My Swing Speed Journey

[Klimski]

My driver swing speed is around 85-95 mph, estimated based on a 125mph ball speed with driver. I don't really think speed is what I need to improve my game. That said: I have noticed that I tend to hit driver better when NOT holding back. "Slowing down' leads to all kinds of weird mishits.

 

[Golf is fun]

My driver swing speed is around 85-95 mph, estimated based on a 125mph ball speed with driver. I don't really think speed is what I need to improve my game. That said: I have noticed that I tend to hit driver better when NOT holding back. "Slowing down' leads to all kinds of weird mishits.

You really need an accurate measurement to answer that question.

If you're getting 125mph ball speed from an 85mph swing, speed training is probably exactly what you want as you're being pretty efficient with the speed you do have - 1.47 smash factor. For reference tour average is around 1.49 and a single digit handicap would be fine with 1.45.
However if you're getting that from 95mph you're at 1.31 which suggests you could gain a lot of distance just be being efficient and would probably gain speed from having a better swing pattern too.

On the bit about hitting better when not holding back, I always liken this to riding a bike - is it easier to balance riding at 0.5mph or 15mph? At higher speed the club will tend to stay on the path you set it on, if this is the wrong one it can be catastrophic and you can't recover, but if it's an acceptable one it's harder to manipulate it into a bad place. This is why speed training often yields some technical improvement too, plus you have to generally sequence well to generate speed.

 

[morris1819]

Been quite humbling really this. I thought my driver swing was about about 100mph based on nothing more than I could get up to about 108 about 3 years ago in a simulator.

Based on the 3 overspeed sessions I have done so far I have gone from

Light - 105 to 108
Medium - 96 to 99
Heavy - 96 to 97

Based on this link (although I'm not using superspeed sticks) - https://superspeedgolf.com/blogs/ne...CAL5H7PBqHxwMojuF8fWX4n7VN-dGPkTPmkUPKyCkfNcV - my driver swing is only going to be between 90 & 95.

More work to do but I'm looking forward to it over the winter!

 

[Springveldt]

Been quite humbling really this. I thought my driver swing was about about 100mph based on nothing more than I could get up to about 108 about 3 years ago in a simulator.

Based on the 3 overspeed sessions I have done so far I have gone from

Light - 105 to 108
Medium - 96 to 99
Heavy - 96 to 97

Based on this link (although I'm not using superspeed sticks) - https://superspeedgolf.com/blogs/ne...CAL5H7PBqHxwMojuF8fWX4n7VN-dGPkTPmkUPKyCkfNcV - my driver swing is only going to be between 90 & 95.

More work to do but I'm looking forward to it over the winter!

What are you using to measure your speeds? This blog is from 2021 and I'm sure SuperSpeed were pushing the blue sports sensor radar at the time (the one I've got) and not the PRGR. From reading some posts around the net it seems that the PRGR reads anywhere from 3-5mph slower than the blue sports sensor one.

For reference I've got the blue sports sensor radar and my speeds are usually around 130 for green, 125 for blue and 120 for red. Last Friday on Trackman I was between 103-105mph most driver swings but those were under control. When I go flat out on Trackman I can get it up to 109mph. So I match up to the blog pretty accurately.

Starting my speed training tonight again, so we will see if I still reach those speeds since I haven't done a session in months.

 

[morris1819]

I've got a prgr and one of these cheap sticks from Amazon

 

[Depreston]

I've got a prgr and one of these cheap sticks from Amazon

Just use them numbers as a baseline then get yourself on a trackman again in a couple of month

 

[Springveldt]

So was back on Trackman tonight and I also did a speed training session while there. I took my sports sensor radar as well to compare, I don’t think they interfere with each other as the sports radar is in front of me while Trackman is at the side so they are looking at 90 degree angles.

Anyway, had interesting results. Fastest green registered 130 on the sports radar but only 121 on Trackman. The blues were closer, fastest sports sensor was 121 and Trackman at 115, red was 117 and 112. The most interesting one was the non-dominant side, for green the sports sensor only had 95 yet Trackman was at 105. Was the same for blue and red, Trackman was way higher. Maybe it’s because on the non-dominant side I’m further away from the sports sensor as I don’t trust myself not to hit it.

I then worked on a new feeling of existing low and left for my wedges which resulted in great strikes but now my distance control is completely out of whack as I was sending everything miles longer. My 60 yard feel was going 80 and I was carrying my 58 100 yards on full swings when I’m usually lucky to carry it 80.

Finished off with a round at Wentworth from the Championship tees with soft fairways and greens. Humbling experience, a 240 carry with next to no run doesn’t cut it from 7200 yards.

 

[Depreston]

Had a knock off the yellows this afternoon first time since March (white tees have been put in hibernation and it will have been no run back then) and with almost summer like conditions out there it’s making me want to hit the ball that extra 10-20 yards further for sure

 

[Golf is fun]

Had a knock off the yellows this afternoon first time since March (white tees have been put in hibernation and it will have been no run back then) and with almost summer like conditions out there it’s making me want to hit the ball that extra 10-20 yards further for sure

That reminded me of one of the things my coach had me try when I first started learning. When out just practising he told me to do an experiment where after every drive I pick up the ball and move it 30 yards closer to the hole and play from there, to see how it impacted my score. The idea being this simulates an extra 15-20 yards from your driver and then the additional 15-10 to give you one less iron in to simulate the fact that you'd be hitting your irons further, which are fairly realistically achievable gains for most if they put in some work. This gives you an idea how much of an impact gaining some distance can have on your game and lets you see if it's what you should work on or not.

 

[Depreston]

That reminded me of one of the things my coach had me try when I first started learning. When out just practising he told me to do an experiment where after every drive I pick up the ball and move it 30 yards closer to the hole and play from there, to see how it impacted my score. The idea being this simulates an extra 15-20 yards from your driver and then the additional 15-10 to give you one less iron in to simulate the fact that you'd be hitting your irons further, which are fairly realistically achievable gains for most if they put in some work. This gives you an idea how much of an impact gaining some distance can have on your game and lets you see if it's what you should work on or not.

Yeah feel like it would be achievable as well as I think I’ve lifted weights twice in my life and I deffo pat the driver about

 

[Neilds]

Just been watching a post on Instagram by shaun.diachkoff saying about how people can improve their distance and speed by improving their vertical jump. male golfer should aim to jump 18-22 inches, females 16-19. The theory is that you can push more off the ground and improve speed and distance. Are any of you speedsters training legs of just trying to bulk out the upper body?

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Just been watching a post on Instagram by shaun.diachkoff saying about how people can improve their distance and speed by improving their vertical jump. male golfer should aim to jump 18-22 inches, females 16-19. The theory is that you can push more off the ground and improve speed and distance. Are any of you speedsters training legs of just trying to bulk out the upper body?

I saw that and was a very interesting post. Also saw one yesterday with Rachel Drummond doing some social work with George Gankas and one of the drills he was teaching was how to squat in the downswing and explosively jump and rotate to a finish. The theory being it builds a feel of how to correctly use the ground and build power from the ground up.

I do a lot of legs and a lot of plyometric jumps etc. it definitely been an improving factor in my game to where it used to be.

 

[Golf is fun]

Just been watching a post on Instagram by shaun.diachkoff saying about how people can improve their distance and speed by improving their vertical jump. male golfer should aim to jump 18-22 inches, females 16-19. The theory is that you can push more off the ground and improve speed and distance. Are any of you speedsters training legs of just trying to bulk out the upper body?

I both agree and disagree on this. Vertical jump is definitely a good indicator of lower body power, but it doesn't take into account your own mass. In golf you don't really have to move your own mass that much, so being strong but also being fat isn't really a problem, like it would be for say basketball, but this doesn't reflect in a vertical jump. I also don't think lower body power in a vertical plane is the most important thing for swing speed, it's more the icing on the cake, which is why some pros can hit bombs from off their knees.

If I were to pick one gym exercise for correlation to speed, I'd go with some kind of medicine ball thrown myself, seated, standing, chest pass, rotational, whatever floats your boat.

 

[Springveldt]

Just been watching a post on Instagram by shaun.diachkoff saying about how people can improve their distance and speed by improving their vertical jump. male golfer should aim to jump 18-22 inches, females 16-19. The theory is that you can push more off the ground and improve speed and distance. Are any of you speedsters training legs of just trying to bulk out the upper body?

This is the ground force reactions that everyone has been going on about for a few years now. The main guy at TPI has people basically jumping and turning so that when you land your feet are facing the target, he says that’s what the golf swing should feel like if you are pushing out of the ground properly.

Lots of guys advocate adding in vertical jumps to a gym routine but no, I don’t train legs. I’m not training anything really just swinging sticks as fast as I can. I’ve starting doing stretches again, especially after watching the latest TPI video with the Irish guy who just turned 50, I started doing those stretches that was recommended to him today. Bloody hard, felt quite painful as I’m stiff as a board.

 

[Depreston]

I both agree and disagree on this. Vertical jump is definitely a good indicator of lower body power, but it doesn't take into account your own mass. In golf you don't really have to move your own mass that much, so being strong but also being fat isn't really a problem, like it would be for say basketball, but this doesn't reflect in a vertical jump. I also don't think lower body power in a vertical plane is the most important thing for swing speed, it's more the icing on the cake, which is why some pros can hit bombs from off their knees.

If I were to pick one gym exercise for correlation to speed, I'd go with some kind of medicine ball thrown myself, seated, standing, chest pass, rotational, whatever floats your boat.

Par4success test for potential speed increase is a 6lb medicine ball seated chest pass and vertical jump it’s where they see the most correlation to club head speed , I believe TPI agree as well

 

[The Squirrel]

That reminded me of one of the things my coach had me try when I first started learning. When out just practising he told me to do an experiment where after every drive I pick up the ball and move it 30 yards closer to the hole and play from there, to see how it impacted my score. The idea being this simulates an extra 15-20 yards from your driver and then the additional 15-10 to give you one less iron in to simulate the fact that you'd be hitting your irons further, which are fairly realistically achievable gains for most if they put in some work. This gives you an idea how much of an impact gaining some distance can have on your game and lets you see if it's what you should work on or not.

Well to be more a more accurate simulation of me hitting my driver longer I’d have to pick up the ball and throw it 20 yards further into the trees .

 

[Golf is fun]

Par4success test for potential speed increase is a 6lb medicine ball seated chest pass and vertical jump it’s where they see the most correlation to club head speed , I believe TPI agree as well

Well yes, because people who are more athletic generally have more potential, but it is important to remember that correlation isn't the same as causation.

What I am saying is that upper body power is most important, which is what the med ball throw measures, and lower body power is secondary which is what the jump measures. Generally though most people can jump to their max potential better than they can throw stuff because of technique, so this is why it may show stronger correlation, although all bets are off with heavier people.

Edit: I just wanted to add the source for this if you are interested, it's a meta study called The correlations between physical attributes and golf clubhead speed: A systematic review with quantitative analyses by Alex Ehlert.

It shows jump height has a good correlation with speed, but jump power (e.g impulse with the ground irrespective of how high they jump - likely due to body mass) has a better correlation, and various types of med ball throws having better correlation still.
In terms of physical attributes upper body strength correlates more with speed than lower body power, but lower body strength correlates more than upper body strength and upper body power is the most important. The most interesting part of this to me is that power is seemingly more important with the upper body, but strength is more important with the lower body.

 

[Depreston]

Well yes, because people who are more athletic generally have more potential, but it is important to remember that correlation isn't the same as causation.

What I am saying is that upper body power is most important, which is what the med ball throw measures, and lower body power is secondary which is what the jump measures. Generally though most people can jump to their max potential better than they can throw stuff because of technique, so this is why it may show stronger correlation, although all bets are off with heavier people.

Edit: I just wanted to add the source for this if you are interested, it's a meta study called The correlations between physical attributes and golf clubhead speed: A systematic review with quantitative analyses by Alex Ehlert.

It shows jump height has a good correlation with speed, but jump power (e.g impulse with the ground irrespective of how high they jump - likely due to body mass) has a better correlation, and various types of med ball throws having better correlation still.
In terms of physical attributes upper body strength correlates more with speed than lower body power, but lower body strength correlates more than upper body strength and upper body power is the most important. The most interesting part of this to me is that power is seemingly more important with the upper body, but strength is more important with the lower body.

Interesting that thanks

I know Crossfield has absolutely maxed out his speed based on technique and is attempting to get stronger even though he hates the gym. It’ll be interesting if he sticks to it and to see what he gains starting from probably the lowest baseline from anyone on YouTube

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Well yes, because people who are more athletic generally have more potential, but it is important to remember that correlation isn't the same as causation.

What I am saying is that upper body power is most important, which is what the med ball throw measures, and lower body power is secondary which is what the jump measures. Generally though most people can jump to their max potential better than they can throw stuff because of technique, so this is why it may show stronger correlation, although all bets are off with heavier people.

Edit: I just wanted to add the source for this if you are interested, it's a meta study called The correlations between physical attributes and golf clubhead speed: A systematic review with quantitative analyses by Alex Ehlert.

It shows jump height has a good correlation with speed, but jump power (e.g impulse with the ground irrespective of how high they jump - likely due to body mass) has a better correlation, and various types of med ball throws having better correlation still.
In terms of physical attributes upper body strength correlates more with speed than lower body power, but lower body strength correlates more than upper body strength and upper body power is the most important. The most interesting part of this to me is that power is seemingly more important with the upper body, but strength is more important with the lower body.

Interesting post and a good read, makes a lot of sense

That last line doesn’t surprise me at all. Power in the swing coming from the upper body though a strong core, strong and mobile shoulders, back and chest push certainly correlates and strength in the legs is what creates that ground force and stability to allow that power to flow. So goes to show people should be training up and lower body in strength and plyometric movements if they have the ability to.

Gives good food for thought.

 

[VVega]

Kyle’s take: gym and hitting balls x3 a week — all it takes