Tour Player swing speeds

[justyn]

I have never hit higher than a 1.49 on smash factor and my driver face is littered with dimples on the sweetspot. Clubhead speed is overrated, the numbers to look at are ballspeed, launch angle, and backspin.

[Birdman of Alcatraz]

Interesting to read the swing speed debate. I played with Luke as an Amatuer and hit it about the same, when he was like 18. He improved a whole bunch distance wise when he went to collage at Northwesten. My swing speed is 110 and i carry it about 250. I'd expect him to be at least 20 yards longer than me. He's swinging 80% too and i'm at about 95%.

[AndrewMe]

i'm suprised you didn't bring "without pictures this thread is pointless" to the table. let's agree to disagree. i live in at redtail and am on the trackman quite a bit, they have properly set their computers - what more can i say?

 

At least you were good enough to go and find out for yourself and post up the corrected info...

 

VERY Easy to see how bad and completely wrong information gets spread on message boards...

 

At least you now know that what we all said was correct :)

[stansoph]

The Tour measures individuals driving distances on 2 holes where players are likely to hit driver. If they miss the fairway the drive does not coun. Only drives in the fairway are used; skewed or what?

[upndowninthree]

I have read on numerous websites that more than a few people swing it regularly in the 140-150 range for clubhead speed(they swear it's true) so the pros must be swinging in the 150's at least. :)

[loowaters]

This in an interesting thread but what I really love are guys that quatify how much a tour player leaves in the tank. Like,"Sergio swings about 120 but he's controling it at about 80%." Yeah, 80%. Good to know that Sergio can turn it on to 150 mph if he wants to really get after one. Tour players that don't jump out of their spikes and are just trying to groove a controlled driver are probably within 5% of their top clubhead speed. Now I'm the doofus quantifying this.

[IMAGOLFER]

UPDATED TRACKMAN INFO:

 

so all of this got me curious to why the numbers were off so i made the trek to redtail to confirm or disprove the previous readings. here were the results...

 

SWING SPEED AVG: 113.8

BALL SPEED AVG: 167.28

SMASH FACTOR AVG: 1.47

 

highest smash factor was 1.49 - but could not break the glass ceiling of 1.5!

 

since i can read numbers off of a screen the only conclusion i can logically arrive at is the trackman was not properly calibrated.

 

the testing was done with my current driver - see signature below.

 

I could have told you the other day you weren't going to get above 1.5 Ryan! :D ;)

 

Trust me buddy our machines are DEAD on. I think you saw 1.48 and were thinking 1.58? ;) I've been fitting on Trackman for over 6 months now and never seen anything over 1.5. It's not possible...

[justyn]

This in an interesting thread but what I really love are guys that quatify how much a tour player leaves in the tank. Like,"Sergio swings about 120 but he's controling it at about 80%." Yeah, 80%. Good to know that Sergio can turn it on to 150 mph if he wants to really get after one. Tour players that don't jump out of their spikes and are just trying to groove a controlled driver are probably within 5% of their top clubhead speed. Now I'm the doofus quantifying this.

 

I seriously doubt sergio can swing at 150mph, 150+ is acheived by long ball hitters swinging 48"+ shafts.

[Clugnut]

I think that some machines are skewed a little on one measurement or another. The machine I was on measure my carry at around 260-270, which to my experience is pretty close when I'm swinging really well. But it had my smash factor in the 1.55-1.62 range, which I have heard is not possible. So it was either measuring my SS low, or my BS high. Dunno.

[justyn]

I think that some machines are skewed a little on one measurement or another. The machine I was on measure my carry at around 260-270, which to my experience is pretty close when I'm swinging really well. But it had my smash factor in the 1.55-1.62 range, which I have heard is not possible. So it was either measuring my SS low, or my BS high. Dunno.

 

Some of the golf superstores like to increase the power output by up to 30% to give the customers better numbers to increase the chance of a sale.

 

I like to use the same launch monitor that way the results can stay faily consistent, the monitor I am on is a Zelocity.

[loowaters]

This in an interesting thread but what I really love are guys that quatify how much a tour player leaves in the tank. Like,"Sergio swings about 120 but he's controling it at about 80%." Yeah, 80%. Good to know that Sergio can turn it on to 150 mph if he wants to really get after one. Tour players that don't jump out of their spikes and are just trying to groove a controlled driver are probably within 5% of their top clubhead speed. Now I'm the doofus quantifying this.

 

I seriously doubt sergio can swing at 150mph, 150+ is acheived by long ball hitters swinging 48"+ shafts.

 

I know this. I guess the tone of my post got lost somewhere.

[shortgamewiz]

My avg swing speed is 93-98 mph at 80% and with my new driver and golf ball conditions on a range can hit my normal drives around 265+. My ball speed is around 120+ I also think RPM's has alot to do with it too...mine was fairly high. Anyone know the avg driver RPM's for a tour player?

[AndrewMe]

This in an interesting thread but what I really love are guys that quatify how much a tour player leaves in the tank. Like,"Sergio swings about 120 but he's controling it at about 80%." Yeah, 80%. Good to know that Sergio can turn it on to 150 mph if he wants to really get after one. Tour players that don't jump out of their spikes and are just trying to groove a controlled driver are probably within 5% of their top clubhead speed. Now I'm the doofus quantifying this.

 

Very good post... I agree 100%... I think the principle is there, as in, they swing very much within themselves, but no, they dont have 20% of clubhead speed on reserve.

 

 

My avg swing speed is 93-98 mph at 80% and with my new driver and golf ball conditions on a range can hit my normal drives around 265+. My ball speed is around 120+ I also think RPM's has alot to do with it too...mine was fairly high. Anyone know the avg driver RPM's for a tour player?

 

It would benefit you to know how far you carry the ball and I can promise with those numbers, especially the ball speed, that you are carrying it closer to circa.. 230 or so max.

[BeautifulNice]

I think that some machines are skewed a little on one measurement or another.

 

I have to agree. I was in a GolfGalaxy this weekend and hit an x-forged 6 iron. Didn't get all the numbers (the screen briefly showed the SS, smash factor, launch angle, etc. but then reset) but what caught my attention was carry of 179, total of 190 with a swing speed of only 80. I don't know how to do the math, but I'm pretty sure something was seriously out of whack. My usual 6i is 165 with a cast oversize Cobra. I just can't imagine hitting 179 carry with a SS of 80.

[stevestrike]

I have to agree. I was in a GolfGalaxy this weekend and hit an x-forged 6 iron. Didn't get all the numbers (the screen briefly showed the SS, smash factor, launch angle, etc. but then reset) but what caught my attention was carry of 179, total of 190 with a swing speed of only 80. I don't know how to do the math, but I'm pretty sure something was seriously out of whack. My usual 6i is 165 with a cast oversize Cobra. I just can't imagine hitting 179 carry with a SS of 80.

On the computer, you have to choose what club you are hitting. If it was in "driver" mode, it will give you wrong numbers if you are hitting a 6i. That would be my likely guess. Although I carried my 6i 185 on the GG screen this weekend, so I don't think it's very accurate.

[TexasAg]

My avg swing speed is 93-98 mph at 80% and with my new driver and golf ball conditions on a range can hit my normal drives around 265+. My ball speed is around 120+ I also think RPM's has alot to do with it too...mine was fairly high. Anyone know the avg driver RPM's for a tour player?

 

*cough* Bullsh*t *cough*

[themouth1]

My avg swing speed is 93-98 mph at 80% and with my new driver and golf ball conditions on a range can hit my normal drives around 265+. My ball speed is around 120+ I also think RPM's has alot to do with it too...mine was fairly high. Anyone know the avg driver RPM's for a tour player?

 

*cough* Bullsh*t *cough*

 

Has anyone else noticed that whenever we have one of these debates, it will ultimately turn to the "I am so long and hit it as far as the pros but, I would trade my enormous distance with any of you little men for a good short game. Then I would be on tour!" thread. I love these. I realize this one isn't there yet but it won't be long...

[BeautifulNice]

On the computer, you have to choose what club you are hitting. If it was in "driver" mode, it will give you wrong numbers if you are hitting a 6i.

 

That makes sense. Some guys hitting driver before me seemed to be getting accurate numbers and no one was resetting the computer.

 

On a different note: one of the service reps at another store says he participates in long drive competitions and says his SS is 150+ mph. I just can't relate to that.

[justyn]

This in an interesting thread but what I really love are guys that quatify how much a tour player leaves in the tank. Like,"Sergio swings about 120 but he's controling it at about 80%." Yeah, 80%. Good to know that Sergio can turn it on to 150 mph if he wants to really get after one. Tour players that don't jump out of their spikes and are just trying to groove a controlled driver are probably within 5% of their top clubhead speed. Now I'm the doofus quantifying this.

 

I seriously doubt sergio can swing at 150mph, 150+ is acheived by long ball hitters swinging 48"+ shafts.

 

I know this. I guess the tone of my post got lost somewhere.

 

LOL, I just thought you were a Sergio lover.

[justyn]

On the computer, you have to choose what club you are hitting. If it was in "driver" mode, it will give you wrong numbers if you are hitting a 6i.

 

That makes sense. Some guys hitting driver before me seemed to be getting accurate numbers and no one was resetting the computer.

 

On a different note: one of the service reps at another store says he participates in long drive competitions and says his SS is 150+ mph. I just can't relate to that.

 

150+ is possible, but he would have to have tremendous forearms or at least very strong forearms. I swing a 6lbs bar at full speed @ 100 reps per day 5 days a week for over a year and have had a maximum speed of 133mph on a Zelocity with a 44" 905R with a 757 X @ D6. My normal is around 125mph and that is borderline out of control. I would only think a handful of people if any at all could get a 45" or less shaft up to 150mph, now a 50" shaft I can see the mph increasing to that high but like I said, some of those guys are monsters and you can always tell them apart by either large muscular forearms or very cut forearms.

[Pdougherty]

Taken from

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...36/b4048066.htm

 

 

Donatelli and Funk did routines to improve strength, vision, and flexibility, as well as work on a machine called the Dynamic Edge, which shuttles the athlete from side to side like a downhill skier, in order to build lateral strength in Funk's hips and midsection. Soon, "he felt so stable that he was able to turn on the ball quicker and was able to [make] better contact," says Donatelli. The proof? After about a week of training, Funk's club-head speed jumped from 106 mph to about 113. As a rule of thumb, each additional mph of swing speed adds a yard and a half to a golf ball's flight.

 

So Fred is definitely over the 100 mark.

 

 

And here is another one.

 

Taken from

http://www.strengthenyourgame.com/index.cf...action=FredFunk

 

Fred Funk and Strengthen Your Game™ "Fred came to me in October of 2006 wanting to improve his club head speed" says Bob Donatelli, Ph.D., PT of Physiotherapy Associates. Fred worked with Donatelli and followed the Strengthen Your Game program at the Las Vegas, NV clinic for two weeks. During that time, his club head speed increased from around 106mph to a high of 116mph. Since that time, Fred has had a club head speed of around 116 to 117mph when on the range.

[kittart]

My avg swing speed is 93-98 mph at 80% and with my new driver and golf ball conditions on a range can hit my normal drives around 265+. My ball speed is around 120+ I also think RPM's has alot to do with it too...mine was fairly high. Anyone know the avg driver RPM's for a tour player?

 

*cough* Bullsh*t *cough*

 

Has anyone else noticed that whenever we have one of these debates, it will ultimately turn to the "I am so long and hit it as far as the pros but, I would trade my enormous distance with any of you little men for a good short game. Then I would be on tour!" thread. I love these. I realize this one isn't there yet but it won't be long...

 

I agree with you

 

There are some consistant misconceptions that people seem to have:

Either

 

1) as you've described above

 

Or the opposite

 

2) "The pros all hit it so far that they're playing a different sport from all of us and that the ENORMOUS distances they hit are the reason theyre so good/ so much better than me"

 

As has been explained above the pros SS are not as high as some people thought they were.

Most tour pros on most shots do not hit it further than a lot of good amateurs' good shots.

Almost all of them swing within themselves on every shot.

 

The difference between them and the rest of us (regarding full shots, because wedges, short game and putting are a completely different story) is not about your best shot, its about consistancy and reliability: Knowing that you will hit your driver 288yds and in the fairway 85% of the time, or setting up to hit a 10yd fade with a 3 iron 207yds over water to the middle of the green against a 10mph R-L wind and knowing that's whats going to happen.

 

I am sure loads of GWRX members can hit straight 288yd drives and 3 irons into the middle of greens, just not as often as we'd like!

 

LOL

[Jim_0068]

Taken from

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/conte...36/b4048066.htm

 

 

Donatelli and Funk did routines to improve strength, vision, and flexibility, as well as work on a machine called the Dynamic Edge, which shuttles the athlete from side to side like a downhill skier, in order to build lateral strength in Funk's hips and midsection. Soon, "he felt so stable that he was able to turn on the ball quicker and was able to [make] better contact," says Donatelli. The proof? After about a week of training, Funk's club-head speed jumped from 106 mph to about 113. As a rule of thumb, each additional mph of swing speed adds a yard and a half to a golf ball's flight.

 

So Fred is definitely over the 100 mark.

 

 

And here is another one.

 

Taken from

http://www.strengthenyourgame.com/index.cf...action=FredFunk

 

Fred Funk and Strengthen Your Game™ "Fred came to me in October of 2006 wanting to improve his club head speed" says Bob Donatelli, Ph.D., PT of Physiotherapy Associates. Fred worked with Donatelli and followed the Strengthen Your Game program at the Las Vegas, NV clinic for two weeks. During that time, his club head speed increased from around 106mph to a high of 116mph. Since that time, Fred has had a club head speed of around 116 to 117mph when on the range.

 

I bet Funk's new "comfortable" swing is probably more in the 110 range though. However i believe the increases, many PT's have told me (i've also read) that a lot of swingspeed improvements come from the hip area, in both stretching and strength conditioning.

[themouth1]

My avg swing speed is 93-98 mph at 80% and with my new driver and golf ball conditions on a range can hit my normal drives around 265+. My ball speed is around 120+ I also think RPM's has alot to do with it too...mine was fairly high. Anyone know the avg driver RPM's for a tour player?

 

*cough* Bullsh*t *cough*

 

Has anyone else noticed that whenever we have one of these debates, it will ultimately turn to the "I am so long and hit it as far as the pros but, I would trade my enormous distance with any of you little men for a good short game. Then I would be on tour!" thread. I love these. I realize this one isn't there yet but it won't be long...

 

I agree with you

 

There are some consistant misconceptions that people seem to have:

Either

 

1) as you've described above

 

Or the opposite

 

2) "The pros all hit it so far that they're playing a different sport from all of us and that the ENORMOUS distances they hit are the reason theyre so good/ so much better than me"

 

As has been explained above the pros SS are not as high as some people thought they were.

Most tour pros on most shots do not hit it further than a lot of good amateurs' good shots.

Almost all of them swing within themselves on every shot.

 

The difference between them and the rest of us (regarding full shots, because wedges, short game and putting are a completely different story) is not about your best shot, its about consistancy and reliability: Knowing that you will hit your driver 288yds and in the fairway 85% of the time, or setting up to hit a 10yd fade with a 3 iron 207yds over water to the middle of the green against a 10mph R-L wind and knowing that's whats going to happen.

 

I am sure loads of GWRX members can hit straight 288yd drives and 3 irons into the middle of greens, just not as often as we'd like!

 

LOL

 

 

150+ is possible, but he would have to have tremendous forearms or at least very strong forearms. I swing a 6lbs bar at full speed @ 100 reps per day 5 days a week for over a year and have had a maximum speed of 133mph on a Zelocity with a 44" 905R with a 757 X @ D6. My normal is around 125mph and that is borderline out of control. I would only think a handful of people if any at all could get a 45" or less shaft up to 150mph, now a 50" shaft I can see the mph increasing to that high but like I said, some of those guys are monsters and you can always tell them apart by either large muscular forearms or very cut forearms.

 

And here it begins...

[lgriffiths1981]

Sergio is at 122 with a 173 ball speed, tiger is a little more than that. Remember, these are at about 80% and under control!

 

Those figures are out of sink. I was swinging at 118mph and generating ball speed of 176mph on a Titleist launch monitor last year. That was a pretty close to the 1:1.5 ratio between swingspeed and ball speed that the pro's aim to achieve through endless optimisation of launch data.

 

The BBC had a trackman device in operation at the Open this year, measuring ball speed. Tiger came in consistently at 183-185mph, which puts his swingspeed at 122-123mph. Sergio was getting to 175-178mph, meaning his swingspeed was 118mph-119mph.

 

Note however that Tiger can crank it up to 130mph SS and that Sergio's driver shaft is only 43.75"!!

[brettcra]

Sergio is at 122 with a 173 ball speed, tiger is a little more than that. Remember, these are at about 80% and under control!

 

Those figures are out of sink. I was swinging at 118mph and generating ball speed of 176mph on a Titleist launch monitor last year. That was a pretty close to the 1:1.5 ratio between swingspeed and ball speed that the pro's aim to achieve through endless optimisation of launch data.

 

The BBC had a trackman device in operation at the Open this year, measuring ball speed. Tiger came in consistently at 183-185mph, which puts his swingspeed at 122-123mph. Sergio was getting to 175-178mph, meaning his swingspeed was 118mph-119mph.

 

Note however that Tiger can crank it up to 130mph SS and that Sergio's driver shaft is only 43.75"!!

If those numbers are accurate, then Tiger's normal swing is 94% of his top speed. I guess that dispels the notion that these guys have 20% in reserve.

[cap217]

QUOTE(cap217 @ Sep 18 2007, 03:41 PM)

Sergio is at 122 with a 173 ball speed, tiger is a little more than that. Remember, these are at about 80% and under control!

 

 

I know you will not believe this but I have actually seen Sergio on a TM monitor being fit. Also, he was on the TM ball marketing launch comparing the Red to the V1x and they were right on. Then I saw the #'s at the Open and they were on a again.

 

Sure, these my not be 80% I am sure 90-95% but we can NEVER prove this. I did see Rory hit at the Golf Galaxy monitor and he had a 120 SS around a 170 ball speed.

 

You have to remember this as well.... they hit the sweet spot almost every time. I am a good 2 hdcp and hit the sweet spot half the time! And for smash factors, who knows! I have been at nowhere over 1.40 ever.

[Nicky6]

I have never hit higher than a 1.49 on smash factor and my driver face is littered with dimples on the sweetspot. Clubhead speed is overrated, the numbers to look at are ballspeed, launch angle, and backspin.

 

 

Not entirely correct, because your ball speed is a direct result of the transfer of energy from club to ball. ie: Comparing the same SS with an off-centre impact and impact on the sweet spot will produce two different results.

 

Hitting it dead out of the heel is going to produce a lower ball speed and higher spin rate than a centred impact over the sweet spot. Sweet spot impact in turn launches higher, spins less and flies faster of the clubface.

[hwrd]

Here is Swing Vision video of Tiger where they have swing measurements displayed at the end.

 

139 mph!!!

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xy9GTAENiJA

[hoganfan924]

Sergio is at 122 with a 173 ball speed, tiger is a little more than that. Remember, these are at about 80% and under control!

 

Those figures are out of sink. I was swinging at 118mph and generating ball speed of 176mph on a Titleist launch monitor last year. That was a pretty close to the 1:1.5 ratio between swingspeed and ball speed that the pro's aim to achieve through endless optimisation of launch data.

 

The BBC had a trackman device in operation at the Open this year, measuring ball speed. Tiger came in consistently at 183-185mph, which puts his swingspeed at 122-123mph. Sergio was getting to 175-178mph, meaning his swingspeed was 118mph-119mph.

 

Note however that Tiger can crank it up to 130mph SS and that Sergio's driver shaft is only 43.75"!!

If those numbers are accurate, then Tiger's normal swing is 94% of his top speed. I guess that dispels the notion that these guys have 20% in reserve.

 

Not exactly, I think many of you are misunderstanding what players mean when they say "I swing at 80%." They are talking about effort, not clubhead speed. It is a subjective feel measure of their effort. Interestingly, because the kinetic energy of the clubhead is proportional to the square of it's velocity (the old E = MV²/2, it only has 88% of it's energy when it's at 94% of it's maximum velocity to use your example. From a kinetic energy perspective 107 mph would be 80% of 120 mph. However, that's just the clubhead. Clearly the player cannot transfer 100% of his energy expenditure into the clubhead (if he did, his body would come to a complete stop at impact), so from an effort/energy perspective, I think players who say they normally swing at 80% effort are pretty darn close to being correct. Would make a very interesting research project IMO.