Bubba Watson uses a 9 iron from 178 yards

[bunkerputt]

Plyometric power (vertical) is something that you can develop or not, depending on how you workout.  There are other kinds of athleticism is basically my point here.  Would you call being able to hold a bridge position for 6 minutes athletic?  There's not much motion going on there, but a lot of that translates to stability in the golf swing.  My pro recorded someone with a 144.2 MPH 6-iron ball speed.  I'm guessing that's around 110mph swing speed with very good contact.  That's pretty sick to imagine.  Such people do exist.  I'm not one of them thankfully.  I only swing 6-iron 109

[Zeph]

Big backswing, long shoulder rotation and very big hip rotation. Jumping very effectively, really letting the hips pull and generate power. Lags the club like Sergio, creating high clubhead speed. Hips have unwound a lot at impact. High hands may give more distance to build up speed. I think the hips and feet is the primary reason for his distance, the big hip turn, fast rotation and pushing off the ground.

I don't know the specifications of his irons, but I'm not surprised this guy hits it a long way. It's impressive he can hit it as accurate as needed to win on the PGA Tour with such a big swing.

[TourPlayer]

Here's the scoop ...

1. Bubba's 9 iron loft (approx 42.5 degrees ) is like yesteryear's 7 iron (42 degrees).  Sweeping the ball at impact at the same effective loft (42.5) with a very good average male clubhead swing speed would carry the ball in the air approximately 150 yards.  Bubba exceeds that with 2 thru 4.

2. Bubba further delofts his irons at impact due to the steepnest of his swing arc changing actual impact loft somewhere between a 6 to 5 iron.

3. Bubba is 6'-3" with an above average male swing arc and with very above average clubhead speed also adding additional distance over the "average" very good to excellent male player ... every 1 mph increase in clubhead speed adds approx. 3+ yards.

4. Finally, Bubba has strong and very fast hands / wrist release assisting in building very above average clubhead speed at bam - impact! Keep in mind, the ball is only on the clubface for 6 to 8 ten-thousanths of a second.

5. All the above combine makes Bubba one of the longest players on tour and pounds the pill a country mile  ............ o

Bottomline, play within yourself and your own yardages.  Remember, it's not how 'far'; it's how 'many' at scoring time.

Fairways and 'middle' of the greens plus ...

Enjoy !

[poser]

First post is to dig up a one year old thread

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by TourPlayer

Here's the scoop ...

1. Bubba's 9 iron loft (approx 42.5 degrees ) is like yesteryear's 7 iron (42 degrees).  Sweeping the ball at impact at the same effective loft (42.5) with a very good average male clubhead swing speed would carry the ball in the air approximately 150 yards.  Bubba exceeds that with 2 thru 4.

2. Bubba further delofts his irons at impact due to the steepnest of his swing arc changing actual impact loft somewhere between a 6 to 5 iron.

3. Bubba is 6'-3" with an above average male swing arc and with very above average clubhead speed also adding additional distance over the "average" very good to excellent male player ... every 1 mph increase in clubhead speed adds approx. 3+ yards.

4. Finally, Bubba has strong and very fast hands / wrist release assisting in building very above average clubhead speed at bam - impact! Keep in mind, the ball is only on the clubface for 6 to 8 ten-thousanths of a second.

5. All the above combine makes Bubba one of the longest players on tour and pounds the pill a country mile  ............ o

Bottomline, play within yourself and your own yardages.  Remember, it's not how 'far'; it's how 'many' at scoring time.

Fairways and 'middle' of the greens plus ...

Enjoy !

I didn't read anything other than this post and the title, but 42.5 degree loft and generates a lot of club head speed would be enough information for me. I've played some pretty old equipment in my day and don't ever recall hitting a 42.5 degree 8-iron let alone a 7-iron, but I've only been playing for about 30 years so I'll give you that one.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by jamo

I think the Cavs are holding tryouts tomorrow...

I know this is 2 years old, but c'mon man...low blow...

[jamo]

I know this is 2 years old, but c'mon man...low blow...

If it makes you feel any better, I'm a huge Kyrie Irving fan. And if I wrote that post 6 months from now, I could insert "Celtics" instead.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by jamo

If it makes you feel any better, I'm a huge Kyrie Irving fan.

And if I wrote that post 6 months from now, I could insert "Celtics" instead.

Kyrie is something else...if only he wasn't made out of porcelain...

[saevel25]

Originally Posted by TourPlayer

Here's the scoop ...

1. Bubba's 9 iron loft (approx 42.5 degrees ) is like yesteryear's 7 iron (42 degrees).  Sweeping the ball at impact at the same effective loft (42.5) with a very good average male clubhead swing speed would carry the ball in the air approximately 150 yards.  Bubba exceeds that with 2 thru 4.

2. Bubba further delofts his irons at impact due to the steepnest of his swing arc changing actual impact loft somewhere between a 6 to 5 iron.

3. Bubba is 6'-3" with an above average male swing arc and with very above average clubhead speed also adding additional distance over the "average" very good to excellent male player ... every 1 mph increase in clubhead speed adds approx. 3+ yards.

4. Finally, Bubba has strong and very fast hands / wrist release assisting in building very above average clubhead speed at bam - impact! Keep in mind, the ball is only on the clubface for 6 to 8 ten-thousanths of a second.

5. All the above combine makes Bubba one of the longest players on tour and pounds the pill a country mile  ............ o

Bottomline, play within yourself and your own yardages.  Remember, it's not how 'far'; it's how 'many' at scoring time.

Fairways and 'middle' of the greens plus ...

Enjoy !

42.5 sounds about right

usually 4 irons start around 21-23 degrees, 5-6 irons are usually 3 degrees of seperation, then 4 degrees from that.

So something like, 21, 24, 27, 31, 35, 39, 43

or something like, 23, 27, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46

He's close to what clubs are being sold in stores now. Its the trend that started over the past decade and a half, going with stronger clubs, but using golf shafts and clubhead to get lift. Which will create more distance.

Every good player will create an effective loft lower than the listed loft. Especially when you consider angle of attack.

What gets distance, one natural ability, flexibility is the main key. Second is maximizing contact. There's no secret to distance. Its also no secret that the top players out there in distance are all above 6' tall. Height allows for a ton of leverage. Rory, maybe the exception has crazy hip rotation speed.