SuperSpeed Golf training system

[SirFuego]

It's been a while, but I think it was part of Webinar 1: Overspeed Training 101. If it's not that, it's one of the other early webinars:https://superspeedgolf.com/blogs/news/tagged/webinars?page=2

[bluedot]

As to injuries:

Figuring a full SSG protocol as somewhere around 100 swings, all done at max, can anybody think of ANY training protocol in ANY other workout program than involves that many reps? I don't know of one; not in the weight room, not on the track, not anywhere.

As to gaining speed:

The ability to gain speed depends on the existence of a gap between how fast you are currently swinging and how fast your body is currently capable of swinging. In fact, for many golfers who don't see progress from SSG, the gap is actually that they are already swinging as fast (or even faster) as their body will allow, given their current flexibility and especially mobility in their shoulders, back, and hips. If that is the case, and you go heavily into the SSG protocols, you are a ticking time bomb.

As to three sticks:

There is not a shred of evidence that three sticks are necessary, or even helpful for speed training. The research from golf and other sports like baseball and cricket indicate that speed gains come from swinging an implement at or near the weight of the gamer FAST for relatively small number of reps. A heavier object creates an illusion that you then swing faster with the gamer, but the research shows that it's actually somewhat slower. SSG is selling sticks, and they make more money when they sell more sticks; they GIVE AWAY their protocols, which are based on you having already bought three sticks from them. I think psychologists might call this an "availability bias" of sorts; I have three sticks, so using three sticks must be the right way to train. It isn't.

[Jokes]

The full protocol is 39 swings.

[GoTime]

 

This is fantastic, thanks very much.

[bluedot]

Level 1 is 39 swings, which is a LOT of swings. Level 2 is 57 swings. Level 3 is 75 swings. Level 4 is 93 swings. Level 5 is 123 swings. (I think I got all of those correct.)

SSG says that each protocol should be done 3 times a week for 6 weeks before moving on; that's 30 weeks. In that time, you would have done 6966 swings AT FULL SPEED; if you then continue Level 5 for the rest of the year, you'd have done 15,000 max speed reps in a year. FIFTEEN THOUSAND...

I don't know of any other training protocol for anything associated with strength or speed that recommends numbers like that, and it's no wonder that so many people report injuries, despite decent levels of fitness and proper warmup. Really, it's an insane number of reps.

For most people, any gains that they are going to make come very early in Protocol 1, and could have been obtained with just the blue stick and a much different, not to mention shorter and safer, routine. I doubt that very many people progress to the higher levels at all, much less maintain, which takes SSG off the hook for poor results because the customer didn't stay with the program.

Don't misunderstand; speed training is legitimate, cutting edge training for golf, and it's becoming more widespread and successful all the time. But I'll say it again; SSG is selling sticks and giving away protocols; that says it all.

 

 

[Sanfran328]

I’ve had my SS sticks for a couple of months. My work has been slow so I’ve been playing golf 2 to 3 times per week, which limits my SS training to 1 -2 times per week. I’m still in level 1, will move up to level 2 soon. I get better results if I don’t train the day after playing due to stiffness.

I’ve had moderate increases in swing speed and I feel that has transferred to increase in driver distance when playing. If nothing else, it makes me aware to swing with speed instead of getting lazy. I think it’s also improved my sequencing for more efficiency.

I didn’t like the worksheet provided on their website, so I made a spreadsheet. I’ve enclosed a PDF if anyone wants to use it.

SuperSpeed Training.pdf

[DLiver]

My experience has been that the SSG program produced only marginal gains, and got me to introduce some really bad moves into my swing. After doing some research, I concluded that there were other issues that were preventing me from from gaining speed. I found some very knowledgeable TPI peeps that got me going in the right direction. I'm now seeing some very good distance gains along with overall improved ballstriking. Honestly I'm not sure I'm going back to SSG (although I do some speed training on the range now)

[kleydejong]

I made my own speed sticks last week from some old shafts, bolts, fender washers, and epoxy.  I also picked up a japanese Atlas launch monitor to measure club speed.  I have done 5 sessions (one every other day) now. 

 

Prior to training my club speed is about 96 mph for driver carry distance of about 230 rolling out to 250.  I did a test immediately after my latest training session and measured 116 mph and 271 carry!  I was quite surprised at how much increase I achieved.  This was hitting a ball into a net in my back yard with my driver.  I have not been able to hit any range balls or play on course yet.

 

For context I would say I have always been a fairly conservative swinger.  Never a long hitter.  My dad always preached to swing easy and within yourself.  For me this training has been kind of a revelation simply around the idea of swinging as fast as possible.  I don't think I've ever done that in my life.  Not just swing hard, but to go balls to the wall as hard as I possibly can. 

 

I captured the 116 club speed swing:

 

 

Here would be a 'before' swing at 1:49

 

 

 

I am eager to go play on the course and see if I can apply some of these gains to actual play. 

[leekgolf]

On 9/11/2020 at 12:59 PM, kleydejong said:

I made my own speed sticks last week from some old shafts, bolts, fender washers, and epoxy.  I also picked up a japanese Atlas launch monitor to measure club speed.  I have done 5 sessions (one every other day) now. 

 

Prior to training my club speed is about 96 mph for driver carry distance of about 230 rolling out to 250.  I did a test immediately after my latest training session and measured 116 mph and 271 carry!  I was quite surprised at how much increase I achieved.  This was hitting a ball into a net in my back yard with my driver.  I have not been able to hit any range balls or play on course yet.

 

For context I would say I have always been a fairly conservative swinger.  Never a long hitter.  My dad always preached to swing easy and within yourself.  For me this training has been kind of a revelation simply around the idea of swinging as fast as possible.  I don't think I've ever done that in my life.  Not just swing hard, but to go balls to the wall as hard as I possibly can. 

 

I captured the 116 club speed swing:

 

 

Here would be a 'before' swing at 1:49

 

 

 

I am eager to go play on the course and see if I can apply some of these gains to actual play. 

Nice, what I would give to get 116 mph.

[RTEM5746]

I broke my green SS stick across my back in follow through and then in the same session managed to hit the red stick with the blue stick and shattered the shaft on the red stick!  I bought a swing speed golf stick instead as it was less than half the price of superspeed.  Have been doing that consistently since lockdown in March and have gained 10-12 yards with my driver according to shotscope.  My playing partners have noticed the increase too.  Not seeing any increase in iron distance though.

[hammersia]

On 9/11/2020 at 5:59 PM, kleydejong said:

I made my own speed sticks last week from some old shafts, bolts, fender washers, and epoxy.  I also picked up a japanese Atlas launch monitor to measure club speed.  I have done 5 sessions (one every other day) now. 

 

Prior to training my club speed is about 96 mph for driver carry distance of about 230 rolling out to 250.  I did a test immediately after my latest training session and measured 116 mph and 271 carry!  I was quite surprised at how much increase I achieved.  This was hitting a ball into a net in my back yard with my driver.  I have not been able to hit any range balls or play on course yet.

 

For context I would say I have always been a fairly conservative swinger.  Never a long hitter.  My dad always preached to swing easy and within yourself.  For me this training has been kind of a revelation simply around the idea of swinging as fast as possible.  I don't think I've ever done that in my life.  Not just swing hard, but to go balls to the wall as hard as I possibly can. 

 

I captured the 116 club speed swing:

 

 

Here would be a 'before' swing at 1:49

 

 

 

I am eager to go play on the course and see if I can apply some of these gains to actual play. 

Great stuff. Definitely agree with making your own speed sticks from old shafts, also I don’t see a problem with using ladies clubs as well. The poster above, and many others, have found the speed sticks way too fragile for the amount they cost if you accidentally contact the ground with them.

Edited September 28, 2020 by hammersia

[UCBananaboy]

Been playing around with some of these concepts and curious to hear what some experts think I'd gain / lose by trying to mimick SuperSpeed via the following:

 

- Swinging a graphite-shafted 3w grip-side down

- Swinging a graphite-shafted 3w normal

- Swinging two steel-shafted irons together

 

The intention was to mildly simulate a light / normal / heavy club, a la the SuperSpeed program. I swing both 10x RH (dominant-handed) then LH.

 

Obviously the weights are different than the formal sticks, but I wonder if anyone else has tried doing something similar?

[benjo009]

So today was day one of Superspeed training for on what I hope will be a long and successful program after reading all 112 pages of this thread so far.

 

Some back ground on me. I'm 31, 5' 7", 195lbs and just returning to regular golf having not played regularly since I was 18. I used to play 5-6 days a week and played off 11. I've never been a big hitter and was always taught as a junior to find the fairway. A typical drive is about 230. I'm also working on my general fitness at the moment to get back into shape.

 

I did a range session earlier in the week where I went all out with 3 shots with each club in my bag just to get a baseline and see if there was a mental block between having a ball or not. From the first session that doesn't look to be the case as I did 3 driver swings before the session and they were in the same ball park as the range session.

 

So the results from the first session were that my average with my driver went up 3.7mph (94.3-98) but my fastest only went up 1mph (98-99). The other things I noted were that my step swings averaged about 1mph slower than a normal swing (think I was concentrating too much on the move rather than go all out) and my left hand swings always averaged about 20mph slower  than my right hand swings so loads of room for improvement there. My dexterity was terrible swinging left handed and my sequencing was all over the place.

 

@GolfChannel is my inspiration coming from a similar starting speed but if I could get up to 110-115mph I would be very happy indeed.

Edited October 14, 2020 by benjo009

[bmfdop]

Okay, taking the plunge and sharing my backstory. Started Superspeed sticks about a year ago. Used for 3 weeks, gained a few mph, but the bad disc in my back just wouldnt let me continue. My normal speeds were high 80s with driver, topping at 90 mph. Was 5' 8", 150, normal drive was 215 to 220 carry, with roll 240 to 250. Got lucky and found a good shaft. Got consistently better scoring wise, but distance has always eluded me. I never knew what people meant or mean by swing fast, not hard. 

 

Had back surgery right before Covid. Sikd the Superspeed sticks. Didnt play for almost 6 months. But during that time and about 4 months after surgery, began intense rehab and training regimen on Fit for Golf. A fitness program designed for golfers, but mostly about strengthening the parts I really needed to, my back and core. Began stretching every other day. That program has been awesome, really allows me to play without pain.

 

Started playing again in August, came back topping out at 93. I just could not figure it out, the speed. Bought the Hurricane Golf speed sticks as they are a little cheaper. Have not started them yet, but hopefully soon.

 

Same day I came across a site called Tour Tempo. Looked into it and tried it out. My old backswing and takeaway were really slow, but speeding up those things and follow thru has pushed up my swing speed to low 100s. All my clubs are 20 to 25 yards longer than I used to play. I somewhat understand the swing faster not harder mantra now, but its still alot of effort to swing fast. Tour tempo site and app have really helped me. Took some getting used to, but that along with the fitness program have really worked. Im up to 160 on the scale, not quite Bryson size but for me its meant a great deal, especially as bad back is no fun. 

 

The bad part is refitting myself for all new shafts. Have found most, but still looking for driver consistency. Will update as I begin my sticks use.

[leekgolf]

Wow @bmfdop that's awesome 25 yards per club is a serious accomplishment, congratulations!

 

I just finished my 6 weeks of protocol 1 and now I'm one week into protocol 2. For a while I made some nice distance gains on the course, but for a few weeks I haven't really hit the ball well enough to be able to see. On the Superspeed sticks with Swing Speed Radar, I've gained about 20 mph since my first session. Perhaps more important, before I started this, I had a lot of back pain, especially lower back. Once I started Superspeed training my back pain went away!

[benjo009]

I'm now into week 3 and seeing definite improvements with my driver on my SSR. Average with my driver before the first session was 94.3 climbing to 98.0 after the session to now starting at 101.3 climbing to 102.3. In the few years I've had the SSR I've never got above 99 on the range so to now have a high of 104 is quite and improvement from a handful of sessions.

 

Still struggling to get my step change swing as high as a regular swing which seems to be an anomaly compared to most people and my left handed swings are all over the place from session to session but slowly trending upwards.

 

On the course I'm all over the place with consistency of strike and with the weather really turning here now its hard to tell if I'm seeing any difference on the course when I do catch it sweetly but it feels a more explosive strike. I'm going to spend the winter working on my game and keeping on with SuperSpeed training. Also just started adding Jaacob Bowden's home workout to my weekly routine which will hopefully help as well.

 

Link to my tracking doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E8ryTJmse1xKphkwPYavL21AdPKqoYZ7jashkHpsE4g/edit?usp=sharing

[acekun]

Have a few questions for those who have done the protocols.

 

Has anyone else had issues where there's not a big difference between driver and the speed sticks? My speed has been going up so still seeing progress. Been doing for a few weeks and switched to blue stick only. Yesterday my top speed with blue stick was 120 and my driver was 112 before and 117 after. Based on what I've read, it should be greater difference (I was having this issue with green stick too when I was doing it)

 

How much difference should I expect between my dry swings with driver and actually hitting a ball? My actual swings are around 107-108 SSR on average so it's about a 10 mph difference. 

 

 

[Liveonce]

Anyone interested in selling their speed sticks? Dm me if so 

[toddmanley]

Just started the Level 1 protocol (https://superspeedgolf.com/pages/overspeed-training-protocol-level-1) and have seen some interesting observtions & improvements:

• After doing my first workout I woke up the following morning with a pretty tight mid-back and a slight muscle twinge.  I'll chalk this up to not warming up enough to handle the fast swings.
• About killed myself doing the non-dominant side swings as I've never done anything like this before.  Had to make sure I gave myself enough room in the back yard otherwise my swing was going to hit something.
• Fastest swing during my first workout ended up being 121mph...
• ...and today during the second workout it was 131mph!  (doubt I'll continue to see jumps like this as I must have magically sequenced everything together.  My next fastest swing was 127mph)

Should be fun to continue and see how this translates into on-the-course performance.

 

-Thanks, Todd

[roja]

Is there anyone that performs the training in the evening rather than in the morning, as recommended, and has it been just as beneficial?

[SuperSpeed Golf]

On 10/25/2020 at 8:18 PM, toddmanley said:

Just started the Level 1 protocol (https://superspeedgolf.com/pages/overspeed-training-protocol-level-1) and have seen some interesting observtions & improvements:

• After doing my first workout I woke up the following morning with a pretty tight mid-back and a slight muscle twinge.  I'll chalk this up to not warming up enough to handle the fast swings.
• About killed myself doing the non-dominant side swings as I've never done anything like this before.  Had to make sure I gave myself enough room in the back yard otherwise my swing was going to hit something.
• Fastest swing during my first workout ended up being 121mph...
• ...and today during the second workout it was 131mph!  (doubt I'll continue to see jumps like this as I must have magically sequenced everything together.  My next fastest swing was 127mph)

Should be fun to continue and see how this translates into on-the-course performance.

 

-Thanks, Todd

Hi Todd, thanks for positing your feedback! 

 

It is important to ensure that you are getting a full warm up in before starting the protocols. Like you said, you want your body to be as ready as possible to handle swinging at those increased speeds.

Well done on getting a swing up to 131mph! 

 

Keep training hard, we look forward to seeing your progress!

 

Thanks!

[SuperSpeed Golf]

On 11/1/2020 at 5:37 PM, roja said:

Is there anyone that performs the training in the evening rather than in the morning, as recommended, and has it been just as beneficial?

Hi Roja, from what we have seen it more about personal preference. I would consider when does it fit best in your schedule, giving you the time to warm up, provide max effort etc. I am more of morning person who likes to get in down first thing before I start my day.

 

Thanks! 

[SuperSpeed Golf]

On 10/15/2020 at 10:22 AM, acekun said:

Have a few questions for those who have done the protocols.

 

Has anyone else had issues where there's not a big difference between driver and the speed sticks? My speed has been going up so still seeing progress. Been doing for a few weeks and switched to blue stick only. Yesterday my top speed with blue stick was 120 and my driver was 112 before and 117 after. Based on what I've read, it should be greater difference (I was having this issue with green stick too when I was doing it)

 

How much difference should I expect between my dry swings with driver and actually hitting a ball? My actual swings are around 107-108 SSR on average so it's about a 10 mph difference. 

 

 

Hi Acekun, thanks for posting. What was your baseline driver speed before you started with SuperSpeed? Was it around that 107-108mph? I would encourage you to continue to use all the clubs, 3 times a week with the recommended sets and swings. Everyone's body adapts to increased speed differently. It seems that you are seeing increases in training which is great. Make sure you are making those same aggressive swings with your driver as you are with the SuperSpeed sticks. If you have any questions please reach out. 

 

Thanks!

[toddmanley]

6 minutes ago, SuperSpeed Golf said:

It is important to ensure that you are getting a full warm up in before starting the protocols.

Today I changed up my warm-up routine and it worked better.  I previously had warmed up by hitting a few balls into the net in my back yard and slowing bringing up my SS over the course of ~20 swings.  Today I decided to jump on the Peloton and bang out about 5 minutes of medium intensity to get the blood moving - then moved over to my TRX setup and did a quick single circuit of back, legs and chest (I will usually do this circuit 3x for a full workout).

 

Feeling pretty warm and prepped I went outside and did my ~20 swings and then began the protocol.  Big improvement around feeling like my muscles were warmed up and ready to work - could really tell the difference on my non-dominant swings.  Didn't see any huge jump in SS (maybe 1-2mph across the clubs) but my body felt way better as I finished and cooled down post-workout.

[SuperSpeed Golf]

2 minutes ago, toddmanley said:

Today I changed up my warm-up routine and it worked better.  I previously had warmed up by hitting a few balls into the net in my back yard and slowing bringing up my SS over the course of ~20 swings.  Today I decided to jump on the Peloton and bang out about 5 minutes of medium intensity to get the blood moving - then moved over to my TRX setup and did a quick single circuit of back, legs and chest (I will usually do this circuit 3x for a full workout).

 

Feeling pretty warm and prepped I went outside and did my ~20 swings and then began the protocol.  Big improvement around feeling like my muscles were warmed up and ready to work - could really tell the difference on my non-dominant swings.  Didn't see any huge jump in SS (maybe 1-2mph across the clubs) but my body felt way better as I finished and cooled down post-workout.

Love the idea of getting on the bike for a few minutes to get the blood flowing. For the TRX circuit, keep it as explosive as you can heading into a SuperSpeed session. Keep us posted!

 

Thanks! 

[MysteryV]

I'm now 4 sessions in and have a few questions:

 

1) Is anyone using the PRGR Black radar?  If so, have you found that it tops out at 131 with the speed sticks?  I wrote superspeed and they say the unit can read up to 180 mph.  That said, I find it strange that I consistently max out at 131, but have not had one swing above that number.

 

2) Does anyone know how reliable the readings are when the unit shows both club and ball speed when there is no ball present?  What causes this, and which reading do we believe is actually measured (or do we need to throw both of them out?)

 

@SuperSpeed Golf would really appreciate your input here if possible.  Heck - if you could go have someone you know swing the light stick above 131 on a PRGR and get back to me - that would take the cake for customer service as I purchased the package from you.  Thank you!

[SuperSpeed Golf]

On 11/19/2020 at 6:52 PM, MysteryV said:

I'm now 4 sessions in and have a few questions:

 

1) Is anyone using the PRGR Black radar?  If so, have you found that it tops out at 131 with the speed sticks?  I wrote superspeed and they say the unit can read up to 180 mph.  That said, I find it strange that I consistently max out at 131, but have not had one swing above that number.

 

2) Does anyone know how reliable the readings are when the unit shows both club and ball speed when there is no ball present?  What causes this, and which reading do we believe is actually measured (or do we need to throw both of them out?)

 

@SuperSpeed Golf would really appreciate your input here if possible.  Heck - if you could go have someone you know swing the light stick above 131 on a PRGR and get back to me - that would take the cake for customer service as I purchased the package from you.  Thank you!

Hey Mystery V, thanks for the post! 

 

This is the first time we have heard of this possible issue. The radar can read up to 180 mph. We have seen plenty of users post numbers above 131. Please don't take this the wrong way, but it is possible that you haven't swung it faster then 131 mph.  What club are you using when getting this reading? 

 

2) When no ball is present you can consider the Club reading accurate, no need to toss out that reading. When you see that Ball Speed we don't have a definitive answer on what generates that number, but something is catching the radars attention. 

 

Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks and have a great Sunday! 

[MysteryV]

36 minutes ago, SuperSpeed Golf said:

Hey Mystery V, thanks for the post! 

 

This is the first time we have heard of this possible issue. The radar can read up to 180 mph. We have seen plenty of users post numbers above 131. Please don't take this the wrong way, but it is possible that you haven't swung it faster then 131 mph.  What club are you using when getting this reading? 

 

2) When no ball is present you can consider the Club reading accurate, no need to toss out that reading. When you see that Ball Speed we don't have a definitive answer on what generates that number, but something is catching the radars attention. 

 

Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks and have a great Sunday! 

 

No offense taken whatsoever.  The 131 reading comes with the light and / or medium stick.  

 

The reason I find it odd, is that I get so many readings at exactly that speed.  I don't get 129, 130, or 132 - it's 131.  Radar  definitely has some quirks - which is why I was hoping you might confirm (maybe you did already but it wasn't 100% definitive).

 

Can @SuperSpeed Golf (or anyone) confirm that they've gotten a reading higher than 131, on a PRGR Black device, with the light superspeed stick.  

 

[MysteryV]

On 11/22/2020 at 1:05 PM, MysteryV said:

 

No offense taken whatsoever.  The 131 reading comes with the light and / or medium stick.  

 

The reason I find it odd, is that I get so many readings at exactly that speed.  I don't get 129, 130, or 132 - it's 131.  Radar  definitely has some quirks - which is why I was hoping you might confirm (maybe you did already but it wasn't 100% definitive).

 

Can @SuperSpeed Golf (or anyone) confirm that they've gotten a reading higher than 131, on a PRGR Black device, with the light superspeed stick.  

 

 

Turns out it was me as I hit 133 today. Thank you

[SuperSpeed Golf]

On 11/23/2020 at 6:18 PM, MysteryV said:

 

Turns out it was me as I hit 133 today. Thank you

Great to hear! Enjoy the increases!