Tashyboy
Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
In essence for me, taking my straight left arm back/ or away from the target line, causes the body to automatically twist. Doing one thing causes the other to happen. ðŸ‘
Where does the power come from in the swing?
- Thread starter stefanovic
- Start date
In essence for me, taking my straight left arm back/ or away from the target line, causes the body to automatically twist. Doing one thing causes the other to happen. ðŸ‘
Sairamtim
New member
This is an interesting topic. I only started playing at the start of the year and the only natural talent beyond the norm is the distance i hit the ball. I have no idea why I can swing the club fast but I can. I boxed for years so I wonder if that is partly it. It sounds bizarre but boxing is a sport which is all about rotating the body to harness power.
Anyway (shameless brag) I hit a 7 iron 190 yards carry fairly regularly. I hit the 5 iron 220, 230 yards. I have hot a hybrid 250 or so fairly often. However it is very inconsistent. I beleive that it isnt just about club head speed and impact conditions. I definitely believe weight transference has a large effect too.
Anyway (shameless brag) I hit a 7 iron 190 yards carry fairly regularly. I hit the 5 iron 220, 230 yards. I have hot a hybrid 250 or so fairly often. However it is very inconsistent. I beleive that it isnt just about club head speed and impact conditions. I definitely believe weight transference has a large effect too.
duncan mackie
Money List Winner
No, ball speed is all about clubhead speed and impact conditions...but weight transference will be an element in the creation of clubhead speed for most golfers.
As proof I would highlight that there is no weight transference in the mechanical golfers such as Iron Byron - it's all levers.
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chrisd
Major Champion
Hitting the ball a long way in golf is not a bad thing but your inconsistency probably stems from that, it's also likely that at the wedge end of of your bag you'll struggle with club selection as you could possibly hitting the pitching wedge, say 140 etc and you'll therefore be playing many more less than full shots than most golfers and, I reckon, that part shots are the difficult ones.
On a decent strike and a full swing I hit a 7 iron carry 155 and roll out to 162 which, with the same full swing, allows my 56 degree wedge to carry 75 yards with very little roll out but if you have to start hitting all your wedges with part swings then consistency becomes an issue imo
stefanovic
Medal Winner
Very impressive distances mentioned here, like hitting a 7 iron 160 - 190 yards. That's a wood for me.
Wasn't there some debate once about power without effort?
A couple of years ago a young lad asked me if he could try hitting my driver. Putting everything he had into it he managed only about 100 yards.
The only time I can remember driving a par 4 (330 yards downhill) I remember the sensation of finding power without effort.
So it might be partly to do with how relaxed you are and gripping the club lightly would be a good start.
Wasn't there some debate once about power without effort?
A couple of years ago a young lad asked me if he could try hitting my driver. Putting everything he had into it he managed only about 100 yards.
The only time I can remember driving a par 4 (330 yards downhill) I remember the sensation of finding power without effort.
So it might be partly to do with how relaxed you are and gripping the club lightly would be a good start.
Dibby
Assistant Pro
Apparent effortlessness is not caused by a lack of effort, it's caused by effort being well coordinated and working in the same direction, instead of fighting against yourself. Tension is caused by opposing muscles being tense, if only one side of a joint is tense and the other is relaxed, you have a large force being exerted. This is more apparent if you look outside of golf. See the below example:
How much effort did it look like he put in? That's a 77kg (12st 1lb) man lifting 165kg (4oz shy of 26st), most people can't even pick that up off the floor to waist high. He is putting in an incredible amount of effort, but because his timing and coordination is good, it looks effortless.
stefanovic
Medal Winner
Not sure if power lifting equates to power golf.
I know Homer Kelly studied a lot of swings for his book The Golfing Machine, and none of them look like those of the average golfer who struggles to hit further than 200 yards.
Here might be some clues about swing dynamics, which I've heard mentioned elsewhere.
https://www.thediygolfer.com/power-accumulators/
I know Homer Kelly studied a lot of swings for his book The Golfing Machine, and none of them look like those of the average golfer who struggles to hit further than 200 yards.
Here might be some clues about swing dynamics, which I've heard mentioned elsewhere.
https://www.thediygolfer.com/power-accumulators/
Dibby
Assistant Pro
For some reason golfers struggle to accept sports science, despite loving the science of golf clubs, balls and all the rest of the kit out there.
Weightlifting, throwing (shot putt, discuss etc..), and golf are all related in how power is developed, it is just used for different end results, weightlifting moves a big weight a small distance, throwing moves a moderate weight a moderate distance, and golf moves a small weight a long distance. Golf fools people, because the lightness of the club and the ball, but it doesn't fool physics which tell us that to accelerate an object more than we currently can, we either need to decrease the mass of that object or increase the force we apply.
Good golf swings appear effortless, because the golfers mechanics are good, so they can then apply more force. bad golfers don't hit the ball further when they use more force, because their mechanics are not good, therefore applying more force just means more force is needed and less time is available to make the compensating move.
Once you have the mechanics to hit the middle of the clubface with a decent path, you'll hit it further by applying more force, not constantly changing your swing mechanics looking for the secret.
You will also hit a limit, there is a reason you will never run as fast as Usain Bolt, lift as much a Lu (in the video) or Jump as far as Greg Rutherford, even if you somehow had the same mechanics and training history, it's because you have the wrong parents. Again golf is strange that in other sports people seem easier to accept that the elites have a genetic advantage, it's easier to understand why a Samoan giant would be better at rugby, but because top golfers look like normal people, they are not given the credit for the athleticism that they have.
Sairamtim
New member
That’s all very perceptive actually and something I struggle with a little. Just bought two more wedges so will have 4 to work with.
My local range has just fitted top tracer so hopefully get my yardages nailed.
stefanovic
Medal Winner
That's the classical theory of mechanics. However it does not take into account the quantum theory of consciousness. This is where the brain which runs off electricity is communicating with different body members. An older person with an older brain takes longer to communicate with the bones and muscles which act like levers to keep the body upright and swing a golf club back and forth.
If you have not mastered the swing by about the age of 25, after which the mind and body starts to age, then quite frankly you have no chance of being a top class golfer.
This does seem to prove that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
williamalex1
Money List Winner
Bob could you possibly post a video of this wrist exercise please
, i'm badly in need of an extra 30-50 yards Dibby
Assistant Pro
Not sure what this has to do with where power is generated from.
Also, what do you define as top class? If you mean touring pro level then yes, if you mean the ability to knock it round a normal club course in par, I disagree.
If you want to believe something is impossible, it will be impossible, even if it is not.
If you really think all this stuff about the golf swing, I cannot imagine how you even hit a ball. Humans learn by solving problems, give a kid a golf club, and if they keep up playing, they end up hitting it long and straight because they have this as a goal, and eventually figure it out by trying all different things. They don't get good because they calculate the physics of the golf swing, the degrees of bend each joint must have, the percentage of activation of each muscle or quantum mechanics or anything else. Look at how babies learn things like walking, they just keep trying things until they achieve their goal of getting somewhere upright. Generally, adults massively overcomplicate motor skill learning and it sets them back hugely. That's not to say mechanical coaching is useless, but it's the icing on the cake for people that already have decent movement patterns, it's not the batter that makes the cake itself. No doubt ageing slows the process of learning, but most learning limitations in adults are behavioural, not biological.
bobmac
Major Champion
Bob could you possibly post a video of this wrist exercise please
I don't have a video of that drill as I thought it was pretty self explanatory.
If you want to post a video of your swing, I'll have a look and see if you're losing power somewhere else
D
Deleted member 21258
Guest
After doing speed training a few years ago, I would state the obvious, by swinging faster.....I picked up 10mph easily but took about a year to get my dispersion back with no swing changes. If felt mentally quick to start with and I was off balance, terrible but over time I got used to the extra speed and it now feels normal speed.. Now if I could release the extra 10mph I have on my practise swings but it just feels to much out of control,....
Many people(myself included) do not swing to your capacity and you get used to swinging the slow/fast you currently do, when your potential is far faster by a little training/practise and sticking with it.
The rest is natural ability and technique, of those two I have neither
Many people(myself included) do not swing to your capacity and you get used to swinging the slow/fast you currently do, when your potential is far faster by a little training/practise and sticking with it.
The rest is natural ability and technique, of those two I have neither
williamalex1
Money List Winner
Cheers Bob, but i wouldn't like to post my swing or lack of, on here. But I'll try and get a video made and send it to you in a PM.
I'm probably too old a dog for new tricks
thanks again .
njt1986
Member
To simplify things a little, it works as part of a system from the ground up, with everything moving in sequence.
I’m not a great golfer but I do have natural power. I’m not a particularly big bloke, 5ft 11â€, nor am I particularly flexible, and I’m not particularly strong either. What I have done for years before taking up golf though, was play cricket from age 9-18, then took up boxing for about 6 years. All of which require both timing/rhythm and to chain a sequence from the ground up.
Throwing a punch stood still, from the the shoulders only will generate maybe half the power - if you’re lucky - than planting your lead foot, turning/driving up from your back foot, up through your hips, back and only then your shoulders come into play - when you’ve already built up the speed from the ground up.
Not sure if that will do anything for accuracy as to be honest my accuracy is pants! But applying that same ground-up principle should help a little. You’ll need to transfer weight towards your back foot on the backswing, while maximising your rotation to try and have your back facing the target, then rotate through.
Plenty of videos online of slow-motion of the biggest hitters on tour, you can easily see how the sequence works, it’s another matter entirely to put that into practice and get the timing of it all.
As others have said, time at the range, working alongside a pro and time in the gym will all help - as well as having the correct clubs. I believe Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka have said all the power comes from their legs
Dan2501
Tour Winner
GG26
Challenge Tour Pro
In my last lesson the pro explained to me that the power comes from the backswing.
stefanovic
Medal Winner
Contradictions.
All the power comes from the legs (#36) but it also comes from the backswing (#38).
If your chicken legs cost you yardage, go and have a word with a gym instructor then put it to the test.
Think it will make any difference?
All the power comes from the legs (#36) but it also comes from the backswing (#38).
If your chicken legs cost you yardage, go and have a word with a gym instructor then put it to the test.
Think it will make any difference?
Dibby
Assistant Pro
I didn't make either of those posts, but a couple of questions for you:
1. Do your legs do anything on the backswing?
2. Is it possible that there can be multiple sources of power?
3. Chicken legs can cost yardage, but most likely missing the centre of the face will cost more. However, if someone beefs up their legs, but neglects the rest of their body and\or misses the centre of the face, stronger legs will likely make no difference. If you're Phil Mickelson and can already find the centre of the club, strength and speed work will make a big difference as witnessed by his clubhead speed being about 120mph this year, a jump of about 6mph from last year.
4. What are you personally trying to achieve?
