Clubhead speed problems when hitting driver?

[twotacosfor99cents]

Hey,

I usually drive around 205-215 yards, and I can hit the 6 iron for 145-150.

Today, I visited my local Golfsmith and used one of the hit profilers and it gave me a clubhead speed of 85 mph and a carry of 185 yards for a driver (TM SuperQuad, which is similar to my R7 460)

I hit it solid 3 times over and that's the result it gave me. How accurate are these things? It got me to think about my swing, if I have a fundamental problem in my driver setup that's reducing my clubhead speed drastically. My left arm stays pretty straight throughout the whole swing, and I do turn the hips.

What are the problems I should be looking to correct?

[ctmurrray]

My drives are about the same distance as mine, and my pro measured my driver speed at 83 MPH. You hit your 6 iron further than I do (135 yds for me). My 6 iron speed was 69 mph. You could return and see what your 6 iron speed is, maybe you retain more speed with th 6 iron. I have read these devices are fairly accurate (with the caveat that some models are better than others- not sure how you tell good from bad though).

[ctmurrray]

My pro had a small swing speed analyzer (radar based?).

[Chilidipper]

Aren't genetics a biotch?!

Just like heart disease and cancer, the swing speed factor is predominatly genetic in my opinion. You can increase it, but a lot falls back on the theory, you are who you are. I have a friend, we all do, who can hit it a ton. PLays very little but generates a lot of club head speed. When I decided to come out of my "comfort zone" I end up hooking the crap out of the ball.


Just remember you are who you are.

[twotacosfor99cents]

Yeah, I guess it does have to do with who you are. I have good strength and core, and I was a competitive swimmer in high school / college, and have placed first in many 50 meter / 100 meter events, so strength is not REALLY the issue here, I guess. However, I am adamant about keeping my tempo, and I have a high fairways reached percentage (85% in my last 10 rounds). I don't try to slay the cover off the ball, nor have I really tried, but it's possible that as I get more comfortable with my swing, I can put a bit more oomph into it.

Regardless, i would be happy to have a 95 mph clubhead speed, I just want to be able to drive for 240 (roll included), because that puts me in a comfortable GIR distance on par 4's. It's not easy to try to reach the green with a 4 iron.

[JonnyGolf]

Yeah, I guess it does have to do with who you are. I have good strength and core, and I was a competitive swimmer in high school / college, and have placed first in many 50 meter / 100 meter events, so strength is not REALLY the issue here, I guess. However, I am adamant about keeping my tempo, and I have a high fairways reached percentage (85% in my last 10 rounds). I don't try to slay the cover off the ball, nor have I really tried, but it's possible that as I get more comfortable with my swing, I can put a bit more oomph into it.

So, you were a sprinter? I swam distance (200/500/1650) and I think my ratio of slow twitch vs fast twitch muscles leans heavily on the slow side. Yet, I can swing in 96 to 102mph without swinging out of my shoes. Obtaining a low 90s club head speed should be achievable for every healthy male adult under the age of 70. I've played with every shape of person and all of them had the capability of a low 90's swing.

So, two things. 1) Are you taking a full swing? 2) More importantly, are you maintaining lag in your swing? My guess is, that with 85% fairways hit, you're not maintaining lag as it creates tremendous speed, but also creates timing issues that can impact accuracy. I would recommend going to the Inpractis video kiosk at Palo Alto and taking some video. You can compare your swing to the Brady Riggs and other professional swings and start finding out where you are losing speed.

[unc879wins]

When I go above 75% swing speed I slice like crazy.

Telling myself to throttle down is a challenge at each drive. Your thinking about the 4 or 5 things you want to make sure are right; grip, stance, balance, spine angle, and tempo. The other 200 things that I should be doing I can't worry about right now :)

With that said, I hit about 220 to 240 at 75% and have a ton of control. The problem is on the course; you always have dog legs, elevation changes, narrow fairways, and don't leave out weather... so I find myself thinking... "I gotta hit this one harder to make this work.." bam... slice 40 yds into the desert.... oh I got 250 yds down range... but I'm dodging rattle snakes looking for a $2 ball.

Yesterday I went 75% on a hard dog leg right par 4 and that HiBore driver and that HX Hot Bite ball earned every bit of R&D; money spent on them by the manufacturers.... ball went 300+ yards and I found myself 20 yards from pin, just off the elevated green. I spent the rest of the round trying to duplicate what I did... yeah right.... so I know the distance is in there at 75% but I need to now work on duplicating the body coil, the uncoil, and the rotation of wrists during impact that I "obviously" got right on that one swing at 75%.

[Avid Golfer]

Hey,

First off, some power leaks may have crept into your game since the last time you measured your actual driving distance (how did you determine you hit your drives 205-215?). Since you knew you were being tested for speed and distance is it possible you tensed up? (Tense muscles move slower than relaxed ones).

Are the tee boxes at your home course elevated? Do the fairways have downslopes in the landing areas? Are the fairways firm? Finally you say you use a R7 460 and you tested a SuperQuad. Are you sure all the properies of the clubs were the same (same loft, shaft flex, shaft kickpoint, and finally how about the weight settings)? All of that can add up and count for the ~20 yard difference.

Aren't genetics a biotch?!

I don't agree that swing speed is genetic. A person who has sound mechanics, limited compensation moves, and few power leaks can hit the ball pretty far regardless of height or weight.

[twotacosfor99cents]

Update:

It's all about the lag.

I started introducing some lag in my swing and not breaking my wrists on the takeaway, coupled with a strong grip, and I was hitting well beyond the 210 yard marker at the range.

It's inconsistient now, but at least I know the power is leaking. I would break my wrists on the takeaway and snap my wrists down on the top of the swing - very accurate, but slow.

[The Golfing Polack]

Swing speed can give you more distance, but not always. I found yesterday that when my swing speed went over 115 I was actually losing about 15 yards. When I kept it around 110 with a nice smooth swing I was getting it out there much further with a lot less sping. I'm a big guy (5'11" 275+) but weight transfer and lag are a big factor. The further you can rotate back the more energy you store in your core. I'm a big guy but I'm pretty flexible, so that's where I generate my swing speed. Also, long arms help.

[CG031]

Your right because the harder you swing in theory the 'worse' contact you'll make with the ball, or at least the percentages are against you.

[bflat450]

The key is to find a nice median between slow smooth swing, and fast powerful swing. If I can keep my swing smooth, and still quick, but not too quick I can really pure the ball nicely.

[DiverDown]

Aren't genetics a biotch?!

This is way too much of a blanket statement, and I disagree.

A proper swing has a lot to do with clubhead speed, and saying that genetics is the reason presupposes that everybody has a proper swing. My clubhead speed up until recently was in the high 80's to low 90's, and I was dissappointed with the result. I was getting resigned to the fact that "that's who I was". About 1 1/2 months ago I was getting fitted for clubs, and the pro doing the fitting noticed my hands would tighten as I started my downswing. He was able to help change that and then I was swinging looser. "Magically", my clubhead speed jumped to high 90's to low 100's. A week ago I took a lesson and my instructor changed the dynamics of my backswing because it was too flat. The change helped me load my core more, and although I didn't have a monitor at the range I started to boom drives and am fairly certain my swing increase even more. I can't confirm that without the monitor, but I was certainly hitting it longer than I had before. A "proper" swing, meaning soft hands, on plane, releasing correctly, etc.... will do a LOT for your clubhead speed.

[itzzzberny]

Update:

break wrist on takeaway? -aren't you supposed to break your wrists right before the top of your back swing? snap wrists down on top of swing? isn't this casting the club.... the if your gonna snap your wrist down, shouldn't you be snapping it just before the impact zone....

[Matt10]

This is way too much of a blanket statement, and I disagree.

Any chance you can divulge more information on how your instructor helped you out? I am suffering the same problem you did a while ago. I would love to hear your directions. Thank you.

[DiverDown]

Any chance you can divulge more information on how your instructor helped you out? I am suffering the same problem you did a while ago. I would love to hear your directions. Thank you.

Well, it would be hard without seeing your swing by I'll try and tell you what he told me.

First, I posted this some weeks ago and what was the guy who did the fitting for me said that helped me out, and was key to being able to incorporate what my instructor had me do later. http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10858 With my instructor he noted , particulary when I got the driver out, that my backswing was too flat. He basically said he wanted me to raise my left arm up on my back swing, just straight up and let my body naturally turn until my back was facing the target ensuring I got a full shoulder turn in. He said he wanted my thumbs to point towards the sky. He had given me the "thumbs toward the sky analogy before, but mentally I had always rejected that with the image in my mind that the shaft would be perpendicular to the ground, so that never took for me. I also had that idea that the head of my driver would go straight into the ground before i hit the ball and I didn't see how I could ever hit the ball on the upstroke with that. I decided to go against my natural rejection of that advice and do as he said. My first swing was not that great as I had too much tension in my body trying to do that. The next swing was quite a bit different. I decided to relax and give it a go. I boomed it, like I had never done before. After I finished my lesson with him and went home I decided to take swings with a mirror right to the right of me so I could see what it looked like. The shaft wasn't upright at all when I pointed my thumbs to the sky, it was actually on plane. Bringing the left arm straight up, letting the body follow and making a full shoulder turn, and keeping soft hands without tension made it possible. In my minds eye it should have looked different than it was, but it was an on plane swing, not upright and not flat, I was surprised. Hope I didn't ramble too much, and I hope it helps. One other thing..... keep your head still and over the ball, don't sway back or try to over-do your back swing. Your core will definately load.

[Jack_2251]

When I went to my local launch monitor, it said I was hitting the ball 180metres carry, and at my local course, I reguarly carry a water hazard on a hole that requires a 220m carry?
I would say they are unaccurate...