Do you swing at or near 100%?

[YetiLooper]

Discussion on PGA Radio briefly talked about the difference of how the game is played now compared to 30 years ago. One Sr tour player said players now have only one gear, primarily because the ball is so well designed it's not as affected by wind as it used to be. Said by and large today's generation lacks creativity as a result, they just point and shoot.

 

[Trevor68]

Do you swing at or near 100%?

Best tip I ever received was to swing it 80%. I used to really get after the ball.

This is something i never really understood when it came to driving. I know that if i swing full throttle with my driver, my SS is about 100. However, if i go at it at 80% i feel the SS will go down to 80 and i will loose a ton of distance. Basically, if i try to do a smooth non full throttle swing, then i am hitting a 180 yard drive.


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[JMN57]

This is something i never really understood when it came to driving. I know that if i swing full throttle with my driver, my SS is about 100. However, if i go at it at 80% i feel the SS will go down to 80 and i will loose a ton of distance. Basically, if i try to do a smooth non full throttle swing, then i am hitting a 180 yard drive.


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For me, if I swing easier but my timing is better, my hands and wrists softer and I release the clubhead, I think I swing faster that if I swing hard, out of my shoes.

 

[kb1042]

Went out today and really tried to focus on my tempo and control. I have been noticing that lately I have been forcing the issue and trying to swing to hard at times. Today I was purposely taking an extra club for iron shots and trying to swing easier and with more rhythem. For instance if my 150 club is usually a hard 8 iron, today I was taking a 7 or a 6 if it was an elevated green. I noticed throughout the round that I was hitting more greens and putting myself in better spots. My swing thought today was "let the club do the work, swing easy, thats why you have this club"

WIth my wedges and scoring irons, I was really cognizant of ball flight and distance control to the point that I would choke down on a club to stay under the wind. I scored 5 strokes better then I did a couple days ago at the same course and didnt putt as well today. I was getting more greens in regulation and better scoring chances (but the putting did me in) For me, it works and it is something I am going to try and keep doing.

 

[rollin]

This is something i never really understood when it came to driving. I know that if i swing full throttle with my driver, my SS is about 100. However, if i go at it at 80% i feel the SS will go down to 80 and i will loose a ton of distance. Basically, if i try to do a smooth non full throttle swing, then i am hitting a 180 yard drive.


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Of course I am no expert nor one of great authority on this stuff but here goes and if I stand to be corrected so be it

I don't think anyone could actually technically know what percentage they are swinging at. Swinging at less percentage imo doesn't just have to mean slower but also relates to how far one takes the club back and imo is all mostly about tempo and control. And the whole thing is interesting in a way and here is why. When I was fitted a couple years back my fitter told me at the very end of everything ...he said....."ok, now I really want you to give this one all you got" ........well it ended up being the slowest swing of the fitting by far. He says every customer does the same exact thing when asked to really hit one fast/hard as they can. The biggest reason is that most people tense up somewhere in the swing and that in itself causes a slower swing and tempo problems and just about anything can then go wrong with the swing. So swinging at 80% or whatever one calls it doesn't necessarily mean slower because when in control with a good tempo it can actually result in faster swings vs when trying to kill the ball. I think people often confuse slow vs finding tempo when we talk of swinging less than 100%. I think many slow their swing down too much because of this misguided thought and not only are still without a good tempo but also now simply have a slower swing along with the poor tempo.

I think if one is capable of it, he/she can swing at several different speeds with good tempo at any of them. But I also think most amateurs cant do that. I think most people don't need to search for a certain speed but simply need to find their best tempo and timing and I think they would sometimes be surprised at the club speed they are generating from their well timed and tempo'd swing vs when trying to kill the ball. Besides, being in more control and straighter is usually longer in general anyway even if only by default.

I think in the end our goal is to indeed swing as fast as we can, however it has to be within our ability to maintain timing, tempo, and control.

 

[gr8dryv]

Went out today and really tried to focus on my tempo and control. I have been noticing that lately I have been forcing the issue and trying to swing to hard at times. Today I was purposely taking an extra club for iron shots and trying to swing easier and with more rhythem. For instance if my 150 club is usually a hard 8 iron, today I was taking a 7 or a 6 if it was an elevated green. I noticed throughout the round that I was hitting more greens and putting myself in better spots. My swing thought today was "let the club do the work, swing easy, thats why you have this club"

WIth my wedges and scoring irons, I was really cognizant of ball flight and distance control to the point that I would choke down on a club to stay under the wind. I scored 5 strokes better then I did a couple days ago at the same course and didnt putt as well today. I was getting more greens in regulation and better scoring chances (but the putting did me in) For me, it works and it is something I am going to try and keep doing.

Great the hear this! I'm going to adopt the same strategy my next time out. OK, maybe the time after my next time out. I have a scramble this week

 

[Par5zN2]

I recently experimented with my swing. What I did was adopt a full-on Ben Hogan swing, basically compact and controlled, which meant a slower swing speed. I don't think the slower swing speed changed my impact speed very much as I was just hanging on to my release longer. Anyway, the slower tempo (generally) tanked my game and my handicap blew up! I, obviously, saw it happening but stuck to the change for a month. Then went back to a full swing, without thinking about swing speed. The result is, now I'm swinging on plane more consistently, I'm more accurate and I'm scoring better. And my handicap has been dropping more than a point per month. Two years ago I would have told you that my chance of ever shooting par again were slim-to-none, but now I definitely see low scores in my not so distant future.

So, I'm definitely a believer in slowing down, but not permanently.

 

[Mulligan9111]

This is something i never really understood when it came to driving. I know that if i swing full throttle with my driver, my SS is about 100. However, if i go at it at 80% i feel the SS will go down to 80 and i will loose a ton of distance. Basically, if i try to do a smooth non full throttle swing, then i am hitting a 180 yard drive.


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It's not really about the percentage, it's about the swing thought and feeling. It's about focusing more on controlling your swing and making solid contact, rather than maximizing your swing speed.

 

[Tadashi70]

How accurate are you at your 'full throttle'? Also, your full throttle is more than likely greater than 100%. If you found your true 100%, it would feel like a true 80%. The object is to swing as ahrd as you can to balanced finish and fluid release.

This is something i never really understood when it came to driving. I know that if i swing full throttle with my driver, my SS is about 100. However, if i go at it at 80% i feel the SS will go down to 80 and i will loose a ton of distance. Basically, if i try to do a smooth non full throttle swing, then i am hitting a 180 yard drive.


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[CBaker]

This is something i never really understood when it came to driving. I know that if i swing full throttle with my driver, my SS is about 100. However, if i go at it at 80% i feel the SS will go down to 80 and i will loose a ton of distance. Basically, if i try to do a smooth non full throttle swing, then i am hitting a 180 yard drive.


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I know for me, I can get my driver SS up towards 115. That's too fast for me. I typically like to see my driver SS around 105-108, because then I know it's fast enough, but I am also controlling it. If I'm swinging at 115 I don't feel like I have any control at all.

 

[rickterp]

My all out swing usually results in a snap hook off the tee as my timing is off. The only time I really can go after the ball is if it is in something junk like fescue or some thing along those lines. I have to concentrate on not rushing transition on almost every shot.

 

[kb1042]

The more I have thought about this idea and how it worked for me yesterday the more I realized that when I would try and swing at my 100% then I was usually overswinging and bad things happened alot. MY 80% felt smooth and controlled but I dont feel like my swing speed was that different. The adrenaline and the competitive juices flowing probably make my 80% closer to my 100%, but my swing felt 100 times better yesterday then when I try to crush the ball. For me, it was more of a mental thing

 

[Drumdog]

I would say I probably swing about the 85 -90 % range for the most part. And it's more likely closer to 85 than 90.
When I really try to swing the full 100%, I am only hoping to get the club square and online at impact.

 

[Molten]

Well, I gave it a shot and shot the best round I've had this year (by one). More full turn with less effort to hit the ball resulted in gaining ten yards on most clubs. Heck, who knew.


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