My experience with a weighted club

[JaY_B]

That is not true. If you train certain muscles, they grow and strengthen. This brings them more strength, stamina, and speed. Muscle memory brings speed. Why do you think when someone first picks up golf, the swing plane is so slow. Then as their muscles get accustomed to doing that motion, they can swing faster. It has nothing to do with doing something fast to encourage speed. Why do you think runners train with weights on. So get stronger? No, to get faster.

Depends on the type of training you do mate, body builders are very strong but lack speed, size and strength does not = speed.

You would hardly call 80% of golfers on tour 'well built' but they still get it out there (just to prove size does not = speed) Yes a new golfer rarely swings the club at a high speed, but that's as much to do with poor technique and it is to do with strength.

[joshtpa]

Nobody said size makes speed or that body builders ar fast. I said muscle memory and training CAN build speed. You said you had evidence that proved that swinging a weighted club slows down swing speed. I would like to see it. Everything I have ever been taught says otherwise. So, I am very curious like I said. If you google it, it comes up that it will increase, so please show me where it says decrease anywhere.

[JaY_B]

So, I am very curious like I said. If you google it, it comes up that it will increase

You must remember that the results you get on Google will be from someone selling a product. "weighted club slows down swing" is hardly a money making headline.

Speed in the golf swing does not require strength. Building speed through strength training depends largely on the type of training you do. Swinging a club slowly (regardless of the weight) will only slow your swing down. Imo a weighted club serves a much better purpose for creating a feeling for a new/correct swing move. If you want to swing the club faster you would probably be better off swinging a very light club, as they do in baseball, just to get the feeling and sensation of speed.

[Craig Mac]

You must remember that the results you get on Google will be from someone selling a product. "weighted club slows down swing" is hardly a money making headline.

Uhhh baseball players in the batters box add a weight before they step up to the plate, boxers train with heavy gloves for more speed, basketball players use resistence bands on vertical training to jump higher, football players run with parachutes, and as josh stated runners wear weights when training, all this creates resistence which helps them work on speed.

[joshtpa]

I am still waiting for your evidence. As for swinging a very light club. Every baseball player I know, steps in the on deck circle and swings a club with a weight on it. To loosen up and increase swing speed. All speed requires some sort of strength. Whether it muscle mass or muscle memory. You still have no evidence that tells us what you keep speaking.

[JaY_B]

Uhhh baseball players in the batters box add a weight before they step up to the plate, boxers train with heavy gloves for more speed, basketball players use resistence bands on vertical training to jump higher, football players run with parachutes, and as josh stated runners wear weights when training, all this creates resistence which helps them work on speed.

You have missed out on a huge factor, when for example a boxer is training with heavy gloves the boxer is performing at near maximal effort, in other words punching as hard if not harder in training than in fights.

When swinging a weighted club you are swinging in a long slow motion, which does not encourage extra speed.

I am still waiting for your evidence. As for swinging a very light club. Every baseball player I know, steps in the on deck circle and swings a club with a weight on it. To loosen up and increase swing speed. All speed requires some sort of strength. Whether it muscle mass or muscle memory. You still have no evidence that tells us what you keep speaking.

I will get it when I can, I am going out in a minute, try doing some research as the evidence does exist.

[joshtpa]

I have looked it up numerous times. It makes no sense what so ever. That swinging something heavier on the same swing plan will lower your swing speed. Your baseball example was put to rest. What is next.

[MPS67]

I did find this LINK on the Maximus Swing Trainer, which is a weighted golf club.

The site claims that it helps in a few ways:
1) Using it for 20 minutes a day will eventually lead to stronger golf muscles and allow you to hit the ball faster and farther.
2) The SoftWeight™ technology drops the club head into the correct swing plane helping the golfer to hit the ball faster and farther.

I've also heard that weighted clubs help in two other areas:
1) Helps keep the club on plane. This is because of the increased mass. It's more difficult to move a heavier mass off course once in motion. So practicing with a weighted club will help you feel and ingrain swinging while remaining on plane.
2) Helps golfers feel a proper release. Because of the extra mass and momentum, it's more difficult to actively manipulate the wrist release and arm roll after contact. The added weight and momentum promotes a natural release.

[joshtpa]

Ok, so I have spent the last 30 minutes looking around the net, and cannot find anything that works with JaY_B's logic. They all seem to agree with what myself and everyone else has been saying.

[alf174]

Though I do side on the camp of adding weight to help tone and increase muscle memory, I did heard from a friend of mine a while back there was some research around that explained what Jay_B is citing. It would probably take a few days to get a hold of him to find out where though.

[Cody]

Thats the theory, but swing a weighted club 10 times at say 50 mph is not going to suddenly encourage a 100 mph swing, it will encourage a 50 mph swing.

I read this whole thread over and over to try and see where you're coming from. THIS, makes no sense at all.

It takes the same amount of force to swing something weighted as it does to swing something not weight faster. Force = Mass * Velocity If you increase the mass you do slow the velocity, but decreasing the mass(back to a normal club) will put you where you were at before.

[MPS67]

Well,

If I think about it more, it could help in both accounts.

Just imagine a golfer that swings to fast, perhaps a little out of control.

In this situation, using a weighted driver will prevent that golfer from swinging as fast, and may in time, ingrain a more controlled and smoother swing.

[joshtpa]

Of course that is the case, but gaining strength will NOT decrease swing speed. According to Jay_B, that is the case. This tool will do a lot of things, such as keep you controlled, loose, and much more on plane. However it will not SLOW YOU DOWN. It will help with tempo, but gaining muscle memory will do that in any sport.

[iacas]

The link Jay_B was looking for is here:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12742 Two people (DJYoshi and titaniummd) claim to have seen this program, a "Sports Science" program.

There was a segment on swing weights during your practice stroke produce the opposite effect. While we think they're helping to increase our swing speed, it's actually doing the opposite and slowing you down. ii'm trying to find a clip online right now, but I haven't been able to all morning.

I also remember Vijay Singh saying that he swings his weighted club (which is really just a steel rod with a grip on the end, basically) to help feel a good stretch, and that he specifically avoids using it for too long because it's not good for his power/speed. This was on the range at The Memorial a few years ago when he was talking to a buddy who came over and picked up Vijay's steel rod.

[joshtpa]

It goes against every single sports nutrionist out there that says otherwise.

[meenman]

I have a weighted club and use it as instructed which is 10-15 swings every other day - which for me is generally the days that I dont hit the course.

I'm far from being a golf expert but from my experience I can say I hit the ball better when I use the club than when its raining all week and I dont use it (used to use it in the house but my dogs dont understand that it could probably kill them if it hit them)

At the same time if I warm up with too many range balls before a round I seem to struggle on the last 4-5 holes.

This all could be in my head but it is the trend I see from my own personal experience.

[iacas]

It goes against every single sports nutrionist out there that says otherwise.

What's a sports nutrionist? And if you meant nutritionist, what's that got to do with anything?

I haven't seen a lot of the long drive guys swinging heavier clubs. In fact, I specifically recall a conversation with Matt Rudy from a Newport Cup a few years ago when he was working on his book with Sean Fister about this topic. I don't recall the specifics, but I remember the gist and I remember vowing not to buy a heavy driver (that one you can hit, the Momentus) after that. Josh, you can argue all you want, but you're not citing any facts either, and two people claim to have watched the same "Sports Science" show. Time for one of them to come in here and clarify and/or elaborate on what they saw.

[joshtpa]

I forgot how important spelling was here. Thanks for correcting that for me. As for citing facts. Do you really belive that MLB players are swinging heavy weights on their bats in warmups to slow their swing down? Every single one of these weighted clubs says the reason to get this, is to increase swing speed as well as other things.