Getting a little extra distance on the ball.

tehstray · February 4, 2009

Hey all,

So I was getting fitted for clubs, and the guy at the pit told me that my average club head speed was 103 mph, and my average ball speed was 163 mph.

it's pretty interesting because I used to be able to hit around 155-160 with my 7 iron but now i'm only hitting maybe 140-150. Even more depressing, is that I used to be able to average 275 yards but now i'm only averaging 240 yards with my current driver.

I was wondering what I could do to increase my distance? Thanks

**bruce** · February 4, 2009

The very same thing happened to me,i lost at least 40 yrds off my driver and some distance on my irons,i set up a camcorder in the back yard and videoed
myself.When i played the film i noticed my swing had got very flat,i compared it to instructors swings on line and i was way off on my swing plane.Because
of the very flat swing i was getting trapped on the downswing and it caused
weak drives,it was very frustrating and sometimes i would be just lashing at the ball.

**DeanS** · February 4, 2009

I'll take a stab at this. Force equals mass times velocity (ty Issac Newon). In golf its distance equals tempo. Tempo is your weight plus swing speed. Good tempo is when these guys combine when the ball is struck. That doesn't mean you need to slow your swing down its just saying you need to it it pure.

My driver swing is in the early 90's and my six iron is in the early 80's. I can hit my seven 160 to 165, my gap wedge 100 plus. I don't like to do that, so I compensate by shortening my back swing. My swing speed dosen't change but my club head speed does.

**starchuk** · February 4, 2009

I'll take a stab at this. Force equals mass times velocity (ty Issac Newon). In golf its distance equals tempo. Tempo is your weight plus swing speed. Good tempo is when these guys combine when the ball is struck

I think its Force = Mass X Acceleration. Which is a 'law'

Distance = Tempo is not a law Tempo is a word describing rhythm and most often used to describe the 'beats per minute' of a song - as per Wikipedia. I think tempo has been mis-used in golf to refer to the fluidity of a swing. Rhythm on the other hand, IMO, is the ability to return the club to the golf ball with hands ahead and shaft leaning forward with pressure. As far as distance goes... If you are generating 103 mph clubhead speed (below pga tour average) and 163 mph ball speed (just below tour average), I think you're getting pretty good results and a great Smash Factor. From my use with Trackman, I normally see clubhead speeds in the 108-113 range to produce 163 ball speed. You say that you're only hitting it 240ish? I would question the 163 number. If it was the other way around : high club head speed and low ball speed, your smash factor would be low and improvement could start with better ball contact. What clubs are you going with?

**Titleist Man** · February 4, 2009

Whatever you do dooo not try to swing harder. Lord knows what will happen then.....

**DeanS** · February 4, 2009

I think its Force = Mass X Acceleration. Which is a 'law'

Absolutely F=ma is the law. However, you can substitute the impact velocity for acceleration to calculate the impact force. For example the loading on a runway created by a plane when it lands.

Rhythm is the better word, thanx for the definition. From your trackman results my clubhead speed much be must higher also. But it wasn't that long ago that I checked it. A puzzle.

tehstray · February 5, 2009

thanks for the replies.

the club i was hitting with is with my driver (in the sig 907 D2) shaft is an aldila stiff flex proto vs 65.5 grams? (i don't remember... it's the blue shaft).

my friend is suggesting that it might be due to the fact that i'm "sweeping" the ball rather than "striking through" so would that also be the problem?

If that is a factor, how do i fix?

tehstray · February 5, 2009

yeah, in all fairness, the machine at the shop was a bit screwy.

I'm actually going to see if i can get a camcorder and record my swing and i was planning on getting re-measured tomorrow as well. i'll let you know the results

**thedoxology** · February 11, 2009

it's certainly not the fitting or the machine's issue, it's in your swing. if your friend thinks it has to do with 'sweeping' the leg errr i mean ball then try to take your ball position to the extreme, move it back in your stance, see what happens, tee it higher see what happens, movie it forward see what happens, choke down on your club see what hapens. A lot of times golf is simply feel and trying some moves at different extremes can get your touch and feel back.

**Garthmo** · February 11, 2009

Gotta say those machines are crap, I was in Golf Town and buying new clubs last summer and the machine read my club head speed at 75mph MAX. seriously im 35 and in the real world hitting my driver 250-260 and my 7iron 150. So I would say those numbers dont add up so dont believe the numbers in the store. But is it possible your max club head speed isnt when your contacting the ball? Maybe your max speed happens before or after contact and its slow during contact....Just a thought

**indacup** · February 11, 2009

Gotta say those machines are crap, I was in Golf Town and buying new clubs last summer and the machine read my club head speed at 75mph MAX. seriously im 35 and in the real world hitting my driver 250-260 and my 7iron 150. So I would say those numbers dont add up so dont believe the numbers in the store. But is it possible your max club head speed isnt when your contacting the ball? Maybe your max speed happens before or after contact and its slow during contact....Just a thought

Your response makes no sense.

When you say "those machines are crap". what machines are you referring to? A Zelocity? a Flight Scope? a Vector? a DSG? how can you possibly offer assistance to the guy with a generalized response, not identifying the equipment you're condeming? How can anyone offer advice to the poor guy without knowing ANYTHING about his swing? or did he change equipment from the first test to the next? Or did he even test both times on the same machine? Hell, even a different ball can make a difference.

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