Swing Speed Advice

[UnluckyXIII]

Hi Guys,

I only recently took up Golf and I'm loving everything about it so far. The other day I asked my Pro how a club fitting works so after a lesson he showed me. My swing speed came in at 70mph after he had measured it, he seemed a little surprised and told me that I have a fairly slow swing speed. He then said if he was to recommend me some clubs he would choose a Graphite shaft over Steel, the only problem with this is that Graphite shafted Irons are a lot more expensive then their Steel counterparts. What or how do I go about increasing my swing speed enough to move on from Graphite shafts to Steel?

Thanks,

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It comes down to a lot of variables including age and suppleness. Graphite is lighter than steel and so will in theory give you a quicker swing as the club is lighter and therefore travels quicker. Is it always the same speed or did you really slow down and focus for the measurement. Is 70mph really indicative of how you swing normally

 

[hopeful]

I suspect that if you go trying to swing faster you will swing more erratically. I recall advice from one of my old school masters (and that's going back a helluva long way!) When learning to do something new, first you do it slowly and badly, then slowly and well, then quickly and well. My suggestion FWIW is to concentrate initially on making a clean strike of the ball.

 

[UnluckyXIII]

It comes down to a lot of variables including age and suppleness. Graphite is lighter than steel and so will in theory give you a quicker swing as the club is lighter and therefore travels quicker. Is it always the same speed or did you really slow down and focus for the measurement. Is 70mph really indicative of how you swing normally

I'm not too sure really I've never put much thought in to it until I noticed how much more Graphite shafted clubs were going to cost me. I'm only in my early 20's and in really good physical condition because I have a very active life style (Cycling, Squash, Active Job, etc etc) the only thing I can think of is that I'm only short and of small build bust surely that shouldn't hamper my swing that much.... should it??

What would be the average swing speed for a male of my age group?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It doesn't matter what height you are as long as to turn and coil properly. Look at Woosnam - he could hit it miles

 

[RGDave]

70 mph - It's not going to stay there for long.

Trust me. I'm the King of the slow Swing.

Please don't invest in clubs just yet. Buying graphites (senior/ladies) to "improve" your game is a daft idea.

Get better, get faster. It's not rocket science.

 

[UnluckyXIII]

It doesn't matter what height you are as long as to turn and coil properly. Look at Woosnam - he could hit it miles

So it just comes down to my bad positioning, poor motion and lack of confidence...... that doesn't really help me get the price of graphite shafted irons down and the last thing I want to do is shell out on a set of irons to then replace them within 18 months because I no longer need the compensation given from the graphite shafts.

 

[Region3]

What club were you using when you were measured at 70mph?

If it's a mid iron then it's not hideously slow.
If it's with driver I'd guess you hardly use your wrists at all and your swing is very 'armsy'.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Why worry about new clubs if the swing still needs work on

 

[UnluckyXIII]

What club were you using when you were measured at 70mph?

If it's a mid iron then it's not hideously slow.
If it's with driver I'd guess you hardly use your wrists at all and your swing is very 'armsy'.

I was using a selection of different #6 Irons when he measured the speed of my swing. I have never swung a Driver yet, my teaching Pro said I would be best to leave them for now until I have a consistent swing with my Irons.

Why worry about new clubs if the swing still needs work on

Unfortunately come Monday I will no longer be getting tuition from my teaching Pro so will have to return his equipment which I have been using for lessons and to practice.

 

[Imurg]

70mph with a 6 iron equates to mid 80's with a driver so you're not fast but not that slow either.
Regular flex steel shafts ought to be ok.
Try and find a good 2nd hand set with regular shafts and keep plugging away.

 

[JustOne]

What club were you using when you were measured at 70mph?

You stole my question!!! I want it back!

70mph with a 6 iron equates to mid 80's with a driver

Does it?... That's interesting, where'd you get that info from?

 

[MashieNiblick]

Good advice above from some experienced golfers.

I understand where you're coming from but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Your swing is going to improve a lot fairly quickly and better technique will result in more speed. A set with regular steel shafts should be fine. That's what most golfers start with. If you get something too flexible now you'll either grow out of them or you'll end up trying to swing slowly just to hit them rather than build up a bit of speed.

By the by, if you're looking at buying second hand there won't really be a big premium, if any, on a graphite shafted set. If you want to get an idea of relative prices for second hand sets have a look on golfbidder (www.golfbidder.co.uk). You'll see that in many cases there isn't much of a difference between a steel shafted and graphite shafted set of the same clubs.

 

[Alex1975]

To give you some idea I swing my driver at an average of 93.5 mph and my irons at about 85 mph. You will get faster but dont get hooked on these sorts of stats, you will be fine with steal regular shafts. How much do you want to spend on clubs?

Alex

 

[Smiffy]

Regular steel would do you fine.
Your pro is talking bollocks.

 

[Imurg]

70mph with a 6 iron equates to mid 80's with a driver

Does it?... That's interesting, where'd you get that info from?

From my understanding your 6 iron swing speed is around 85% of your driver speed on average.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure that figure's been on here many times in the past.

 

[UnluckyXIII]

To give you some idea I swing my driver at an average of 93.5 mph and my irons at about 85 mph. You will get faster but dont get hooked on these sorts of stats, you will be fine with steal regular shafts. How much do you want to spend on clubs?

Alex

I have saved up over the last three months while taking lessons to give me a budget of around £1000 for everything and would be looking to spend between £400-£600 on my Irons which should leave me with enough to get the other clubs I need and a bag..... Or atleast I hope it will, maybe I should save up a bit more, what do you guys think??

 

[Smiffy]

I have saved up over the last three months while taking lessons to give me a budget of around £1000 for everything and would be looking to spend between £400-£600 on my Irons which should leave me with enough to get the other clubs I need and a bag..... Or atleast I hope it will, maybe I should save up a bit more, what do you guys think??

£400-£600.00 is an awfully large budget for your first set of irons.
OK it's your money and you spend it how you like. There's nothing like a nice new set of irons in your bag to put you in the right frame of mind. But there are a lot of clubs out there to choose from. I would personally be looking around the £200-£400.00 price range. This will still give you loads and loads of choice.
Mizuno, TM, Callaway, Nike, Wilson..all offer a range of clubs in that price range to get you going and they will all be good enough.

 

[chrisd]

Mizuno, TM, Callaway, Nike, Wilson..all offer a range of clubs in that price range to get you going and they will all be good enough.

And if you are over 70 then there is always PING!



Chris

 

[Smiffy]

And if you are over 70 then there is always PING!
Chris

I forgot about the G15's