We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Swing Speed vs Distance vs Shaft

Not much to truly add in here. All great comments and suggestions.

I am lucky enough to have a pretty repeatable swing and know my driver swing speed is around 108-110mph consistently. My ball speed is around 156mph with a low spin rate. I'm consistently over 300y with my drives (real world, not internet golf) and the launch monitor I was fitted on confirmed it all. My carry is in the 295y range.

Hope that helps.
 
fupresti said:
Swing speed is only one determining factor for distance. Canadans chart is more accurate because it takes into account other important issues, specifically launch angle and spin rate. From someone more concerned with dispersion then distance, your teacher has you looking at the wrong info.
Click to expand...

That's not exactly accurate. Canadan's chart is based on "Optimal" parameters. Meaning the spin numbers listed in the chart are what you would expect under optimal conditions. That's not a reality for most amateur golfers and the second chart is probably closer to real world numbers due to people's swing path and club face position at impact.

Swinging 105 and getting 230-240 carry distance is definitely possible (and probably very common) because the flight of the ball is bending way too much because of path and club face issues. I've personally had the same/similar results confirmed on Trackman and the problem is for me is always swing path and club face related, not swing speed.

Also, people tend to think what's best for them is factually best for everyone. Not everyone is 150 pounds and should be in a lightweight shaft (in irons or woods). If you can get the ball in the air with them, stiffer and heavier shafts will produce tighter dispersion. There is just a point of limited return if you can't swing fast enough to get the ball in the air with the heavier/stiffer club, resulting in shorter distances.

I don't know what monitor you will be using, but if available get path and face to path numbers. Those will tell the real story. I've had roughly a lesson for every two weeks over the last year (26th is tomorrow) and have logged probably 20 hours on trackman. I'm not a pga pro or fitter (or even a great golfer), but I'm not just making crap up as I go either.
 
rtparty said:
Not much to truly add in here. All great comments and suggestions.

I am lucky enough to have a pretty repeatable swing and know my driver swing speed is around 108-110mph consistently. My ball speed is around 156mph with a low spin rate. I'm consistently over 300y with my drives (real world, not internet golf) and the launch monitor I was fitted on confirmed it all. My carry is in the 295y range.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

You are also at elevation. My swing speed is pretty close to that and it isn't uncommon to have a ball roll out past the 300 yard point. Still if 105 is correct for him the distance measurement is wrong, he is getting high spin numbers or not making great contact.


Here is a fun tool to play around with and see how different factors effect ball flight. http://flightscope.com/products/trajectory-optimizer/
 
GolfFest said:
You are also at elevation. My swing speed is pretty close to that and it isn't uncommon to have a ball roll out past the 300 yard point. Still if 105 is correct for him the distance measurement is wrong, he is getting high spin numbers or not making great contact.


Here is a fun tool to play around with and see how different factors effect ball flight. http://flightscope.com/products/trajectory-optimizer/
Click to expand...

I've found elevation to have much less impact than people think. When I played in Florida last year I only lost 1/2 a club for the first little bit and then was back to normal distances. Driver suffered a little but not as much as I thought it would.
 
rtparty said:
I've found elevation to have much less impact than people think. When I played in Florida last year I only lost 1/2 a club for the first little bit and then was back to normal distances. Driver suffered a little but not as much as I thought it would.
Click to expand...

I haven't played out of state in a lot of years so I am unsure exactly how big the effect is. I have heard 10% before, though the flightscope tool I linked shows a difference of only 2 yards at 5000 feet. Being at the same altitude your numbers sound right to me.
 
Earlier today I watched Mark Crossfield's 2nd shaft flex video. The difference in yardage between a A flex and a X flex with the same head and loft was 2 yards. The difference between a SLDR with (i think) 2 degrees loft change with the same shaft was 6 yards. Which just goes to show shaft flex isn't the be and end all some forums / teaching pros / amateur golfers claim it to be.
 
There are many factors that go into carry distance. Swing speed is one, spin is another and trajectory. How you achieve these also has bearing on carry distance.

The angle of attack will have an effect. Face angle at impact will affect carry distance as well. If your swing speed is 105 and your carry distance is 238 you may be releasing the club too early and glancing at the ball. Meaning your face is open or closed at impact, effectively not placing a square club face on the back of the ball. If also check the launch monitor, the increase your are seeing in swing speed is extreme.
 
As a fellow old codger (or close to it) I want to know how you gained 15 mph, I have been taking lessons, hitting the range and lost weight. But there has been only a slight increase in CHS, distance gains though better contact and face angle but nothing like 15 mph could give me. That is huge, please share the method you used.
 
jim54 said:
As a fellow old codger (or close to it) I want to know how you gained 15 mph, I have been taking lessons, hitting the range and lost weight. But there has been only a slight increase in CHS, distance gains though better contact and face angle but nothing like 15 mph could give me. That is huge, please share the method you used.
Click to expand...


Jim,
The best I can tell you is through repeated lessons, I learned to swing using my legs and hips instead of just my arms. It was a process. I was notorious for trying to muscle the ball with just my arm swing. Bad idea.
 
Last edited:
The biggest factors for carry for me have been backspin, where on the face it is hit, and if the face was open or not. Before I got my new driver I was in a similar situation, below average carry for my swing speed. In my case, my backspin with my driver was in the 5000-5500 range which is a lot. Changing to my current driver cut the backspin down to the 1700-2100 range and my carry distance went up a considerable amount as well as giving me a better ball flight. I am not an expert by any means but I would look at your backspin on the launch monitor as well as angle of attack and face angle like others have said.
 
malemotives said:
Jim,
The best I can tell you is through repeated lessons, I learned to swing using my legs and hips instead of just my arms. It was a process. I was notorious for trying to muscle the ball with just my arm swing. Bad idea.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I am fighting now, relearning to swing with the proper hip rotation. It is a great feeling when it comes together
 
OkieSpladle said:
The one posted here is probably accurate, but if any of the variables change, the carry distance does as well. Angle of attack, launch angle and spin rate are all variable depending on your swing, driver, shaft, ball, etc.

For example, when I tested drivers before I bought my last one I hit 10-12 different models on the same day in the same conditions. My club head speed was very similar with most of the clubs, but the carry distance ranged from 245-270 largely due to spin rate (and some due to launch angle). I love orange so I really wanted to buy an orange Cobra, but it just didn't launch the ball in the right conditions for me. I would suspect that something similar is happening with your driver as your carry distance is pretty low for your swing speed, but you'll have to try some different things to figure out exactly where you should be.
Click to expand...

I agree that this one is pretty good.
 
You should check angle of attack. If you are hitting down on the ball generating -3 or -4 angle of attack instead of sweeping and getting +3 or 4 angle of attacks makes tremendous difference. So its not to do with flex but your swing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top