Swing Speed

[IrishGolfer]

I have always figured I was swinging my driver at approx. 98-101mph. I have been at the range / nets with devices that have confirmed this. I hit it about 250-260 yards on a decent hit (including roll) and I hot my 7 iron about 155 yards. OK it's not tour standard but it is reasonably well controlled and mostly in the fairway, so I'm happy (ish).

I have always wanted to increase this speed without loss of control, and tried a few things like weighted clubs, stretching etc.

The other day a work colleague lent me his Swing Speed Radar, so I went out to the back garden and started limbering up. When I switched it on it was tracking me at 85mph at my normal swing. Huh??

When I started going after it it was getting up to 95mph. Frustration!!

I really started to try and hammer it and never got it past 98mph. The thought of going to hospital / chiropractor to get it past 100mph didn't appeal.

But in the process of my 20 mins of "vanity awareness" I have pulled a few small muscles.

Anyone esle try this gizmo or have any thoughts about swing speed?

[EnglishGolfer]

My driver seems fairly consistently around 95 mph and I tend to hit it about 270 but with a slightly wider arc occassionally nudge through the 300 barrier on a nice day. I've not measured my swing speed of my 7iron but it goes 150yards almost to the inch.

What I don't get is how although i know many people who swing faster than me, they only hit similar iron distances and often considerably less with a driver (the exception being players who are much better than me of course). Clearly there is more to be gained by hitting consistently easily from the sweet spot than by trying to kill it and hitting outside the optimum strike zone of the club face.

You, like me, are in the "no mans land" of shaft flex. Stiff is too stiff and regular is not stiff enough when it comes to stock shafts (or at least the ones that I've tried).

[SiberianDVM]

Funny. When I had my swing speed measured it said 90mph for the driver. I almost went home and put on a skirt.

My 7 iron distance is 150 yards but my driver only goes 230-250.

[EnglishGolfer]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

Funny. When I had my swing speed measured it said 90mph for the driver. I almost went home and put on a skirt.
My 7 iron distance is 150 yards but my driver only goes 230-250.

I dont think people should take too much notice of swing speed as it's just a bit of information help you get the right shaft. What's the point of swinging at 120mph if you play off 28 handicap?

If it makes you feel any better, 90-100mph is the average for males golfers so don't go putting on that skirt just yet (unless you enjoy that sort of thing, in which case who am I to judge )

[NBGolfer]

I tried one of those things out for the first time this year.
I called over the guy and asked him how accurate it was, he seemed confident in it's accuracy. I ranged from 104-118. I took about 20 cuts and most of them where at the 108-110 range. I never really took note to that point or much after. Still have got to go from the tee box to the cup on every hole regardless.

[Rockford35]

NB,

Great attitude. Distance is golden, but i'd take accuracy and assurance over it anyday.

I hit my driver about 285 average. I hit my 7 iron about 155ish. If I have a shot of 160, I'd rather drop down my 6 and hit it more solid than I would swing a bit out of my boots with the 7 iron. When I swing hard, I impart way too much spin on the ball and it balloons on me, causing a shot to be short. I'd rather be there with a putt than short for a chip and a putt.

R35

[15andlife]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

NB,

Great attitude. Distance is golden, but i'd take accuracy and assurance over it anyday.

I hit my driver about 285 average. I hit my 7 iron about 155ish. If I have a shot of 160, I'd rather drop down my 6 and hit it more solid than I would swing a bit out of my boots with the 7 iron. When I swing hard, I impart way too much spin on the ball and it balloons on me, causing a shot to be short. I'd rather be there with a putt than short for a chip and a putt.

R35

Rock that sounds alot like me except my average drive is probably around 250 now but my swing speed is 86mph which I dont care about and I hit my 7 iron about the same distance as you.

[slicerdude]

I had my swing checked out last year on the golf range, and i was driving at 90mph, but recently since i analyzed all my faults that are giving me a slice, it came down to 2 things, not rotating my hips quick enough on the backswing, thus leaving my body and shoulders open at impact, the other problem, was my backswing, always trying to crush the ball instead of sweeping it, so i have calmed it down and started to hit more fairways, speed ? accuracy? , i would rather sacrifice a little swing speed for more accurate shots.

[warbirdlover]

I look at some of the pros swing and they don't look like they're swinging any harder then most of us and they supposedly are up around 120?. It must be faster since they hit it so far. I don't think half those swing speed gyzmos are accurate. And you obviously are going to have a lower swing speed with an iron then a driver because it's shorter. I hit my average drives about 250-260. So I "guess" I have a swing somewhere between 90-100. That's as far as I need to take it. I also know if you make perfect contact at 85 it's going to go way farther and straighter then if you make less perfect contact at 110.

[JEFF4i]

I hit about 295-310, and my 7 about 170, but I have no idea how fast I swing. But yes, it is straight.

[SiberianDVM]

I played today with a guy I met on the first tee: a plus 1.5 handicap.

I'm a minus 18.

Anyway, he was playing from the gold tees 7200 yards and I was playing from the white tees 6200 yards. We measured some of his drives at over 300 yards and the fairways are soft here.

On the good side, he was a nice guy and playing with him helped me: I have never driven the ball as well as I did today. Just couldn't putt.

[Augster]

Swing Speed Radar is the next thing I'm going to buy if I don't get a launch monitor. Tom Wishon recommends the Swing Speed Radar in his new book because it is accurate if used according to the instructions.

I would believe the readout.

With an 85-mph swing, in order to maximize your (carry) distance, your launch angle should be about 14* if you have a 0* angle of attack.

So if you have a 10* driver, you need "almost" a 4* upward angle of attack to maximize your carry. If you can ramp up to 90MPH, you only need a 12* launch angle to maximize your distance. So an upward Angle of Attack of almost 2* will suffice. (less if you have a 10.5* obviously)

[Highdraw34]

I tend to feel that swing speed is overrated. Here is why. The simple fact that if you pure a ball with a 7 Iron and an 85 mph swing it is going to go much further than ball hit off the toe with a 100mph swing. I've started to focus on swinging at a pace and speed that maximizes my chances of a sweet spot strike. On the launch monitor with a 3w I was swinging at a 92-93 mph swing speed and puring most of my shots. They were going 255 with role. With my driver my swing speed was about the same and I would carry 270 and get about 280 with roll. If I went after it and got the speed up to 98-100 I would miss the fairway 70% of the time. I always thin of the standard par 72 course from the tips. Of the par 4s and 5s You probably need to hit 275-300 off the tee 3-5 times to score well. So you hit some 3 woods, hybrids and mix in driver. If you are puring those clubs with an 80% swing there is no reason your game off the tee can't be all it needs to be.

[Bravo]

IG:

When I got on a launch monitor about six weeks ago, I was measured at around 88 mph with my normal swing. When I really tried to hammer it - I never got above 95 mph.

On the other hand, I hit close to 300 yards several times over the past weekend - playing on well-marked courses and hitting 520 yard par 5's in two. If the scorecard is accurate, there is no denying I hit some drives of that length with that swing speed. I know it doesn't square with what the calculations say but I hit that distance all the same - on a few occasions. I think it is the combo of my 10.5 degree clubface and the ProLaunch shaft...and very dry fairways due to a prolonged drought.

I hit holes 7 and 11 in two shots and was about 210 out on each approach in..Playing from the III tees.

http://www.ballantraegolf.com/Sites/...ballantrae.pdf

[SiberianDVM]

and very dry fairways due to a prolonged drought.

It's pouring here at the moment. I'll be back to hitting 190 this weekend.