What's Your Swing Speed?

[NM Golf]

Very true!

The above quote has to be one of the most asinine statements I have ever read on this forum. Are you kidding me? The mere ability to hit the ball far is in itself a free pass to a single digit handicap? That is ridiculous!

I have always been able to pummel a golf ball. Its a natural ability. Since I first picked up a club as an adult I have been able to crunch a golf ball. I have not though always been a single digit handicap. I spent several years in the kingdom of double digits. Sure I could hit the ball a long ways when I connected. But the 6 or 7 times a round that I deposited my ball deep into the woods or into the street it didn't help my scoring. Plus I had no short game what so ever. To say something so stupid that a person completely one dimensional could be a good golfer shows you are either ill informed or it is you are the one talking out of your rear end.

[JaY_B]

Agreed they do not support my argument, was in a rush when i posted so didn't read properly, 1 nil too you lol.

My argument in general is not based on this thread and this thread only, it is based on my experience of 20+ handicappers on this site.

In terms of enlightening you, what keys do you need to hit the ball a long way?

1)Brute strength? swinging the club as hard as you can? keeping your head down?!?!?
2)Flexibility, technique (which usually takes time and practise to acquire) a good strike and balance.

Which of the 2 options above sound like the thinking of a high handicapper and which sound like the realistic swing characteristics of a high handicapper?

Concerning the comment of "your claiming to hit it the same distance as the pro's" that comment was not aimed at you it was aimed at the high handicap golfers of this forum in general, sorry for misunderstanding.

Please also note I am not against high handicappers and I'm not claiming that everyone is lying about their distance/swing speed, I am merely expressing my opinions and experience on and playing with high handicap golfers.

[AnalogAG]

Agreed they do not support my argument, was in a rush when i posted so didn't read properly, 1 nil too you lol.

I have to admit that I notice, that a lot forum-user with a handicap 20+ write form time to time that they drive 250+ and so on!

BUT if you take a look at the driving range than you will notice, that there are a lot of people that grip the club and play the ball as if they were playing baseball! For sure those guys can smash the ball for long distance but generall ability to play solid golf is missing most of the time. In addition to that, I noticed that there is a difference in the ability to play and the handicap considering different countries. In Germany (where I come from, but staying in SC for a few months), our handicap will decrease much slower than the US-one.

[Leek]

As far as posters and driving distance, I do not think most are lying. I think they believe they hit the ball that far. Shoot, I used to think I hit it farther than I did too. If you get to play with someone with TOUR distance, you'll think they are hitting the ball 350+. They aren't, but they hit it way farther than most low handicappers and certainly farther than high handicappers.

[golf_junkie27]

I've never understood why some people believe there is a perfect correlation between handicap and clubhead speed. Cobra has built their entire marketing plan around it, and it baffles me.

Where did I say that someone can't be fitted for an X-stiff shaft? Again, my point is reading how someone having a handicap in the 20s can have an AVERAGE swing speed of 110MPH. First, to get that fast, your swing has to be relaxed, great tempo and rhythm, body in balance. I find it hard to believe that someone can work on doing something so WELL ABOVE AVERAGE yet fail to do be at least average in every other facet of the game, especially when hitting a driver is one of the hardest things to do.

[907golfer12]

I have seen a lot of people saying that the average distance for an amateur is X yards, or X swing speed. But although those are most likely true numbers, i just don't think you can really incorporate those into this conversation just because amateurs are also hackers who can only drive the ball 150 yards, and those numbers bring the average down.

[golfmonke]

Depends on what i'm trying to do with my driver.

If i'm trying to just hit the fairway on a tight hole then it's about 100-104.

Normally 108-113 on a regular hole.

And if i'm on the long drive hole in a tournament, or pissed, up around 125

My 5 iron for a normal swing is right around 92

[RocketSauce]

Im not sure about my irons, but my driver ss is between 97-99 on average

[Pinseeker81]

For what it's worth, and if it was right, the monitor at Golf Galaxy said 114. I was swinging pretty hard though. Normal speeds are more like one oh something. And yes, I can roll it about 280 as far as the range signs go. I've never taken a range finder to the signs, so take that fwiw as well.

Over my last 6 rounds I've hit 19.05% of fairways, 9.26% GIR and averaged 37.50 putts per round. 52.78% tripple bogey or worse, 5.56% pars and one solitairy birdie in my life.

I can smack a drive a pretty good distance, but it doesn't seem to mean jack squat to my scores.

[kyldo]

I probably hit 100 drives at golftown yesterday and my average was between 115 and 120.

Funny story, the fastest I've ever recorded was 139. Loosest swing of my life; it felt like I was Freddy Couples. The bastard carried 350. Too bad I've never been able to replicate anything close to that.

[st0wgolf08]

It's quite funny when I see all these 120s, because my SS is like 100 and that's mildly fast in my opinion.

[golfmonke]

It's quite funny when I see all these 120s, because my SS is like 100 and that's mildly fast in my opinion.

That's interesting, cuz when I see the 90-100's I find it sad that these people never learned to be more athletic.

[st0wgolf08]

That's interesting, cuz when I see the 90-100's I find it sad that these people never learned to be more athletic.

more athletic? I'm 5 foot 6 and 15 years old, if that was your attempt at a pun or something it failed, if it wasn't some people could find your post offensive.

[golfmonke]

more athletic? I'm 5 foot 6 and 15 years old, if that was your attempt at a pun or something it failed, if it wasn't some people could find your post offensive.

When you posted "It's quite funny when I see all these 120s" , I assumed you were calling them liars, as many short knockers on this site are always calling bs because they themselves can't do it.

If that's not what you meant, I apologize.

[Petden]

My ball speed is usually around 140-152. 140 is usually an off shot. As well, anytime I can pass 150mph for ball speed, I can feel that the shot was right.

I will be going to the golf store tonight and I have it measured to find the exact numbers.

[pshizz]

That's interesting, cuz when I see the 90-100's I find it sad that these people never learned to be more athletic.

why would you even say that? a 120 ss is incredibly fast, and anyone who has that is in the minority, in fact the average male ss for a driver is 80-85.

[st0wgolf08]

why would you even say that? a 120 ss is incredibly fast, and anyone who has that is in the minority, in fact the average male ss for a driver is 80-85.

I completely agree, which is why in mine I said I felt my 100 was way fast, to see so many 120s was mind-boggling. No where did I call anyone a liar, I just was like in awe of how much faster people swing. For 5 6 and 15 years old, I think my swing is pretty fast, and I'm happy with my SS. With a little flexability training over winter, and some weights, I'm confident I can get 105-110 range.

[907golfer12]

I completely agree, which is why in mine I said I felt my 100 was way fast, to see so many 120s was mind-boggling. No where did I call anyone a liar, I just was like in awe of how much faster people swing. For 5 6 and 15 years old, I think my swing is pretty fast, and I'm happy with my SS. With a little flexability training over winter, and some weights, I'm confident I can get 105-110 range.

I think I'm with you stow. It's amazing how many guys here swing as fast as the tour pros. I can't wait until I get there, I'm excited, I think it will bring my handicap down.

But I'm 15 (11 days and that changes :)) 5' 3" and I have an average SS of 96-97