How to increase swing speed?

need_my_wedge

need_my_wedge

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Had a session on a flightscope the other week with the club pro. It seems that I have quite a slow swing speed (82mph with a driver and a little slower with others). I was really surprised with this swing speed, and quite disappointed as when I play normally, and hit the ball well, I'm sure it flies better than the yardage being reported on the flightscope (have measured using GPS!) :D

The club pro is not my usual instructor, although I have had a couple of sessions with him, unfortunately they always turn into a disaster as I seem to get really nervous under his eye. I'm much more relaxed with my normal pro and hit much better when working with him. That's not to insinuate that the club pro is no good, have learnt some good stuff with him. He knows I see someone else and pointed out a couple of things going wrong whilst doing the flightscope, and suggested I bring them up with my normal guy so that he (club pro) didn't confuse me with mixed messages and my regular pro could fix them.

Anyways, question I haven't been able to ask yet, and won't be able to for a couple of weeks now, is how can I increase my swing speed? Are there any excercises that are good for helping out here?
 
Why didnt you ask the pro or your usual pro how to increase swing speed it seems the obvious question,once again as ive said in recent posts are these pros really worth there money or is it the person having the lessons being thick and unable to take the info in,if i was paying for a lesson i would be asking all the questions i needed to get the answers.I dont believe you are thick for one minute,however it seems you have just put a silly question on for the sake of it. It might seem im having a rant but this is basic common sense.merry xmas
 
Easy Tiger, maybe you are a bit miffed at not being able to play due to the weather conditions, but no need to get heavy.

Relax man, Goodwill to all dudes etc etc

It is actually a very valid post, maybe the question should be expressed differently, "How do I increase my swing speed without sacrificing accuracy"

Turning to the original post, How far do you actually hit the ball with a driver and a 7 iron

If you are getting about 200 with the driver and about 130 with the 7 then there aint much wrong,

What you dont want to do it get a swing speed of 110mph but start flaying it all over the park.

I would happily settle for 30 yards less distance but retain 90% accuracy.

So yes chat it through with your fave pro, but dont fall into the trap of speed envy, we are all different.

Saint Fragger The Peacemaker
Ho Ho Ho
 
The best way is to relax. If you are tense, it is going nowhere. This might explain your results on the flight scope.

On an LM, I swing at 95mph, and carry about 215 yards. This can run out a heck of a way though in the summer. The LM only really gives carry, so while the distance may look low, it is probably right for your swing on the day.
 
Isn't the key "hit it better - not harder"?
Ok your swing speed isn't Tigeresque but its not that slow. If you concentrate on a better strike then more distance will come and you'll retain accuracy. Start speeding up the swing and most parts start moving too much and all hell breaks loose. Keep it steady and work on the clubhead-to-ball area.
 
Why didnt you ask the pro or your usual pro how to increase swing speed it seems the obvious question,once again as ive said in recent posts are these pros really worth there money or is it the person having the lessons being thick and unable to take the info in,if i was paying for a lesson i would be asking all the questions i needed to get the answers.I dont believe you are thick for one minute,however it seems you have just put a silly question on for the sake of it. It might seem im having a rant but this is basic common sense.merry xmas
Click to expand...

Wow.....

Actually, the flightscope session lasted an hour and was totally free. The reason I didn't ask the pro at the time was purely because I forgot, whilst trying to digest info received and cope with the frustration of hitting badly, the last thought was how do increase my swing speed, or whether I should be increasing my swing speed. As I said above won't be able to ask the question to my pro for a couple of weeks as I can't get to see him before mid Jan.

Murph, when striking well, shots of my 7 iron are upto 150 yds, my driver can carry 200yds.

I know relaxing is the key, and I'm quite happy and relaxed when working with my normal guy. In fact I think the slow swing speed is a direct result of me trying to relax more and confusing relaxation with slowing down.

Pokerjoke, I fully intend to consult with my pro, who is far from a waste of time, he's helped improve my game considerably over the course of this year. As for it being a silly question, I don't think so, I was merely enquiring as to whether anyone had any exercises or ideas until I get the chance to go see him.
 
Hi wedge.
I dont agree with PokerJoe, I think it is a good question and one I am asked alot.
There are more ways than one to increase your distance other than just speed alone but as thats the question you have asked I'll try and help.
As usual, it's impossible to know your swing without seeing it but the 2 main ways to help get more speed are below
1.Turn your centre faster.
Imagine you are a cart wheel. The faster the centre turns, the faster the outside turns (your arms and club)
So, dont just try and swing your arms faster, turn your body quicker instead.

2. Lots of golfers dont make a complete wrist cock therefor get little release at impact.
Bryan, try this. Stand in front of a window or mirror and do your normal backswing and stop. Is there a full right angle formed between your left forearm and club shaft (for right handers) as in the picture right or are you more like picture left?

hnj-1.jpg


If you are picture left, that will explain why you dont hit it as far as you may want to.
HTH
 
Thanks very much Bob.

The wrist cock may be part of it. One of the things that we've been working on is to change my swing path, and some of the exercises involve reducing the back swing. I may not be doing a full cock when I do that.

I also know that my centre is not working fully in sync with the rest of the body at the moment.
 
If you are hitting your 7i 150 (same as me) and you are carrying 200 with a driver (ditto), it won't be distance that is holding you back. I wouldn't worry, you are hitting it well enough to get round most tracks in a decent score. Longer will just be deeper in the poo if you aren't careful. With these numbers, accuracy will win every time.

My view is every one has a natural tempo / swing speed, and to change this is very hard, unless you have a basic flaw to fix (such as wrist cock).

What do you play off?
 
My appologies,i would say the reason your swing speed was relatively slow was due to tension as you was not as relaxed as with your normal pro,as the saying goes tension kills.
 
As usual, it's impossible to know your swing without seeing it but the 2 main ways to help get more speed are below
1.Turn your centre faster.
Imagine you are a cart wheel. The faster the centre turns, the faster the outside turns (your arms and club)
So, dont just try and swing your arms faster, turn your body quicker instead.

2. Lots of golfers dont make a complete wrist cock therefor get little release at impact.
Click to expand...

I agree with bobs comments. Having spent a considerable time recently on lessons and then practice between the lessons, turning through the ball correctly and getting the correct wrist cock and uncock are the things that have really helped me get a better strike and subsequently get control of distance and direction.
 
Surely this is an impossible question to answer when we don't know what loft or shaft you have on your driver. 150 yards seems about right for a well struck 7 iron, but 200 yards seems slightly light for a driver, although in the cold weather it might be about right and if it has, for example, 11 degrees of loft it might be spot on.
If however your driver has 9 degrees loft and a different kick point then clubhead speed might be a factor. We need more info.
 
A couple of decent drill for this ( feel free to p*** on these strawberries if incorrect Bob) are:

Turn the club upside down as though you were hitting the ball with the grip end and swing away trying to get the 'whoosh' as loud as possible at the impact area.

and

Grip right down on the driver, start with your arms back at 9 o'clock and fully cock those wrists so the shaft is pointing vertically (if not further towards your ear). Then turn and swish through the hitting area as hard as you can to build up that feeling of speed through the ball.
 
How strong are your core muscles, because i think you can hit the ball a lot further if you have a very strong core (and general fitness helps too).

Hope this helps...

Merry xmas
 
pokerjoke in stupid question shock accusation

Now that has to be pot calling kettle black eh ?
*shakes head*

I'm not qualified to advise really, but I think 'lag' has a lot to do with distance ?
A good wrist break, as Bob has intimated, coupled with a late release of the wrists thru impact, is bound to hugely benefit clubhead speed, and therefore distance.
My own swing is unhurried, but Ive never struggled for distance, much to do with clubhead speed as above I beleive.
 
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