these irons are not short. In terms of how far they go, they are quick.”

18:39 – “I really hate to admit it, I’m hitting these 1000 times better than my own irons.”

18:48 – “That’s flowing right on the number, 198 on the fly.”

18:58 –

“I wasn’t really expecting to hit really good shots, if I’m honest. I was a little worried about this test.”

“Is that right?”

“I kinda thought I would get to 7 and 6-iron and just be hitting like crap.”

“Well, the opposite has happened. You’re flushing these. You’re hitting them really really nice.”

19:46 – “I don’t see anyone that shouldn’t try them.”

20:29 – “Performance speaks for itself. If it works, then it’s worth a shot.”

20:40 – “If your ball striking is a weakness and striking and being inconsistent is the reason for that, this really is one solution you could look at.”

20:51 – “I think I’m making better contact for sure.”

20:52 – “I would 100% say that this is the cleanest full set test we’ve done.”

20:41 – “That’s as good as I can hit it.”

23:00 – “I think mission accomplished.”

23:11 – “Really good yardage gaps.”

23:44 – “I think it helped me be more consistent.”

23:50 - “That is about as consistent as I’ve gone through in a set of irons.”

24:04 – “I think there’s so much good engineering that went in to the head with what each club is engineered to do .”

25:28 – “I’m pleasantly surprised.”

25:46 - “It’s a true validation for the technology.”

26:24 - “I could tell you my own irons aren’t gapped that well.”

26:39 – “I think this was done properly.”

26:59 - “They are very competitive on price, obviously made of good materials, and clearly can be fit properly.”

Get your own set of Sterling Irons® here.

Thanks to Bobby Lopez and Darren DeMaille for having me on their Open Mic Night to talk swing speed training, single length irons, and much more! Have a listen below!

Here are a few clips of me using demonstrating the Mike Austin swing over the years.

Drove over to bad Ragaz, Switzerland to watch part of the Bad Ragas PGA Seniors Open.

Here are a couple swing clips of Bob Charles and Gary Player that I took while at the event:

In Belek, Turkey from January 16th to February 13th.

In Phoenix, Arizona from March 23rd to March 27th.

During the trip, I visited Krank Golf to get fitted for a couple drivers.

Have a look at clips from the trip below:

NOTE: This post was edited on May 4th, 2021 to include the full video, which is now posted for free on YouTube.

Launched my new Mike Austin instructional video.

Be sure to check it out below:

Be sure to check out Mark Crossfield’s review of Tom Wishon’s and my Sterling Irons® single length irons at GolfWRX here.

The video description, as per Mark:

"Single Length Irons Like Bryson Dechambeau. Mark Crossfield tests the Sterling Irons® from Jaacob Bowden and Tom Wishon to show you what Bryson's idea with iron lengths could do for your golf game. This is a review of these golf clubs as well as a test of the idea of single length golf clubs."

Or just watch Mark's full video review below.

Today, Christo Garcia posted his video review of my Sterling Irons® single length irons.

Be sure to have a look below!

Does length matter?

See what Today’s Golfer has to say about Sterling Irons® single length irons in their test.

Here's the link to the article.

Also included in the article is the video below.

#1 Most Popular Golf Instructor Mark Crossfield has just published “Cobra One Length or Sterling Irons® One Length” - Part 1.

Video notes: Mark Crossfield and Coach Lockey take on the single length iron challenge with the Cobra One Length irons and the Sterling Irons® single length irons. See what their on-course in-match ideas are of the single length push in the golf industry.

Watch it!

Continuing on from yesterday, Mark Crossfield has published Part 2 of “Cobra One Length or Sterling Irons® One Length”. See what Mark and Coach Lockey think about single length irons on the course and during their match.

Watch below!

Tied the championship record for golf score shooting a 72 in 55 minutes 42 seconds using only 6 clubs at the Speedgolf World Championships at Bandon Dunes.

Here’s a little clip of me playing my approach shot in to the 9th hole during the 2nd round.


Click here for some other photos from the event.

Thanks to host Jeff Pelizzaro for having me on his 18 Strong podcast.

Show Notes:

• Jaacob shares his story from growing up in St. Louis, MO to becoming one of the world’s leading experts in gaining swing speed.
• He didn’t start his journey to be a professional until after college and working several years in the corporate world.
• He went from a 14 handicap to a professional golfer in a ridiculous amount of time
• Jaacob talks about his mentors Dan Shauger and Mike Austin and how they changed his golf swing and ultimately his career path
• Jaacob tells us about his long drive competitions and what his training consisted of during that time
• He gives us his 2 biggest keys to gaining speed in your swing
• Jaacob explains how his system at SwingManGolf.com has helped thousands get more clubhead speed in short period and how you can take advantage of it, too

Listen on YouTube below.

Thanks to Bernard Sheridan for interviewing me for Episode 99 Breaking Par. One thing we talked about was how to build swing speed in your golf swing.

Show Notes:

"Jaacob Bowden of Swing Man Golf is known world wide for helping players of all handicap levels get more distance. He has written several articles for many popular publications. Appeared on many TV, radio shows and podcasts. He is here to share his insight this week on episode 99 of Breaking Par with Bernard Sheridan. I know this will be an episode that goes down as one of the fan favorites."

Watch the video version of the interview below.

Steve Buzza of Buzza Golf and James Pickard give their opinions on single length irons with James giving his review of my Sterling Irons®.

Take a look.

Paul Wilson has published his review of my Sterling Irons® single length irons.

Watch the review below.