Swing speed..

[TigerWoodz]

I was at the range today,quite happy hitting a bucket of balls,hitting my driver about 80% ,a slite fade but the ball would of still hit the fairway..Along came this young lad im guessing he was about 18 or so (im 35) what a swing the young lad had,very fast and powerful,he was nearly jumping out of his shoes with his driver and it was dead straight and went a mile...if i try and swing above 75/80% with my driver all hell breaks loose,huge slice no distance...how am i meant to increase swing speed ,but swing within myself to get a straight ,longer drive....i just dont get it,i swing easy it goes straight but only about 210 tops...i speed up it goes big slice???

[saevel25]

Thats because your slice is caused by your club face being open with a slight over the top swing. But what probably happens is when you swing harder that you are casting at the ball more, trying to increase it through your hands. The reason that 18 year old is able to swing out of his shoes and go that far is because he still is in balance. Its hard to belieive, but he doesn't fall over when he swings. Also he probably attacks the ball from the inside out, rather than outside in. So his swing is naturally creating lag with the club, and has an easier time rotating through. Its just a more powerfull swing.

My tip for you, take the driver back lower and get more extension with your hands away from your body. But also waggle a bit to get all the tension out of your body as well.

[RossOliver]

Swinging as hard and as fast as you can leads to all sorts of problems if you neglect your tempo or balance (for me at least). The method that works for me is to get to the top of the backswing and drop the club onto plane for the downswing the same speed I do with any other swing. From there, I continue to fire my hips (how fast regulates my speed) - if I'm in a good position about 1/3rd of the way into my downswing, just when I feel the tension between my upper and lower body, I can unwind as hard as I like and make the same solid contact. In the case when I don't pull this off, my upper body and lower body are out of sync because I've fired at the wrong time and I have a tendency to hang back and make poor contact, losing far more distance than if I were to hit a 75% shot. With this method I max out at 95mph with my 7 iron.

Hope that helps,

-Ross

[edit]

Just to clarify - the case where this doesn't work for me is when I fire my hips before getting the tension between my upper and lower body. This causes a horrible jerky motion that throws me off balance. Similarly, if I leave it too late I end up coming up on the ball with the sudden increase in hip speed - it ends up a bit of a thrusting motion with my hips as apposed to turning. You can swing hard, but you need to remain under control otherwise it will be wasted effort - I remain in control by getting the tension between upper and lower body before having at it...

[westcyderydin]

if you try to swing hard at the very start of your downswing you will be way out of sync, slice it, and not hit it well. if your gonna swing harder u just have to make sure ur swinging hard at the right time. if you make the club head move faster at the start of the down swing, it will lose energy be the time you hit the ball but if you make the clubhead to move faster at impact then you will hit it farther.

[TigerWoodz]

if you try to swing hard at the very start of your downswing you will be way out of sync, slice it, and not hit it well. if your gonna swing harder u just have to make sure ur swinging hard at the right time. if you make the club head move faster at the start of the down swing, it will lose energy be the time you hit the ball but if you make the clubhead to move faster at impact then you will hit it farther.

Is this what lag means in the golf swing,you kind of pause at the top and start the downswing slow and then pour on the power through the ball???

[saevel25]

Lag is the angle between your club and your body. If you look at some swings of golf pro's you see that they take the club back at a larger angle than they do in the downswing, they are creating lag.

For example at waist high the club is usually parallel to the ground on the backswing. If you pause a video of a pro swing at waist high on the downswing, the club will not be parallel to the ground but upright, the butt end of the club will be pointing at the ground. thats lag... Those who can get the greater change in those angles from backswing to downswing have longer distance.

[TigerWoodz]

Lag is the angle between your club and your body. If you look at some swings of golf pro's you see that they take the club back at a larger angle than they do in the downswing, they are creating lag.

oh ok i see..thanks

[double_j]

Trying to get strength in your swing by using more arm/hands is a way to guarantee a slice or a smother hook. As others have said, you're probably making a larger than normal move with your hands in an attempt to initiate a downswing with big speed and end up coming over the top with a cast.

I increase my power by making a conscious effort to lengthen my backswing (low and long!) and then fire my hips through the ball. Same as with any swing, the lower body starts everything and the arms just go along for the ride.

[senorchipotle]

the reason why he can swing out of his shoes is not necessarily because he stays in balance. cause i've swung so hard i throw myself out of balance and the ball still did what i wanted it to. the reason is simple, and thus: at address, he tilts his torso back behind the ball, and keeps it in this position. when you stay behind the ball like this, instead of bringing the body forward on the downswing, and as long as you don't get the club stuck behind you, you can swing out of your pants and take out the entire right side of the hole and the only worry is pulling it.

[RossOliver]

the reason why he can swing out of his shoes is not necessarily because he stays in balance. cause i've swung so hard i throw myself out of balance and the ball still did what i wanted it to. the reason is simple, and thus: at address, he tilts his torso back behind the ball, and keeps it in this position. when you stay behind the ball like this, instead of bringing the body forward on the downswing, and as long as you don't get the club stuck behind you, you can swing out of your pants and take out the entire right side of the hole and the only worry is pulling it.

If I swing like that I can guarantee I'll hang back and top it. Moving too far off the ball is a bad idea - you need to be able to get back to the ball for solid impact, unless you're talking about only the driver - where hanging back a small amount is preferable to achieve an upward strike at impact.

-Ross

[Zeph]

The better your swing is, the faster and harder you can swing. If you've got a swing with lots of flaws, they will only multiply when trying to hit it harder. If you get a good, repeatable swing, you can start increasing the speed at the right place in the swing, and gain distance. But if the arms or club is off plane fi., swinging faster will only make it worse.

[saevel25]

True that... If i wanted to swing hard at the ball i got to really concentrate about staying down and through the ball. If i come up and out of it, watch out buddy, FORE LEFT!!! The swing i like now, is Rory's, he actually keeps pretty centered over the ball the whole swing, but his rotational power is amazing, really its a very swimple swing, i think he will be winning alot once he gets more seasoned on the tour.

[wannabe]

The better your swing is, the faster and harder you can swing. If you've got a swing with lots of flaws, they will only multiply when trying to hit it harder. If you get a good, repeatable swing, you can start increasing the speed at the right place in the swing, and gain distance. But if the arms or club is off plane fi., swinging faster will only make it worse.

+1 been on both sides of this.

[senorchipotle]

If I swing like that I can guarantee I'll hang back and top it. Moving too far off the ball is a bad idea - you need to be able to get back to the ball for solid impact, unless you're talking about only the driver - where hanging back a small amount is preferable to achieve an upward strike at impact.

definitely driver only swing. with the ball teed up high. the trick is not to move off the ball, but to keep the torso back but still keep the normal swing momentum.

[TigerWoodz]

Today i went to the range and i felt much better with my drives,i kept the backswing takeaway low,slow and wide ,i tried to concentrate on generating torso torque and it really does work...i dont know if i used the correct words but i know what i mean..lol and it felt a step forward in the right direction..i was hitting around about 220 maybe 230 its a job to pinpoint the real distance but im pleased with that,plus with a good ball i could expect a few more yards out on the course...

[Chicago Seminole]

Clubhead speed is all about the hands and release. Are you casting the club on the downswing? I swing 85% and hit my driver 270-280 with a short of parallel position at the top of the swing. I release my hands very late which gives me alot of power. I also swing my driver the same speed as a 5 iron, anything more and the ball is in the jungle.

[TigerWoodz]

Clubhead speed is all about the hands and release. Are you casting the club on the downswing? I swing 85% and hit my driver 270-280 with a short of parallel position at the top of the swing. I release my hands very late which gives me alot of power. I also swing my driver the same speed as a 5 iron, anything more and the ball is in the jungle.

Im desperately trying to stop going over the top,today was much better and straighter...the top of my back swing is short of parallel,about a 3 quarter swing,if i try and get parallel at the top i cant even hit the ball let alone get better distance..today i did a slow and low backswing at the takeaway and it seemed much better...

[Zeph]

For me, the key part is in the transition at the top. I have a tendency to turn the hips to 0 degrees before the club stops moving back. By shortening the backswing and having the hips wait for the arms to stop, then start down together. If the hips or upper body gets ahead or behind the other, I'll lose momentum and power. If they are perfectly synchronized, I can increase the speed to get more distance.

Tempo, rhythm and timing are important factors here.