Question On Distance

[kevin81002]

It's funny because I've had this exact conversation with my older brother, about him and I. He maxes out at about 103-104 club head speed, and I max out around 116. Yet there are plenty of situations where his well struck tee shot is out there even with, just behind or just past my drive. He pretty much maximized his potential distance (center strikes, plenty of loft, low spin, slight draw) on pretty much every drive, where I tend to leave some on the table most drives (offcenter strike, slight fade, etc.) Granted when I center punch one, I'm 30-40yds past him, but that's a rare occasion.

Bottom line is there are plenty of situations where a slower swing speed player can outdrive someone faster.

 

[OITW]

Distance is a function of spin, launch angle, and ball speed.
I’d have to say higher swing speed wins, more swing speed, more ball speed.

Going with this response lol

 

[Grins]

Golfer A has the better chance, but it comes down to who strikes it better and generates more ball speed. It doesn’t matter how the speed is generated at all.

Agreed - as long as both clubs make contact with a good path/launch angle/dynamic loft and there is no glancing blow that imparts a lot of sidespin (i.e., smash factors are approximately equal), then highest clubhead speed should result in higher ballspeed & more distance

 

[GenErr]

Swing speed, everything else being equal, wins every time.

 

[InTheRough]

Insufficient information to make a decision. I need to know launch angle, club path, and club face angle in relation to club path for both players.

 

[TheDoctor]

Assuming they are both maximising their impact conditions, the higher swing speed will always win out

However, there are definitely times when a slower swing speed can hit it further as I saw that during my lessons - whilst trying to improve my swing, I lost some swing speed, but saw better distance due to better impact conditions

 

[RayG]

Didn't mention carry verses rollout distance. Pure carry? 105 beats 98 all day long. Launch angle will affect total distance. If 105 skies it and gets 2 yards roll, 98 can get him on total yardage when including the roll out. At 3yds per mph (about) its only a matter of getting 25 yards of roll to beat Mr. 105.
Of course it depends on course conditions, but it is possible.