Distance potential is determined by vertical jump

I am not knowledgeable about fitness, but I have to agree with this. I've always had a weaker than normal upper body. While some of the athletic kids in HS could bench press maybe 1 1/2 time their body weight, I was doing well to do my body weight. But I could clean and jerk the same amount of weight because that lift involves technique and the lower body - where I had above average strength.

This is why I think the correlation between vertical jump and distance is a bit dependent on those who have lower body strength/explosiveness also having that in the arms and upper body as well - which I believe is typically the case with a lot of folks.

I also believe strength doesn't always show up in physique. A tour player might look average, but be stronger/quicker than average to go along with flexibility and an incredibly efficient swing.

Again, just uneducated opinions.
The SVJ is just a showing of potential to recruit muscle quickly, which is helpful when swinging a golf club.

It's why the SVJ is tested at the NFL Cattle Show Combine
 
I am not knowledgeable about fitness, but I have to agree with this. I've always had a weaker than normal upper body. While some of the athletic kids in HS could bench press maybe 1 1/2 time their body weight, I was doing well to do my body weight. But I could clean and jerk the same amount of weight because that lift involves technique and the lower body - where I had above average strength.

This is why I think the correlation between vertical jump and distance is a bit dependent on those who have lower body strength/explosiveness also having that in the arms and upper body as well - which I believe is typically the case with a lot of folks.

I also believe strength doesn't always show up in physique. A tour player might look average, but be stronger/quicker than average to go along with flexibility and an incredibly efficient swing.

Again, just uneducated opinions.

Genetics certainly play a huge role in strength. We all are born with certain length muscle bellies, tendon attachment points, etc. that determine our strength and
Tahoebum- have any test ever been done to determine the speeds of a hockey stick when propelling a puck ?

Not sure but I know a snapshot is around 100 mph for the pros. Impressive considering that a puck weighs almost 4 times as much as a golf ball. FWIW, a golf ball is only traveling about 50 mph when it lands.
 
Yep. Michael Jordan does not have big calves.

Dude could dunk from the free throw line too? Howsa why? I could barely dunk from right under, 😂. I guarantee I have benched and squatted (especially that) more than he ever has. Yet I don’t dunk from there? Nor can I at all anymore. I’m not as vertically gifted as him but what he could do shouldn’t be limited by 6” in height or so. It wouldn’t have mattered to him. It does to me and I’m stronger?

Why? He has/had a gift. Flying pre-rapture. Cool!
 
Genetics certainly play a huge role in strength. We all are born with certain length muscle bellies, tendon attachment points, etc. that determine our strength and


Not sure but I know a snapshot is around 100 mph for the pros. Impressive considering that a puck weighs almost 4 times as much as a golf ball. FWIW, a golf ball is only traveling about 50 mph when it lands.

Do baseball players use their strong forearms and wrists to whip the bat through the ball? I think their kinematic sequence is the same (especially for skilled hockey players- see video below) but the physics being used to propel a hockey stick may have some subtle differences compared to a golf club.

 
Well then my distance potential is totally screwed .... cause this boy can't jump higher than an ant hill. :ROFLMAO:
 
With regards the vertical jump , I think the golf scientists test people how they jump from a standing squat to a countermovement squat/jump. Depending on which jump is higher may determine the usefulness of vertical ground reaction forces in your swing. I'll try and find the video or article that actually explains the logic behind this.
 
Genetics certainly play a huge role in strength. We all are born with certain length muscle bellies, tendon attachment points, etc. that determine our strength
I believe that there is more athleticism involved in golf than most people realize. I think what I had a problem with is when they (the video) assigned a distance associated with that single metric of the standing vertical jump. I’m probably above average with that - certainly within my age group - yet I do not generate the ball speed. Some of that is certainly due to poorer swing mechanics, but I just can’t see ever being near average with distance much less the 260+ yards they associated with my SVJ.

That said, I believe working on core strength is beneficial in so many ways regardless of genetics.
 
Do baseball players use their strong forearms and wrists to whip the bat through the ball? I think their kinematic sequence is the same (especially for skilled hockey players- see video below) but the physics being used to propel a hockey stick may have some subtle differences compared to a golf club.


Tahoebum- do hockey players jump up to swing a hockey stuck 100 mph ?
 
Want to know about a vertical jump, look up this guy - Leonel Marshall. Think he is around 50". Vertical jumps normally take some quick muscles.

BTW, hockey player exercises are built around sprint training for quickness.
 
That said, I believe working on core strength is beneficial in so many ways regardless of genetics.
This is why the greats worked and hit thousands among thousands of golf balls and trained about average of at least 4-5 hours a day. If I start slacking in keeping my strength up my golf game immediately suffers. Of course there are many other things that are beneficial to a good golf game, but no doubt that core strength brings great benefits. Even training for quickness can help the golf swing.
 
Gary Woodland doesn't use vertical ground reaction forces to as great an extent as some other pros but he's still one of the longer hitters on tour. I suspect it depends on the golfers body on how best to utilise what he/she can do well to create the necessary well timed forces to optimise their clubhead speed by impact.
 
I'm new to golf but I have trained extensively in multiple sports, as well as weight training. So I'm going to offer my opinion. I believe the hips/glutes are what generates speed in the golf swing, which translates to distance. See Jon Rahm to understand what I'm talking about. Rahm probably can't jump over a crushed cup. One of my best friends certainly can't but he hits the ball 300 yards at the age of 50. Like anything in sports, good athleticism certainly helps, so a good vert can't hurt. But I don't think it's necessary at all. There's too much evidence of long hitters to suggest otherwise.
 
Not surprising since leg strength has alway been one of the important factor in one's golf swing.

I can agree with this. I could hit the ball a country mile back in the day. And I could also dunk a volleyball at 5'9" tall! Couldn't quite dunk a basketball since my hand wasn't big enough to palm it! That's whay I posted in the "Better You Fitness Thread" that I need to get to work on my legs this Winter, since I've lost quite a bit of muscle mass, and need to get it back. If I can.

I'm new to golf but I have trained extensively in multiple sports, as well as weight training. So I'm going to offer my opinion. I believe the hips/glutes are what generates speed in the golf swing, which translates to distance. See Jon Rahm to understand what I'm talking about. Rahm probably can't jump over a crushed cup. One of my best friends certainly can't but he hits the ball 300 yards at the age of 50. Like anything in sports, good athleticism certainly helps, so a good vert can't hurt. But I don't think it's necessary at all. There's too much evidence of long hitters to suggest otherwise.

I think your post relate to prior ones referencing Craig Stadler and another heavy set golfer. They might not be able to have a high vertical jump, but they have a ton of muscle mass in their lower body!

Well then my distance potential is totally screwed .... cause this boy can't jump higher than an ant hill. :ROFLMAO:

Hey, don't sell yourself short. I've seen anthills 3 feet high!
 
I find this video very interesting and this data makes perfect sense to me. When I was in my early 20's(and longer) I had a 28" vertical jump and now it's more like 18". The longest PGA Tour hitters have a much larger vertical jump and the long drive champs are at another level. Obviously there are golfers that are exceptions to this rule(Phil's jump, lol) but the general correlation between vertical jump and hitting it far is real.

I love the discussion about squatting on the backswing and "jumping" or lifting as you approach impact.



oh man…. I’m screwed! The movie White Men Can’t Jump was pretty much made about me…. 🤷‍♂️
 
I'm new to golf but I have trained extensively in multiple sports, as well as weight training. So I'm going to offer my opinion. I believe the hips/glutes are what generates speed in the golf swing, which translates to distance. See Jon Rahm to understand what I'm talking about. Rahm probably can't jump over a crushed cup. One of my best friends certainly can't but he hits the ball 300 yards at the age of 50. Like anything in sports, good athleticism certainly helps, so a good vert can't hurt. But I don't think it's necessary at all. There's too much evidence of long hitters to suggest otherwise.
Mr. Blast - my opinion is - you are exactly correct .
 
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