For a ‘standard’ full shot. How fast does a typical tour pro swing?

[abjectplop]

How on earth are we supposed to work out if we have a 3:1 ratio or not by the way? I've always wondered this when people reference it.

you don't really need to think about it, just swing to the beats in the app........start the backswing on beat 1, start the downswing on beat 2, and contact the ball on beat 3!

 

[irip]

I was told years ago that you should be able to say at normal speed Severiano on your back swing and Ballesteros on your forward swing and that was a good tempo.

I’m sure there is a more scientific method now.

Also not great if like me you had a stutter

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

I was told years ago that you should be able to say at normal speed Severiano on your back swing and Ballesteros on your forward swing and that was a good tempo.

I’m sure there is a more scientific method now.

Also not great if like me you had a stutter

Did my dad teach you how to play

He used to did this when he took me to the range, he'd say it out loud trying to get me to swing at the tempo. I genuinely thought he was mental, good to know someone esle was told this and not just me!

There's a video doing the rounds of Faldo commenting on Els swing and saying his name for Tempo it always reminds me of those range days

 

[Orikoru]

I was told years ago that you should be able to say at normal speed Severiano on your back swing and Ballesteros on your forward swing and that was a good tempo.

I’m sure there is a more scientific method now.

Also not great if like me you had a stutter

That's another one I've never understood either. That makes it sound like the time for backswing and downswing should be the same, since both names have four syllables! So that's totally different to 3:1.

 

[irip]

That's another one I've never understood either. That makes it sound like the time for backswing and downswing should be the same, since both names have four syllables! So that's totally different to 3:1.

I’m not saying it’s right just something I have heard previously.

 

[Orikoru]

I’m not saying it’s right just something I have heard previously.

I know, I've heard it too, that's why I was chiming in and saying I don't get it. If you watch Rory's swing he's probably hit the ball by the time you get to 'Severi-'

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I know, I've heard it too, that's why I was chiming in and saying I don't get it. If you watch Rory's swing he's probably hit the ball by the time you get to 'Severi-'

Different way of playing golf now, as with cricket. Now it is wham bam when you learn, back then it was more technique and smoothness. Saying that, for us amateurs I would say generally that a smoother swing is a better one. If we tried to swing at Rory's pace most of us would fall over. His balance is remarkable

 

[Orikoru]

Different way of playing golf now, as with cricket. Now it is wham bam when you learn, back then it was more technique and smoothness. Saying that, for us amateurs I would say generally that a smoother swing is a better one. If we tried to swing at Rory's pace most of us would fall over. His balance is remarkable

I've been trying to add speed, although haven't gone down the speedsticks route as I'm too scared of cocking up my swing when I'm playing the best I ever have. But the main thing I have to remember is not to add speed by swinging the arms faster, as that's where it goes wrong. You need to move your body quicker and let the arms follow, which isn't that easy.

 

[rulie]

I suspect that any "ratio" was just the analysis of time measurements of selected players and many swings, with "3:1" likely being the median (most common). Doesn't mean it's right for any specific individual.
But keep working on it, it must be important!

 

[Depreston]

I suspect that any "ratio" was just the analysis of time measurements of selected players and many swings, with "3:1" likely being the median (most common). Doesn't mean it's right for any specific individual.
But keep working on it, it must be important!

Nope ratio stays same certainly at tour level

Rory - 21:7
Ernie 24:8
Dunlap 27:9

 

[Orikoru]

Nope ratio stays same certainly at tour level

Rory - 21:7
Ernie 24:8
Dunlap 27:9

Are those numbers in seconds? They look way faster.

 

[Depreston]

Are those numbers in seconds? They look way faster.

No BPM

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tour+tempo+golf

have a look at the shorts.

they loop go swing a club and be shocked how slow you are

 

[The Squirrel]

Different way of playing golf now, as with cricket. Now it is wham bam when you learn, back then it was more technique and smoothness. Saying that, for us amateurs I would say generally that a smoother swing is a better one. If we tried to swing at Rory's pace most of us would fall over. His balance is remarkable

This made me ponder two things.

Although pros say they’re playing at 80%, that’s a feel. I’d bet that in terms of actual measurable speed and muscular effort they’re over 90% of their full-out effort. The feeling of drop in effort when dropping from 100 to 95% will feel large while the feeling of drop in effort in a drop from 50 to 45% will barely feel different, but they are the same amount of effort change.
(You could express that last sentence much more clearly using calculus rather than English but that’s a bit beyond my abilities )

Also; do pros play closer to the edge these days now that clubs are more forgiving? I suspect so; a lot of distance gains may be due to more forgiveness in clubs rather than more energy conversion (increased distance from the properties of the club itself) which allow pros to go pretty much all out with their swings knowing a bad hit won’t be that bad; while in the 80s and earlier control was everything as any off centre strike was brutally punished, so pros were playing at maybe 85% rather than 95% in order to retain really fine control?

 

[sjw]

I know, I've heard it too, that's why I was chiming in and saying I don't get it. If you watch Rory's swing he's probably hit the ball by the time you get to 'Severi-'

Depends how quickly you say it

 

[sjw]

I suspect that any "ratio" was just the analysis of time measurements of selected players and many swings, with "3:1" likely being the median (most common). Doesn't mean it's right for any specific individual.
But keep working on it, it must be important!

The mode is most common

 

[clubchamp98]

My "theory" is that everyone has a natural "key time" - from the start of the backswing until the ball is struck. It's hard to change and trying to change it ends up with poor results.

Faldo always said that!

When he was playing really well he and many others said “ when playing well you think I can just eek a bit more speed to get some yardage, this leads to bad timing and poor shots because I lose my tempo.”

Always thought this good advice.

 

[PaulMdj]

Different way of playing golf now, as with cricket. Now it is wham bam when you learn, back then it was more technique and smoothness. Saying that, for us amateurs I would say generally that a smoother swing is a better one. If we tried to swing at Rory's pace most of us would fall over. His balance is remarkable

Just before I finished as JLO I took some of our “better” Juniors to a County introduction/training day.

The mantra from the coach’s was very much one of encourage the kids to hit their Driver as hard and as fast as they can, the idea being that they (the coach’s) would and could add control at a later date.

When questioned about this they said modern thinking was that it was more difficult to add speed to control than control to speed.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

@PaulMdj very much the same for cricket. As someone brought up with early lessons being a high left elbow, forward defensive and playing through the V, it's alien to me .

I'm a technique person, dinosaur

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Just before I finished as JLO I took some of our “better” Juniors to a County introduction/training day.

The mantra from the coach’s was very much one of encourage the kids to hit their Driver as hard and as fast as they can, the idea being that they (the coach’s) would and could add control at a later date.

When questioned about this they said modern thinking was that it was more difficult to add speed to control than control to speed.

Shows how golf is cyclical, this isn’t really modern thinking. It was what Nicklaus and Palmer said in their instruction videos and books decades ago. It’s how my brother learned to play as well. Yet from the mid to late 80s, thinking changed to teaching tempo and smooth swinging when the likes of Faldo, Couples, Els etc were in their pomp which is when I learned and you can see the distinct difference in the swings my brother and I have, he belts it’s and I’m a lazy swinger.

Now as people have got more athletic it’s gone full circle with teach kids to hit it hard and rein it in after.

 

[PaulMdj]

Shows how golf is cyclical, this isn’t really modern thinking. It was what Nicklaus and Palmer said in their instruction videos and books decades ago. It’s how my brother learned to play as well. Yet from the mid to late 80s, thinking changed to teaching tempo and smooth swinging when the likes of Faldo, Couples, Els etc were in their pomp which is when I learned and you can see the distinct difference in the swings my brother and I have, he belts it’s and I’m a lazy swinger.

Now as people have got more athletic it’s gone full circle with teach kids to hit it hard and rein it in after.

Pity the kids when they have 400-500 Coach’s at the Club telling them what’s best.