Swing Speed

Some of you know from my previous threads, i've been toying with a bunch of different drivers. today, i swapped out again at roger dunns...went from a ping G15 - 9 degree - regular shaft to the Ping Rapture V2 (Tungsten weight) with the ProForce V2 stiff shaft..

My average swing speed currently is 86. I think it's a bit higher, maybe 89 as i hit a handful at 92 and the shanked shots were at 83. but anyways...i swapped it out because i was hitting my G15 9 degree about 250 on a solid straight hit. it was driving me crazy that i wasn't driving for dough...losing at least 20-25 yards somewhere, somehow.

found out as i was checking out with the Ping Rapture that there was a crack on the shaft just an inch above the hosel. explained why i was hitting it high and fading it....only going about 230 on average.

but based off my swing speed, i'd say about 89 or 90...i'm curious to know if a stiff shaft is the right call? i noticed my swing speed lately with my irons have been faster...i don't lose my posture thru the swing during the finish so i know my posture can handle that speed but is the stiff shaft the right call?

the weight is 68g and torque is at 3.9 degrees.

oh and this driver is 44 and 1/2 inches long...about an inch shorter than the standard.

based off the monitor at roger dunns...i was hitting it straight a handful of times at 243 max...that's off the roll as well. that thing can't be that accurate...the guy told me it was but i don't believe him lol...

so what do you guys think about the swing speed? what is your swing speed and what type of driver/shaft are you guys using?

While I'm not a scratch golfer by any means, I do know a thing or two about mathematics and physics. From the research I've done, a regular flex shaft is definitely the right shaft for your swing speed of ~90 mph. While many other components will come into play (such as launch angle, backspin and side spin) a fairly good estimator for your driving distance can be achieved with the following formula: Take your swing speed, multiply it by 2 1/2, then add 10% for roll. Thus we have:

Driving distance ~= 1.1(2.5*SS) = 2.75*SS

With a SS of 90 mph, this would yield 2.75*90 = 247.5 yards. If we compensate for just slight side spin or just barely too high of a launch angle, 243 yards sounds just about right. However, distance is absolutely a function of swing speed. You might be able to stretch a few more yards out of a perfect swing, but I think you are doing quite well. One thing I would check is if you can find a launch monitor, make sure you have the right loft on your driver. You want to be launching the ball around 15 degrees, any higher than that and your losing yardage with your SS, any less than 13.5 or so, same thing. Depending on your attack angle, I'd estimate you probably should be hitting an 11.5 degree loft with regular flex.

Hope that helps

interesting feedback guys...

donkeyshark...thanks...that was descriptive...definitely intuitive information...for as long as i've played i never really took the time to understand the mechanics and mathematics of the swing etc...it's absolutely intriguing me right now as i'm constantly (for the past 3 months) re-working my driver.

that's really interesting that you mentioned an 11.5 regular shaft....i was using the Ping K15 - 10.5 degree regular shaft and i swear i thought i was hitting it 230 and about as high as my 9 iron x 2. just looked absolutely ridiculous how high i was hitting it.

the more i think about it it's such a fine line between your driver and your swing. it has to blend near perfectly ...i honestly felt i attained this about 1 month ago.

i realized what i was doing wrong at the driving range, took it out on the course 2 days later and i found myself shaping my shots with my driver. 3 holes at my course goes like this...draw, fade, straight. i could not have hit a more perfect draw, a perfect fade and a perfect straight shot but i did. felt absolutely pure and so sweet that i could shape my shot with my driver. that was with the Ping G15 - 10.5 degree.

maybe i should go back to that...it was a regular shaft. i might just go back to it. Roger Dunn is going to send my Ping G15 - 9 degree - regular shaft back to Ping and get it re-shafted for me...another 2 weeks...i think i'll stick with it.

but for the next 2 weeks i'm going to try and use this new driver...the Ping Rapture V2 (Tungsten weight) with the ProForce V2 stiff shaft.

all good times, i'm learning as i'm testing these out...see what fits me best. thank you for the feedback!!

Yeah I think the normal reccomendation for a stiff shaft is 95mph+ so id say a regular flex would be good for you

If you're hitting it 250 then you've got the best possible combo for your swing speed-there's no more distance to be had.