What Creates Club Head Speed?

[lynchjo]

I have heard a multitude of answers from golf instructors, golf mags, the golf channel, you name it...but nobody seems to agree. "What part of your body contributes the most to club head speed....is it the lower body? the hands? the arms?

I'm confused.

[Spectrums]

From my experience, it's been my hips firing at the top to begin the downswing.

But now that's beginning to kill me because I'm firing my hips too fast at the top. So a combination of hips, shoulders, and hands I believe add power put correctly.

[Soup Fan]

I think it is probably a combination of lower and upper body. I wouldn't try to generate speed all in the arms either way, as too much arms can lead to trips into other fairways.

[iacas]

I'll give you my top two, in no particular order:

Torque between upper and lower body.
Lag.



If the question was "what creates ball speed" I'd add a third:
Good contact.

[laconic517]

torque and lag for sure.

I got a lesson 3 weeks ago, and I turn way more on a stable base, and even with a reverse C im hitting my drives out there probably averaging 265-270 carry and anywhere between 280-300 with roll depending on conditions, I used to have a very steep swing and It was almost completely arms, and the only time I could hit the ball even close to as far as I am now is when I had my timing down really good and had a bit of lag in my swing. Now i swing around 110 give or take 3-4 mph on a given swing with my driver and im hitting it miles farther. My swing is much flatter and I get a huge turn, its nice.

[dhyv]

As an engineer, I could break it down and figure out about how much each body part is contributing to club head speed, but that is a lot of work. The short answer is "reactive centrifugal force" or more specifically centripetal acceleration. This is why when you watch the pros play it doesn't look like they are trying to swing very hard, but man are they.

The essentials required to maximize your centripetal acceleration are going to be height, stroke path, and form. So basically, height and grace. You'd be surprised how many people can pick up club head speed by simply slowing down their swing (75% - 80% swings) to focus on a more natural stroke path, and end up gaining speed.

As for which body parts contribute the most towards grace, I have no idea :p

[doublesuited77]

I'll give you my top two, in no particular order:

let me add another (in order)

1. Balance 2. Torque beween upper and lower body 3. Lag.

[Guest]

There is a lot of answers to this question. But if you have ever heard of a thing called "casting". It is one of the biggest mistakes that people make in their downswings but loads of people don't know about it. The best way to describe it, is when you start your downswing you throw your hands like a "fishing rod when throwing the line out". This is a BAD mistake that people make, and i think that in order to create club head speed you have to keep that "launch angle" or the angle on the downswing right before hitting the ball, you have to keep this angle as long as you can RIGHT before hitting the ball (be careful to not kill the ground behind the ball though! LOL!), also, every good golfer releases their hips and opens to the target before impact. But the faster you can get those hips through will help create more headspeed, but you have to be careful with this because most people have a tendency to then open your club head and push it way out to the right. Hope this helps! GOOD LUCK! if you have any questions please lemme know! :D

~Katie~

[Leek]

Well- first of all speed comes from centripetal acceleration as mentioned above.
Assuming this question is about distance, it is the most efficient utilization of acceleration. Show me a player with an efficient 95 mph swing, who hits the ball on of neear the sweet spot almost every time, and they will consistently outdrive a player with a reasonable inefficient 105mph swing. They will be in the fairway too, with an easier shot!

[EGS]

While I agree with all of the points made above, I think there is something you find common in all golfers with high swing speeds: ATHLETICISM! Honestly, that is what it boils down to. Can you move your hand, arms, hips, and legs in harmony while trying to hit a target ahead of you? Let us not forget that the two most difficult things to do in all of sports are hit a baseball and a golf ball. If you are a good athlete, the swing speed and timing all come naturally.

[Ringer]

I'll give you my top two, in no particular order:

These are the two most popular answers depending on which camp you belong to.

My answer would be the upper body, including arms, are the source of speed. The lower body HELPS that motion... You simply cannot make the club move if you don't move your arms. But you can move the club if you don't move your body. But here's really the nitty gritty of why I'm quoting you Iacas: Lag It is not speed, it is accelleration. I know I'm being picky but think about this carefully and maybe you'll discover something you didn't even realize. Lag, when it's released, creates a continuous change of direction. And accelleration is not just a change in speed but also a change in direction. One of the most vital parts to a golf swing.

[iacas]

Lag

I took and passed high school physics. And college physics. Thank you.

¹ . Lag (releasing the lag, anyway) still results in speed, which was the original question. ¹ Pick nits all you want, but please get it right. Acceleration (which you spelled wrong) is a change in EITHER speed or direction. Something traveling in an arc at a constant speed is accelerating even though its linear speed remains constant.

[allin]

I think this answer varies a little by handicap and age. Older and higher handicap golfers have to focus on making things happen in the right order. To me this means using the lower body as resistance and then moving through the swing feet-hips-torso-arms-hands turning and delivering the clubhead with proper timing. I observe better golfers than I and they are able to emphasize parts of the swing to maximize power, larger shoulder turn, aggressive hip and leg action, more lag. I would suggest that lower body power (speed and balance) and upper body flexibility (arc) and superior timing (superior athleticism) maximizes distance. I realize this isn't really different from other comments. It is just that each of us has a different area that we probably are weak in, mine is flexibility, women often lack strength. Have you ever seen a body builder try to learn to play golf?
The important thing is to pick a swing method which takes advantage of your strengths and work on your weak area.