Let's talk about swing speed.

[skigolfmike]

My swing speed training is on pause, maybe forever. I’ve developed arthritis with my left thumb at the base joint and it’s pretty painful. I think I aggravated it with the left hand swings using the Super Speed system. It’s not bad playing golf, but it does get annoyingly painful about 20-30 minutes after. I can minimize the pain and maximize the recovery with a thumb brace.

Nothing like just when you are making progress for it all to fall apart.

 

[DGA3]

My swing speed training is on pause, maybe forever. I’ve developed arthritis with my left thumb at the base joint and it’s pretty painful. I think I aggravated it with the left hand swings using the Super Speed system. It’s not bad playing golf, but it does get annoyingly painful about 20-30 minutes after. I can minimize the pain and maximize the recovery with a thumb brace.

Nothing like just when you are making progress for it all to fall apart.

Sorry to hear that.

It sucks.

Hopefully, with some rest, the pain will subside, and you can play golf pain free.

 

[skigolfmike]

Sorry to hear that.

It sucks.

Hopefully, with some rest, the pain will subside, and you can play golf pain free.

All is not lost, so here is the plan. I will continue with stretching/some yoga and strength training doing the things I can do to to stay in golf shape and make improvements where needed. If I do any speed training, I’ll do dominant side only as I think that is what aggravated that thumb joint. Hoping I can reduce the issues with my thumb soon.

 

[WLG1952]

These days I'm probably swinging 80% of the original 80% I had decades ago. I'm happy to not lose too many strokes by keeping my tee shots out of trouble, and giving myself easier 2nd/3rd shots.

Can I swing faster? I can, but my accuracy goes south due loss of control of the club head. With the loss of control, I don't gain that much more useable distance. This especially with my longer clubs.

Can I learn to swing faster, while staying in control of the club head? Yes. In the past year I have done that by gaining back lost leg strength. I've gain one club.. Can I gain another club? I'm working on it.

 

[That post]

I started Week 6 of speed training tonight. I'm starting to think I might of hit a ceiling. My speeds this week are very close if not the same as last week. My max swing speed in the final set has consistently been between 119 - 121 the past 4 sessions.

I wonder if others that have completed the program got to a point where it was just maxed out, or if there are periods like this and then you break through that ceiling to find a new gear.

Any feedback on that?

 

[That post]

I went searching for answers for the speed plateau I've been experiencing this week and found some great content from Mike Carroll of "Fit for Golf" about his experiences and expectations with speed sticks.

It's a great read but essentially he says speed plateaus happen and can last for a couple of weeks then there is sometimes another breakthru or the plateau could exist due to a technique issue that needs to be fixed. I feel a lot more knowledgeable about speed training after reading this article..

Speed Sticks: How I Use To Increase Speed - Fit For Golf

Unlock the power of Speed Sticks! Learn how I utilize tour data to optimize my training and enhance club head speed. Read now.

fitforgolf.blog

He also has an article about how to break through those speed plateaus quicker through more specific strength training exercises. I'm going to start doing these at the gym the next couple of weeks.
https://fitforgolf.blog/2023/10/24/breaking-a-speed-plateau/

• 1) Med Ball Pull Downs: I have been doing this for 8 sets of 5 reps, 3 x week, with a variety of balls ranging from 4 to 12lbs. Hitting side only.
• 2&3) Lead Arm & Trail Cable Transitions: I have been doing this for 5 sets of 6 reps, 3 x week, with a weight that feels hard but that I can still move with the motion I want. Hitting side only.
  (I think the lead arm ones are more valuable)

Mike Carroll has been a great resource for me throughout my fitness journey. A few years ago I used his Fit for Golf app when I was just starting at the gym. I'd highly recommend checking out his stuff if your serious about speed training and fitness like I am.

 

[McLovin]

I went searching for answers for the speed plateau I've been experiencing this week and found some great content from Mike Carroll of "Fit for Golf" about his experiences and expectations with speed sticks.

It's a great read but essentially he says speed plateaus happen and can last for a couple of weeks then there is sometimes another breakthru or the plateau could exist due to a technique issue that needs to be fixed. I feel a lot more knowledgeable about speed training after reading this article..

Speed Sticks: How I Use To Increase Speed - Fit For Golf

Unlock the power of Speed Sticks! Learn how I utilize tour data to optimize my training and enhance club head speed. Read now.

fitforgolf.blog

He also has an article about how to break through those speed plateaus quicker through more specific strength training exercises. I'm going to start doing these at the gym the next couple of weeks.
https://fitforgolf.blog/2023/10/24/breaking-a-speed-plateau/

• 1) Med Ball Pull Downs: I have been doing this for 8 sets of 5 reps, 3 x week, with a variety of balls ranging from 4 to 12lbs. Hitting side only.
• 2&3) Lead Arm & Trail Cable Transitions: I have been doing this for 5 sets of 6 reps, 3 x week, with a weight that feels hard but that I can still move with the motion I want. Hitting side only.
  (I think the lead arm ones are more valuable)

Mike Carroll has been a great resource for me throughout my fitness journey. A few years ago I used his Fit for Golf app when I was just starting at the gym. I'd highly recommend checking out his stuff if your serious about speed training and fitness like I am.

irish mike rules!

 

[Karl]

I came across some videos by Marcus Edblad. I watched a few but he has a bunch including swing speed. First few videos were very useful. Going to dive in some more.

 

[Karl]

For someone that has less turn and flexibility, is it faster to swing more upright or flatter? For me I find it harder to swing flatter.

To answer my own question I found Marcus Edblad on YouTube. He shows you can hit the ball pretty far without much turn. Focusing more on releasing the club.

 

[skigolfmike]

Sorry to hear that.

It sucks.

Hopefully, with some rest, the pain will subside, and you can play golf pain free.

Turns out it’s arthritis, sucks to get old. I’m still hitting it great and I can play fine with pain meds. I have a custom brace that helps a lot, but I can’t play golf with it on.

 

[skigolfmike]

For someone that has less turn and flexibility, is it faster to swing more upright or flatter? For me I find it harder to swing flatter.

One of the thinks I have found with the DeWiz device is the more upright I swing the longer distance my hands travel. Their data shows that more hand distance relates directly to swing speed. The other 2 things are hand speed and the distance before impact that max hand speed occurs.

I am limited with a cervical and a low back fusion. I am in the 44.5”-45.5” length of backswing range. ~13.8 max hand speed peaking 16.5” before impact. I’d like to see a little more backswing length, a little more hand speed and taking an inch or 2 off the peak hand speed distance from impact. That’s how I’ll get 90+ mph of swing speed.

 

[That post]

I think this is an excellent illustration of just how much speed training makes a difference not only with driver swing but also irons as well.

I've been doing ball testing for the past couple of months. I'm going through all of the 2024 balls to find out which I like the most and want to be the gamer ball for this year. I've been hitting 8 iron in all the tests.

First up is my 8 iron data from the beginning of February. Take special note of the ball speed.


Now let's look at the ball speed I see from 8 iron today.





10 MILES AN HOUR...
I've gained 10 miles an hour of 8-iron ball speed.

 

[Karl]

Turns out it’s arthritis, sucks to get old. I’m still hitting it great and I can play fine with pain meds. I have a custom brace that helps a lot, but I can’t play golf with it on.

YouTube channel El Paso manual physical therapy has really good arthritis causes and exercises videos.

 

[skigolfmike]

YouTube channel El Paso manual physical therapy has really good arthritis causes and exercises videos.

Will look, I'm in the process of PT and its working.

 

[That post]

Went and took some swings with a couple of hybrid shafts at my local shop today.

I'm swinging hybrid 95mph now. For reference, that's was the top-end of my driver swing speed at the start of this thread.

 

[Parrot]

I've read posts here and there in this thread but need to take a deeper dive into it. Fighting Father Time isn't pretty or easy. I think I've still got a bit speed that can be optimized with better technique and sequencing. If I can get that back and add some (a few) MPH on top of that with speed training, I'd be happy.

 

[ryang13]

I started Week 6 of speed training tonight. I'm starting to think I might of hit a ceiling. My speeds this week are very close if not the same as last week. My max swing speed in the final set has consistently been between 119 - 121 the past 4 sessions.

I wonder if others that have completed the program got to a point where it was just maxed out, or if there are periods like this and then you break through that ceiling to find a new gear.

Any feedback on that?

Plateaus are part of the process - at least from what I've seen. If you're charting it and feeling like you're struggling, don't forget that whatever you're stuck at is probably something you felt like was a STRUGGLE to get to before. Easy to ignore the mountain you've climbed and focus on the molehill that seems impossible

 

[blugold]

Went and took some swings with a couple of hybrid shafts at my local shop today.

I'm swinging hybrid 95mph now. For reference, that's was the top-end of my driver swing speed at the start of this thread.

That's awesome!

 

[Karl]

For me fixing my path more in to out is going to pay more dividends before I think about increasing swing speed this season.

 

[That post]

Gainz!!!!!!



This one was about 265 on the fly per Grint it ended at 268 it’s still pretty mushy in Ohio. Lol.

In other news I didn’t realize how horribly Shot Tracer botched the frame rate and made the video a choppy mess. Sorry about that.

 

[Slot708]

I like that swing. Looks like you can always keep it in play.You ever day dream about hitting the ball like Kyle Birkshire for a round? Just to experience what it would be like to hit 350 plus would really change the game. Off the senior tees I would be driving every par 4

 

[That post]

I like that swing. Looks like you can always keep it in play.You ever day dream about hitting the ball like Kyle Birkshire for a round? Just to experience what it would be like to hit 350 plus would really change the game. Off the senior tees I would be driving every par 4

If I could ever just hit one ball in play just over 320y I’d die a happy man. I’m not greedy

 

[Slot708]

It’s might be your area as well and course.Your area has fairways that hold the ball more.And your at sea level.Your never going to get a lot of roll.And the air has different friction factors than golfers who play in the southwest for example.The air has more moisture in it in the Midwest that takes away from distance imho.

If I could ever just hit one ball in play just over 320y I’d die a happy man. I’m not greedy

 

[That post]

It’s might be your area as well and course.Your area has fairways that hold the ball more.And your at sea level.Your never going to get a lot of roll.And the air has different friction factors than golfers who play in the southwest for example.The air has more moisture in it in the Midwest that takes away from distance imho.

I know this time of year roll out is next to nothing because it's so soggy. By around June it usually dries out substantially. This is an extreme example but this is what the baked-out rough was like just off the fairway last year. (Need sound for this one)


They did a great job keeping the fairways in good condition at the club but they got pretty firm.

 

[leftshot]

I just saw this thread for the first time and see you are making great progress! Congrats! Now I didn’t read all 274 posts, but I read a lot of them and would like to go back to your original questions. Now that you’ve progressed, see if this makes sense.

Swing speed isn’t about effort, it’s about physics. Your body is still the engine. But if not applied and conditioned according to the laws of physics you won’t get the results you are looking to achieve.

It’s like being a pitcher in D1 women’s softball. Those women achieve amazing velocity. But take one of them and ask them to “throw it like a girl” and all that velocity disappears.

In golf there are three fundamentals to apply the appropriate laws of physics to create swing speed: creating and maintaining lag, cracking the whip, and releasing the club.