Clubhead speed, tension and trackman

Tero Partanen · January 11, 2015

Hi,

I'm having trouble increasing my clubhead speed. I have two questions about it and an indoor trackman that I've used to measure it:

- How reliable is the clubhead speed measurement with an indoor Trackman unit, IF the clubface to ball contact is not centered/sweetspot, ie. do you get falsely low clubhead speed readings if you are catching it off the heel or toe consistently? (yes, Dr Scholl's is already on order)

- How much clubhead speed is robbed if I have lots of tension in my arms, and forearms? I can feel that especially with the big club, I am trying to put some effort into it, and out of it I get nothing in return. I am activating the lower body and really trying to avoid being armsy but I noticed that my arms are so tight that it almost feels like the moment of impact happens without proper release

For information Trackman measures me at 95-97 and based on my build and strength I should be well above that...

Tero

RRFireblade · January 11, 2015

Speaking of tension I can only tell you that personally, the harder I want to swing, the more I try and relax my arms. But it's a paradox for me because with the driver, I do also release my hands with greater force. The key is to stay as loose as possible for as long as possible and then I use my hands to "crack the whip", if that makes any sense.

Golfrnut · January 11, 2015

Well, for starters, not all launch monitors are a Trackman, and some tend to misuse the term when talking of launch monitors. For starters, need to make sure that the launch monitor you are using actually measures clubhead speed and doesn't calculate it from ball speed.

If you are using the correct type of unit, then no, clubhead speed is measured directly and contact points have no effect on the clubhead speed as it's measured independently of everything else.

Tero Partanen · January 12, 2015

[quote name='Golfrnut' timestamp='1421010977' post='10728225']
Well, for starters, not all launch monitors are a Trackman, and some tend to misuse the term when talking of launch monitors. For starters, need to make sure that the launch monitor you are using actually measures clubhead speed and doesn't calculate it from ball speed.

If you are using the correct type of unit, then no, clubhead speed is measured directly and contact points have no effect on the clubhead speed as it's measured independently of everything else.
[/quote]

It is, like I said, Trackman indoor unit.

Does it measure clubhead speed from somewhere else than the ball itself ?

Tero