140mph + head speed, but driver is still bad.

[JapanDave]

Hi, new to the forum.

I have been playing golf for about 10 years now and have a handicap of 9. I have a reasonably fast swing and can hit the ball reasonably far. Problem is that my 3 wood usually goes further than my driver. I went into my local golf store (I live in Japan) and they measured my swing speed ,ball spin etc and I am getting about 140-150mph with a driver and 125-130mph on a 7 iron. I can hit the 3 wood over 300 yards regularly but my driver is pathetic. The guys at the shop are saying that I am getting too much spin on the ball, as I tend to hit down on the ball if you can get the picture.

How do you stop putting spin on a ball with a driver?

BTW, I dislocated my left thumb during a down swing a few months back, although I know that does not help much, but that is how much I put into each swing.

[Gunther]

Lol. They use the metric system in Japan; that's kph which converts to about 100-106 mph.

[boogielicious]

Hi, new to the forum.

I have been playing golf for about 10 years now and have a handicap of 9. I have a reasonably fast swing and can hit the ball reasonably far. Problem is that my 3 wood usually goes further than my driver. I went into my local golf store (I live in Japan) and they measured my swing speed ,ball spin etc and I am getting about 140-150mph with a driver and 125-130mph on a 7 iron. I can hit the 3 wood over 300 yards regularly but my driver is pathetic. The guys at the shop are saying that I am getting too much spin on the ball, as I tend to hit down on the ball if you can get the picture.

How do you stop putting spin on a ball with a driver?

BTW, I dislocated my left thumb during a down swing a few months back, although I know that does not help much, but that is how much I put into each swing.

Check these two threads out.  To reduce spin, you need to change your angle of attack to be nearly zero or even positive.

[JapanDave]

Lol. They use the metric system in Japan; that's kph which converts to about 100-106 mph.

Sorry to burst your bubble, they use meters per second  not kph( I am swinging up to 67mps with the driver) I know my head speed is what it is, I drive a 2 iron regularly 270-290 yards. I suppose I am going to get the ,"your full of bullshit" from people like you. Should I post a YouTube vid of my swing just so you internet warriors can get your satisfaction.

In the meantime, if anyone else who is serious about helping, some would be appreciated.

EDIT: @ boogielicious , I just saw you post, I will check it out.

[Mr. Desmond]

Post #3 and punch some drivers to help you feel what may be wrong if it's the swing, and not only spin.

[Lihu]

Sorry to burst your bubble, they use meters per second  not kph( I am swinging up to 67mps with the driver) I know my head speed is what it is, I drive a 2 iron regularly 270-290 yards. I suppose I am going to get the ,"your full of bullshit" from people like you. Should I post a YouTube vid of my swing just so you internet warriors can get your satisfaction.

In the meantime, if anyone else who is serious about helping, some would be appreciated.

EDIT: @boogielicious, I just saw you post, I will check it out.

Although I tend to be more on the side of people who think it is possible to have this SS, your title leaves a lot to be desired. If you didn't want any negative comments you could have titled it "Hit 3W well, but horrible drives." or something like that.

Also, dislocating your thumb probably means something is wrong with your swing. You're probably letting your arms get too far in front of your body or something like that. A well swung shot should feel like the force of the club weight is going away from your body, and not like you're pushing or torquing the club.

As to the recommendations, post #3.

[tmac20]

Sorry to burst your bubble, they use meters per second  not kph( I am swinging up to 67mps with the driver) I know my head speed is what it is, I drive a 2 iron regularly 270-290 yards. I suppose I am going to get the ,"your full of bullshit" from people like you. Should I post a YouTube vid of my swing just so you internet warriors can get your satisfaction.

In the meantime, if anyone else who is serious about helping, some would be appreciated.

EDIT: @boogielicious, I just saw you post, I will check it out.

You're full of bullshit. Post a video. You realize that a 150mph swing speed is similar to those competing in professional long drive competitions with 50 inch shafts right? Nobody here is going to take your post seriously when you claim something like that.

[Mr. Desmond]

Dustin Johnson swings at 127 mph and gets 340+ with driver, so you can understand why some will question your claimed speed.

Slow it down to 127 and see what happens.

[iacas]

You realize that a 150mph swing speed is similar to those competing in professional long drive competitions with 50 inch shafts right?

Small point, but long drive competitors have to use conforming equipment, which limits the shafts to 48".

[turtleback]

Hi, new to the forum.

I have been playing golf for about 10 years now and have a handicap of 9. I have a reasonably fast swing and can hit the ball reasonably far. Problem is that my 3 wood usually goes further than my driver. I went into my local golf store (I live in Japan) and they measured my swing speed ,ball spin etc and I am getting about 140-150mph with a driver and 125-130mph on a 7 iron. I can hit the 3 wood over 300 yards regularly but my driver is pathetic. The guys at the shop are saying that I am getting too much spin on the ball, as I tend to hit down on the ball if you can get the picture.

How do you stop putting spin on a ball with a driver?

BTW, I dislocated my left thumb during a down swing a few months back, although I know that does not help much, but that is how much I put into each swing.

Either you or your golf store's monitor  is full of crap.

And I do not think anything other than this link is needed to demonstrate it.

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02401.2015.html

You are getting the same swing speed with your 7-iron as the guys with the very fastest swing speeds on tour are managing with their drivers??  Sure, I believe that.  They measured your driver speed at 140-150?  Yet the fastest driver swing speed measured on tour over the last 5 years is just a hair over 130 MPH (Charlie Beljan on 2013)?  Even the best long drive competitors rarely reach 150.

C'mon, if they really told you those numbers they are playing you.

[Lihu]

Either you or your golf store's monitor  is full of crap.

And I do not think anything other than this link is needed to demonstrate it.

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02401.2015.html

You are getting the same swing speed with your 7-iron as the guys with the very fastest swing speeds on tour are managing with their drivers??  Sure, I believe that.  They measured your driver speed at 140-150?  Yet the fastest driver swing speed measured on tour over the last 5 years is just a hair over 130 MPH (Charlie Beljan on 2013)?  Even the best long drive competitors rarely reach 150.

C'mon, if they really told you those numbers they are playing you.

He might actually be getting those speeds, once. . .

I agree with your point, but quoting the PGA tour numbers is pretty meaningless. The PGA Tour players are only using 80% effort swings. They carry their 6i on average (average of their averages) 180 yards with an 80% swing. This is why they frequently tee off 190 yard par 3s with their 7i or in Bubba's case a PW.

[billchao]

He might actually be getting those speeds, once. . .

I have a hard time believing the OP, too. Generally speaking, speeds like that come from very specific techniques that add clubhead speed. It's the kind of things you typically see in long drivers' swings, and they have very good mechanics for what they need to do.

140+ swing speed puts him in Jamie Sadlowski territory:

I agree with your point, but quoting the PGA tour numbers is pretty meaningless. The PGA Tour players are only using 80% effort swings. They carry their 6i on average (average of their averages) 180 yards with an 80% swing. This is why they frequently tee off 190 yard par 3s with their 7i or in Bubba's case a PW.

That 80% effort is a feel, which I'm sure you know. Dustin Johnson (~121mph avg) can't swing a driver 150mph at "100%" effort.

There are lots of reasons that pros use shorter irons than you'd expect for long distances. Usually, it's because the carry or target distance required is far shorter than the total distance due to elevation, wind, or ground conditions. Another reason is that the announcers just plain have the club identified wrong.

I've never seen any Trackman data that would suggest Bubba Watson hits his PW 190 yards. If he did, he'd probably have to carry a lot more wedges.

[Lihu]

I have a hard time believing the OP, too. Generally speaking, speeds like that come from very specific techniques that add clubhead speed. It's the kind of things you typically see in long drivers' swings, and they have very good mechanics for what they need to do.

140+ swing speed puts him in Jamie Sadlowski territory:

Jamie swings 144mph in average. Not quite the same thing. . .

[newtogolf]

What driver are you currently using, please provide all specs.

[billchao]

Jamie swings 144mph in average. Not quite the same thing. . .

I must have misunderstood what you were saying, then, because talking about Jamie Sadlowski seems pretty relevant to a discussion about a 140mph swing. It sounded to me like you suggested the OP can hit 140mph if he ramps it up, but his average speed is probably much slower than that. From what I understand, that's just not how it works. Unless you're intentionally swinging slower, like hitting a punch or something, you're average speed isn't going to be that far from your fastest speed. You just can't reach back and swing 10-15mph faster than your average full swing speed.

[Lihu]

I must have misunderstood what you were saying, then, because talking about Jamie Sadlowski seems pretty relevant to a discussion about a 140mph swing.

It sounded to me like you suggested the OP can hit 140mph if he ramps it up, but his average speed is probably much slower than that. From what I understand, that's just not how it works. Unless you're intentionally swinging slower, like hitting a punch or something, you're average speed isn't going to be that far from your fastest speed.

You just can't reach back and swing 10-15mph faster than your average full swing speed.

What I stated was that he might get the 140+ " once " and maybe with a freakishly good swing. Clearly, the OP can't actually swing this fast all the time as he injured himself doing so.

However, I'm not going to accuse everyone who states a high swing speed on this site of outright lying either. . .

[JapanDave]

Fine, I will take a quick vid down at the driving range in the next few days to a week。I need to buy a club head speed meter, will this do?

http://www.amazon.co.jp/YUPITERU-%E3%83%A6%E3%83%94%E3%83%86%E3%83%AB-%E3%82%B4%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%B9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0%E3%83%88%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC-GST-5-GL/dp/B00SSXIGKC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid;=1428875988&sr;=8-1&keywords;=%E3%83%98%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%82%B9%E3%83%94%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E6%B8%AC%E5%AE%9A%E5%99%A8

I suppose this way, I can get people who actually can help with my problem identify what I am doing wrong.

Anything else you want me to do?

[Tgb02]

Fine, I will take a quick vid down at the driving range in the next few days to a week。I need to buy a club head speed meter, will this do?

http://www.amazon.co.jp/YUPITERU-%E3%83%A6%E3%83%94%E3%83%86%E3%83%AB-%E3%82%B4%E3%83%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%B9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0%E3%83%88%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC-GST-5-GL/dp/B00SSXIGKC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid;=1428875988&sr;=8-1&keywords;=%E3%83%98%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%82%B9%E3%83%94%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E6%B8%AC%E5%AE%9A%E5%99%A8

I suppose this way, I can get people who actually can help with my problem identify what I am doing wrong.

Anything else you want me to do?

You did say you would take a video so. Also that link just takes me to a page in all Japanese and I have no idea what it says so sure.