Swing speed..

[14ledo81]

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.

Zeph, do you have this same swing thought when hitting irons? Mainly, do you start down with the upper and lower body at the same time?

[Zeph]

Zeph, do you have this same swing thought when hitting irons? Mainly, do you start down with the upper and lower body at the same time?

I've only recently (like two days ago) started working on it, but no, I don't have different thoughts when hitting irons. Perhaps more emphasis on weight forward with the driver to shallow out the angle of descent, but no difference really.

I am now working on getting the upper and lower body better synced. I would say I'm wanting them to start at the same time down, yes. My backswing is a tad too long, so if I can shorten it a bit, I can probably start both at the same time without the hips running away from the upper body. Maybe the arms have to start slightly before on a long swing with driver or something like that. My hips move fast, so I can't let them get too much of a head start. When done properly, it feels like both start at the same time, the hips lead the way, as they have the shortest route, and the arms accelerate as they move down. Using PGA tour players was useful here, as watching their swing in slow motion clearly showed that the upper and lower body start at the same time. I've fired my hips first since that's what I've always been told. Probably works for some that swing too much with the arms, but I have to start them simultaneously, sometimes the arms start a little earlier. I still don't like the instruction lots of teachers learn to start with the hips first. They may start a nudge earlier, but the important thing is to get the upper and lower body synced, and keep pushing the hips through the entire swing. Once I get them started at the same time, I can throw the arms down when they get down to waist height and really push the hips forward to get some extra speed. Have never recorded my swing speed, but it doesn't really matter much except when getting fit for equipment, which I have yet to do.