What's Your Swing Speed?

[extremeld]

I also didn't correlate benching , weight with swingspeed.

If you take 2 identical guys one who can bench 100lbs and one who can bench 300lbs they are not identical. ps i swing in high 130s at the moment, speed has fallen away from 140s due to lack of hitting, under 6 feet weigh 210lbs bench around 150lbs last time i bothered, nice big belly and overweight, not athletic but can kick throw and hit things freaky hard due to the density of fast twitch muscle i have. Its too easy to simplify all this, saying big guys can small guys cant etc, all sorts of guys can really mash it, big fat guys, we skinny guys you dont have to be an "athlete" you do have to have a big helping of natural ability which is something that you cant get by putting 50lbs on your bench press! FYI - end of year uspga stat no one average over 125mph ss - jb holmes was 124.9 something average again was around 113mph. tiger maxes his swing at 125mph when killing it just as a point of reference The point about the weighted club is half a point really The weighted club will help nearly everyone due to the fact it encourages the correct sequence and firing of muscles - it improves your technique - be careful not to use too heavy a club. The weighted club will increase your range of motion as the additional weight adds a stretch to your muscles The weighted club will increase resistance around hip rotator muscles and the big collar of muscle across the top of the back all very important in hitting hard. The second part of increasing ss using a weighted club is to use a lighter club to overtrain the speed also or after a short period the improvement usually falls away - the weight gives you greater muscle density in the areas required but to max speed you need to train the muscle to be fast also - use a lighter club as well as your weighted club and you will see another jump in speed.

[Titleist Man]

Im probably VERY slow compared to other members here but my SS maxes out at about 93 mph but averages 90ish

[extremeld]

i would bet money if EVERY member of this forum was tested the AVERAGE ss would be less than yours.

i would bet money if EVERY member of this forum was tested the AVERAGE ss would be less than 90mph.

90mph is around 240 yards of the tee which is further than the average amateur hits driver.

[golfmonke]

The second part of increasing ss using a weighted club is to use a lighter club to overtrain the speed also or after a short period the improvement usually falls away - the weight gives you greater muscle density in the areas required but to max speed you need to train the muscle to be fast also - use a lighter club as well as your weighted club and you will see another jump in speed.

You are correct, adding the light weight club and swinging faster will add MORE benefit. I'm not arguing that, and fully agree with it.

I also agree with every other benefit you stated from swinging the weighted club. The original argument against swinging a weighted club was that it would make you SLOWER.

Ok so first of all your hitting about as far as most PGA pros, now your hitting just as good from the rough as they are? I highly doubt this, you might but hey it's not too good of chances. Pros always say it's very very hard to make a birdie from the rough, but way easier to make one from the fairway. You might be playing some really short rough or something, but I know when you talk to pros about it, they say being in the fairway helps a ton.

Assuming you are hitting from the same distance, then yes obviously playing from the fairway will be easier.

You must have missed what I was saying. I was comparing hitting and 8 iron out of the rough from lets say 150 vs hitting a 4 iron from the fairway from 200. My argument is that hitting an 8 iron from rough SOME OF THE TIME (keep in mind your not going to miss the fairway all the time lets say 40% of the time your hitting 8 iron from the fairway also.) is easier to get on the green than it is from hitting 4 iron from 200 even if you're on the fairway (which again you won't be on the fairway all the time here either) Add to this the fact that 95% of the courses that amateurs play have virtually no or very little rough and it makes even more sense. Also, if you increase your swingspeed, you increase it for all clubs in your bag, not just your driver. And you'll be using less club into the green after your new longer drives. So let's say your currently hitting a 3 iron from 200 and a 7 iron from 150. And you increase your swing speed by 10mph, you'll now be hitting only a 8-9 iron from 150.

i would bet money if EVERY member of this forum was tested the AVERAGE ss would be less than 90mph.

I think you're mixing concepts here though.

The average "on the course" swing speed might be under 90 on average. Because people are also trying to make good contact, hit it straight etc... Not to mention the poor contact which causes even more lost distance. But take those same people and just have them swing to generate club head speed, and I bet it'll be much higher. Not to mention that the members on this forum are in general a lot more AVID golfers than the general golfing public.

[golfmonke]

I

I never said any of this. I never equated big with faster swing speed. One does not need to be big to be strong and powerful

I know you don't HAVE TO be an athlete, there are exceptions to everything. I'm not looking at the exceptions, i'm looking at the majority. I also said quite clearly that increasing your bench is FAR from the best way to increase your swing speed. The whole "big helping of natural ability" might work for the freaks of nature, but when you look at the 99% rest of us certain patterns start to arise.

[golfmonke]

That's the thing with these threads - notice everyone is 100+, with some into the teens? Complete BS in most cases. I find it humorous that regardless of handicap, everyone on this board swings 110 mph and hits it 290

Big difference between swinging for maximum speed and swinging under enough control to hit the ball straight bud.

I don't swing 110, I can get up to a max of high 120's when swinging for max speed . When on the course it's around 110. To answer your other question, ya my carry on good contact is about 270, usually between 250 and 270 though due to poor contact on some. I have a friend, who I went to do fittings with together. He can whip the club up to 115, when he tries to hit the ball with this swing he pushes it 50+ yards right. He needs to slow his swing down to high 90's to hit the ball straight. Why do you feel the need to call people liars?

[GolferDot]

why is everyone talking about the "average" swing speed of an amatuer compared to the average speed of the Tour Pro. There are hundreds of millions of amatuers and 7500 tour pros. How can you compare averages from such disproportionate size groups.

I know how far I hit the ball, have no idea of my swing speed, know the weaknesses in my game. I have an average driving distance comparable to that of the Tour pro's average driving distance, which means I probably have a higher swing speed cause I doubt I practise enough to have better contact.

[Surefire]

This is getting silly.
I stopped posting last night because it turned from topical debate to personal insults.

I agree weighted club work with a lightweight club for speed will help. In fact one of my first ever posts on this board was about using a weighted for exactly this purpose. A weighted club alone will slow the neuromuscular system though.

I agree training will help, although not benching particularly.

My point was a high swingspeed was posted and justified with a height weight and bench. I still don't think that any of these factors are relevent.

As it turns out from the posts that followed the high swing speed is actually justified by work with heavy and light clubs and cross sport skill transfer and lots of other training. Maybe this was what was supposed to be implied by the statement of height, weight and bench, but it was not what was said.

For the record my swingspeed is what I consider good but not amazing, around 105.
My sports training knowledge comes from my past, I used to be a serious rugby player, playing at county level and challenging for a place in the England schoolboy squad. Unfortunately that didn't work out and I took up golf more seriously, and actually started the process of becoming an assistant pro when I was 18. I stopped this, as after some persuasion from family I decided going to university was a better idea. I have since completed my studies and now have a job I enjoy.

[extremeld]

Golfmonke,

you are taking everypoint from my post as something aimed at you - the quote that i included at the start of my original post was aimed at you - two identical people but one can bench press 200lbs more than the other (not identical)


Everything else was me trying to be constructive on the topic -just my view on ss with a bit about over/underspeed training thrown in - something which i do. PS i have the highest ever ss on cleveland golfs device in the uk.

I agree with previous poster, whenever there are threads on this topic people quote Bench press - i dont get that as its a completely different motion - in both direction and speed.

You dont train to whip eggs fast as a chef by needing dough really hard - its as good an analogy as i can think of.

[Watcher2000]

mine, around 100mph

[pendlebg]

Here is my experience with how someone who can drive 250 -300 yards (depending on roll, wind, elevation, etc..) yards and 105 - 110 mph swingspeed can have a 20 handicap. Now that is optimal distance, many drives (with Driver) could be 180 yard snap hooks or 250 yard slices. Hard to say what average Driver driving distance would be on the course as I rarely hit driver due to inconsistency. Driving clubs over 90% of the time have been mainly irons, hybrid and 3 wood. If someone is talking Average distance in that range then that is a different story I would agree, a 20 handicap does not average that driving distance, but reaches it when the ball is hit properly.

In the past 3 years, have dropped handicap from 20 to 17 to 13 but driving distance has been the same. What has changed is accuracy and control. For the most part rarely use driver due to tendency to spray. Next years goal is to get driver under control and start to take advantage of that length on the course and continue to improve short game to get to single digit handicap (here's hoping anyway).

Main point for this thread is that swing speed was the same regardless of handicap, but mechanics improved every year with effort and practice.

[loopy]

Highest measured when I got fit for my driver was 104, don't have a clue what my swing speed is with irons.

[Fab]

Just did a fitting down in Carlsbad, CA
SS at 95-97 mph but was surprisingly fitted for a Ping G10 10.5 Regular w/stock shaft TFC129
@+

[JonnyGolf]

Just did a fitting down in Carlsbad, CA

Why is that surprising? 95 to 97 is about the average swing speed and that's what 10.5 and regular shaft setup is designed for.

I play that same set-up with a TaylorMade (although it might not be exactly the same as Ping)

[Sherlockian]

When I got my shortie driver reshafted my measured ss was 92, and my 5 iron was 85. My driver carry is usually 245, my five iron is 170. I can't figure out the references to athleticism/ss/bench press/distance. Flexibility is a lot better virtue in golf than strength. Power and strength do not exactly equate nor does past athletic ability. I was a very good high school athlete(football/noseguard, baseball/catcher, soccer/keeper, and golf) and could bench 300, but at 36years with 2 bad knees and 2 awful shoulders, it has no bearing on my current golf abilities.

[RocketSauce]

i believe most of the posters here who say they can swing 110+. im 40 years old, completely out of shape and can get my ss up to around 99mph (at Golfsmith on their monitor). so i have no problem believing these younger kids who are in good shape when they say they can swing 110-120mph...

[kevidinho]

100, plus or minus two either way is how i average

[JaY_B]

Out of interest, have any of you read any academia that looks in to this, looked up articles relating to the scientific research carried out regarding the effects of weight training on club head speed and distance?

Some of the journals I have read suggest that weight training makes little to no difference to the distance the golfer hits the ball.