The Golf Ball Effect

[boil3rmak3r]

I have a net in a spare room in the house and hit into it a few nights per week. When it's not too late, I'll hit real golf balls. When it's a little later and I don't want to wake anyone up, I hit whiffle golf balls. I will often use a swing speed radar to see my swing speed. With a short iron (that's all I hit inside), my average swing speed is about 6 mph faster when hitting the whiffle balls. What is it about swinging at a real ball vs a whiffle ball that produces different swing speeds? Is it simply the fixation of a real ball that mentally makes me hesitant? Also, can hitting a whiffle ball help to ingrain a "there's no real ball down there" mentality that I could transition to hitting a real golf ball? Is this whole thing just me, or does it happen with others?

[PirateJim]

Okay, I admit that I am taking a guess at this.  But my guess is that something "triggers" the swing speed calculation and that it is likely detection of the ball moving.  It would make sense to me that the impact of hitting a whiffle would slow the club down fractionally less than hitting a heavier real ball and that could account for the difference.  Does the swing speed radar gizmo work with no ball there?  And if so, what does it say?

[RPMPIRE]

I have a net in a spare room in the house and hit into it a few nights per week. When it's not too late, I'll hit real golf balls. When it's a little later and I don't want to wake anyone up, I hit whiffle golf balls. I will often use a swing speed radar to see my swing speed. With a short iron (that's all I hit inside), my average swing speed is about 6 mph faster when hitting the whiffle balls.

What is it about swinging at a real ball vs a whiffle ball that produces different swing speeds? Is it simply the fixation of a real ball that mentally makes me hesitant? Also, can hitting a whiffle ball help to ingrain a "there's no real ball down there" mentality that I could transition to hitting a real golf ball?

Is this whole thing just me, or does it happen with others?

I also have a net in one of my rooms and I can see why. For me, when I hit real balls, I do an easier swing, mostly because I have fear of me hitting the ball anywhere but the net. I also have the Almost Golf Balls which basically a heavy foam ball and I don't let up as much because there's a lot less risk of damage.

Also, what PirateJim said, when I do hit the foam balls, I don't feel much of an impact and seem to just swing through it. When hitting real balls, I do feel a slow down after impact.

[dsc123]

My guess is that you're swinging easier with the real balls because you're not completely comfortable hitting real balls inside.  Perhaps even subconsciously.