Lag, or lack thereof.

[Luchnia]

There are some things you could do to remedy this...

#1. 16oz ball peen hammer on that knuckle. Hit once, HARD. It'll only hurt for a minute. Then you pass out. No more pain. Then you wake up, see a doc and have it set into the position you want it to be it. Once the bones fuse, you're all set. No problem.

You don't want to do #1.

#2. Adjust your grip so you're not suffering pain from your swing. A good golf instructor will work with you and your physical limitations.

I know it was either @Luchnia or @chile that improved their swing speed during quarantine by a couple or even a few MPH... maybe they could say how they did that.

There's the saying "no pain, no gain" and "pain is weakness leaving the body!"
I'm a BIG fan of "no pain, no pain."
If you're experiencing pain after golf something's wrong. That shouldn't happen. That's why I suggest you change your grip to accommodate your arthritic knuckle.

Hope this don't sidetrack the thread too much. If so we can delete this and fire it up somewhere else.

My driver was average about 93 - 96 through the better part of this year up until about a couple weeks ago that I reached my highest speeds and now I have gotten to an average of 100.9 driver the last three times I have checked. I would feel comfortable saying it was probably a good 98 now.

I don't know how long it will stay there as I am not a young guy anymore, but so far it has hung in there for a couple weeks now. These speeds are checked with launch monitors so they can always be give or take some, but when I was fitted at CC for my irons their data matched mine so aren't off much.

I have done a number of things to attain the extra speed, but I was told as you get older you lose swing speed, but at 66, soon to be 67, I have gained speed so it can be done. Now I will state right away that I normally play a bit reserved on the course so my guess is driver is around 98 on the course. The rounds I have played the last couple weeks my irons yardage has increased and I have been overshooting greens. I have gone from a 100 GW to 110/120 and can easily go more if I really pepper it. It all depends on how the body feels on a given day though.

As for how I got there. Here are the things I have done and I am not sure which actually did the most for me. It may be a combination of things:
1. Started better diet, exercising more, and lost some weight. This has helped immensely.
2. Started stretching every morning and at the course to loosen up better - if I have tension, my swing and speed suffers
3. Practice with the launch monitor every day that I could and worked on increasing speed as well as a more quality ball strike - sessions were usually 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. I would do long sessions if I did not wear down, but normally 45 minutes of hitting balls is about it for me. I worked on really feeling the weight of the club as it passes through striking the ball and using the muscles in my back more to create more velocity through the golf ball
4. Changed my wrist position some in my backswing and totally shocked me how much this helped for ultimate speed, but this caused some control problems
5. Used those alignment rods you buy at Lowes and practiced the whip feeling (haven't used these in a while)
6. Used stretch bands to strengthen my arms (my arms are not very strong so that helped and I haven't done this in a while)
7. Stopped telling myself what I could not do and worked toward a goal of doing it.

 

[Arlo]

Hamfist,
do you get a lot of width in your BS. ie can you easily have left hand further from your torso than right hand.
ie with both hands about level with your shoulders in BS, is left hand outside of right hand or both hands about equal distance
from torso.

 

[Lane]

My suggestion is to let your right thumb ride along during the swing, but exert zero pressure on the grip; it can even float off the grip during the entire swing. Instead, use your middle finger and ring finger on your right hand, exerting pressure with just those 2 fingers. First of all, it will save you the pain and agony associated with your right thumb. More importantly though, it should allow a much greater freedom of movement and more lag.

In order to "cast" the club (i.e., lose lag) in the downswing, you have to engage the right thumb to make that happen. Not engaging the right thumb allows you to create and maintain lag in the downswing (regardless of how much angle you create in the backswing).

Try it out - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Interesting and duly noted!! If that's all it takes, I owe you both a tasty beverage of your choice.

Oddly enough, those are the two fingers I focus on when putting.

Hamfist- I would strongly suggest reading the post from Patty Boy ! That is very good advice coming from a player who actually knows what he is saying !
I don’t need to see his golf swing . I can tell it is good from what he posted !

 

[Hamfist]

Hope this don't sidetrack the thread too much. If so we can delete this and fire it up somewhere else.

My driver was average about 93 - 96 through the better part of this year up until about a couple weeks ago that I reached my highest speeds and now I have gotten to an average of 100.9 driver the last three times I have checked. I would feel comfortable saying it was probably a good 98 now.

I don't know how long it will stay there as I am not a young guy anymore, but so far it has hung in there for a couple weeks now. These speeds are checked with launch monitors so they can always be give or take some, but when I was fitted at CC for my irons their data matched mine so aren't off much.

I have done a number of things to attain the extra speed, but I was told as you get older you lose swing speed, but at 66, soon to be 67, I have gained speed so it can be done. Now I will state right away that I normally play a bit reserved on the course so my guess is driver is around 98 on the course. The rounds I have played the last couple weeks my irons yardage has increased and I have been overshooting greens. I have gone from a 100 GW to 110/120 and can easily go more if I really pepper it. It all depends on how the body feels on a given day though.

As for how I got there. Here are the things I have done and I am not sure which actually did the most for me. It may be a combination of things:
1. Started better diet, exercising more, and lost some weight. This has helped immensely.
2. Started stretching every morning and at the course to loosen up better - if I have tension, my swing and speed suffers
3. Practice with the launch monitor every day that I could and worked on increasing speed as well as a more quality ball strike - sessions were usually 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. I would do long sessions if I did not wear down, but normally 45 minutes of hitting balls is about it for me. I worked on really feeling the weight of the club as it passes through striking the ball and using the muscles in my back more to create more velocity through the golf ball
4. Changed my wrist position some in my backswing and totally shocked me how much this helped for ultimate speed, but this caused some control problems
5. Used those alignment rods you buy at Lowes and practiced the whip feeling (haven't used these in a while)
6. Used stretch bands to strengthen my arms (my arms are not very strong so that helped and I haven't done this in a while)
7. Stopped telling myself what I could not do and worked toward a goal of doing it.

Not a derail at all!! I've actually lost some of my extra ballast, so, I have step one in the books.
I'm not a "tight" person, but don't stretch nearly as much as I should.
I don't have a LM, but might have a place I can swing during the winter.
#4, Please explain.
I really like #7!

 

[Hamfist]

Hamfist,
do you get a lot of width in your BS. ie can you easily have left hand further from your torso than right hand.
ie with both hands about level with your shoulders in BS, is left hand outside of right hand or both hands about equal distance
from torso.

If I really stretch both arms, there is about a 2-3" difference, with the left slightly further than the right. Without an active stretch, the fingertips of the right hand come to about the wrist/hand connection on the left hand.

 

[Hamfist]

Hamfist- I would strongly suggest reading the post from Patty Boy ! That is very good advice coming from a player who actually knows what he is saying !
I don’t need to see his golf swing . I can tell it is good from what he posted !

Read it, and am looking at doing it this weekend. On course, of course! Because I can always use it as a fallback excuse for me poor play, lol.

 

[Desmond]

Hammie, I recently noticed that on the downswing my club head was not staying behind my hands sufficiently. It was a power leak. Remember how the shaft is supposed to line up with your forearm on the downswing? That's what I'm talking about.

 

[Hamfist]

Hammie, I recently noticed that on the downswing my club head was not staying behind my hands sufficiently. It was a power leak. Remember how the shaft is supposed to line up with your forearm on the downswing? That's what I'm talking about.

Hmmm. Never looked at it, I'll have a playing partner eyeball that when next I play.

 

[Desmond]

Hmmm. Never looked at it, I'll have a playing partner eyeball that when next I play.

Also gives you more width, less steep.

 

[Hamfist]

Also gives you more width, less steep.

Right on.

 

[Lane]

Currently, the right thumb is on the left side of the shaft, not on the top. Maybe part of the issue is grip tightness on the DS. I do try to "snap" the right hand hard at the ball during the DS.

Hamfist- GRIPS are installed on the ends of shafts with tape and they have one purpose - to be held , not gripped ! The phrase , “ gripping the club,” should be never be used in golf instruction!
When the HANDS tighten the arm and chest muscles do also which impedes CLUBHEAD speed. Relaxed muscles work faster !

 

[Desmond]

Hamfist- GRIPS are installed on the ends of shafts with tape and they have one purpose - to be held , not gripped ! The phrase , “ gripping the club,” should be never be used in golf instruction!
When the HANDS tighten the arm and chest muscles do also which impedes CLUBHEAD speed. Relaxed muscles work faster !

Agree - light fingers on the grip help a lot to start a better swing. I must start at 2 or 3 on a 1-10 scale. As the swing progresses, finger contact grows to 4, then 7, to about 8 at contact. You get the idea. Makes for relaxed arms, and a better and faster swing speed.

 

[Luchnia]

Not a derail at all!! I've actually lost some of my extra ballast, so, I have step one in the books.
I'm not a "tight" person, but don't stretch nearly as much as I should.
I don't have a LM, but might have a place I can swing during the winter.
#4, Please explain.
I really like #7!

I started cocking my left wrist a bit more than normal and this creates a bit more speed which I never thought would. I think this creates a slight slingshot/whip effect. I do have to be careful not too over do this. Hope this makes sense.

 

[Arlo]

I started cocking my left wrist a bit more than normal and this creates a bit more speed which I never thought would. I think this creates a slight slingshot/whip effect. I do have to be careful not too over do this. Hope this makes sense.

The whip effect is from the exchange of arcs; first in BS then delayed in DS, until the snap of the whip(levers) through impact.

For right hand swingers, at address the arc of right hand is larger(being further from torso) than arc of left hand(closer to torso)
Potential for whip is created in BS when there is an exchange of arcs. ie if/when arc of right hand is shorter (closer to torso) than arc of left hand(now further from torso than right hand). This is only possible with the so called, width(protraction of left scapula) in BS, otherwise left hand could not get in position further from torso than right hand.
Jamie Sadlowski delays exchange of arc in BS (1:27) and DS(Level left after impact) for tremendous whip. If asked about exchange of arcs, he would say... EH. (Canadian).

 

[Sean]

Some of us may reach an age where gaining distance may be a bit unrealistic. For example, I am 66 and very active, but this season I have started playing the senior tees. As such, chasing distance is really no longer a priority.

 

[Luchnia]

Some of us may reach an age where gaining distance may be a bit unrealistic. For example, I am 66 and very active, but this season I have started playing the senior tees. As such, chasing distance is really no longer a priority.

I agree. I think in a lot of cases it is unrealistic and won't return solid benefits. I think each of us need to evaluate our situation to determine if that is a path we want to take and if we can realize a return from the work we put in. There may be other improvement areas that are way more important to our game. Course strategy comes to mind.

We may deal with different things in the game. I am not a big guy and don't have the upper body strength I used to have and my arms and hands can hinder me as I have hurt them quite a bit over the years. I am not sure I will be able to keep up a driver swing that is around 100 and I imagine at some point that might flee from me.

In my case increasing my swing speed was a personal goal as I felt it was obtainable. I was not actually looking for distance, but simply more speed and a better more consistent swing with that speed. Speed does equate to more distance depending on what you do with it, but doesn't do a lot of good if you cannot get your aim/control dialed in.

I play with guys that can hit a consistent 175-200 like a rubber stamp and I long to be able to do that. I truly admire how they can do that. That is my next goal to achieve better consistency as I know that will make the biggest difference to my game. I think I can attain it, yet I do have some doubt and will set some goals to see what I can do.

I feel that any area I can improve in my game is good and if nothing else an opportunity to learn more. I play a lot right now and am more comfortable on the course, but there is a lot more work I need to do. Consistency off the tee box is a big problem for me, better aim with iron shots into greens, chipping and putting all can use a fair amount of work.

 

[Lane]

The whip effect is from the exchange of arcs; first in BS then delayed in DS, until the snap of the whip(levers) through impact.

For right hand swingers, at address the arc of right hand is larger(being further from torso) than arc of left hand(closer to torso)
Potential for whip is created in BS when there is an exchange of arcs. ie if/when arc of right hand is shorter (closer to torso) than arc of left hand(now further from torso than right hand). This is only possible with the so called, width(protraction of left scapula) in BS, otherwise left hand could not get in position further from torso than right hand.
Jamie Sadlowski delays exchange of arc in BS (1:27) and DS(Level left after impact) for tremendous whip. If asked about exchange of arcs, he would say... EH. (Canadian).

Arlo- i am fairly sure that is a Gerry Hogan Nunchuk shaft he is using in this video . He used it in the Colonial Invitational and he it has always been in his bag at the Demo Day .
FYI- another previous LDA winner has three Nunchuks in his bag.

 

[Luchnia]

The whip effect is from the exchange of arcs; first in BS then delayed in DS, until the snap of the whip(levers) through impact.

For right hand swingers, at address the arc of right hand is larger(being further from torso) than arc of left hand(closer to torso)
Potential for whip is created in BS when there is an exchange of arcs. ie if/when arc of right hand is shorter (closer to torso) than arc of left hand(now further from torso than right hand). This is only possible with the so called, width(protraction of left scapula) in BS, otherwise left hand could not get in position further from torso than right hand.
Jamie Sadlowski delays exchange of arc in BS (1:27) and DS(Level left after impact) for tremendous whip. If asked about exchange of arcs, he would say... EH. (Canadian).

He develops a lot of power from the legs and hips pulling from the bottom first. I noticed how he leads the DS with his left hip all the way through.

 

[Arlo]

Arlo- i am fairly sure that is a Gerry Hogan Nunchuk shaft he is using in this video . He used it in the Colonial Invitational and he it has always been in his bag at the Demo Day .
FYI- another previous LDA winner has three Nunchuks in his bag.

That's cool. I didnt notice that.
I know its a pin hole in the tip, so couldnt get any more composite packed there.
Must be as stiff a tip possible.

L is off topic again so no comment.

 

[Hamfist]

Well, I tried this over the weekend, to disasterous effect. I'm not laying the blame at anyone's feet, my swing for both rounds was just a trainwreck from top to bottom.

I'll be hitting the range to try to implement the grip pressure tweak.

 

[Desmond]

Well, I tried this over the weekend, to disasterous effect. I'm not laying the blame at anyone's feet, my swing for both rounds was just a trainwreck from top to bottom.

I'll be hitting the range to try to implement the grip pressure tweak.

Takes range time to make changes and at half speed and start with a PW. Slower the better and then build up.

 

[Hamfist]

Takes range time to make changes and at half speed and start with a PW. Slower the better and then build up.

So, you're saying I shouldn't have tried it using borrowed clubs on two courses I'd never seen before?

 

[Desmond]

So, you're saying I shouldn't have tried it using borrowed clubs on two courses I'd never seen before?

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Swing your swing when playing, don't think. Make changes over time on the range.

 

[Hamfist]

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Swing your swing when playing, don't think. Make changes over time on the range.

My whole universe is now upside down.

 

[Hamfist]

Now, I will be transparent: I tried it on a couple of drives and it worked at least as well as my normal grip. I didn't try to change anything else about my swing (until the wheels came off in spectacular fashion and I was gushing blood everywhere.), so I figured a little bit of different pressure wouldn't be that big of a deal.

I was wrong.