..

[GoGoErky]

Rickie also works with Joey d. He may not be jacked but he’s not just laying around doing nothing.

[Barfolomew]

NO getting in shape and stronger wont help you hit further..... how is this thread 9 pages deep

[GoGoErky]

Apparently you haven’t read thru the 9 pages and the numerous studies, first hand info from pros who have all gained distance thru strength training.

[LICC]

Apparently he has seen the indisputable fact that no one can identify any Tour pro who has significantly increased distance by strength training.

[Krt22]

Not to mention he was a former moto-X rider. They may not look "muscular" but they are strong guys with extremely strong cores. Too many folks write off someone not being strong due to visual cues and thus dismiss their functional strength. This is in strong contrast to your average mid to late age golfer who is extremely inactive and avoids strength training for fear of "getting too bulky" and ruining their swing.

[Krt22]

For some more semi-anecdotal evidence, there is a Podcast call chasing scratch that has been mentioned on here before. Two mid/late 30s guys, mid caps trying to get to scratch. In between the first and second seasons they both did a 12 week golf fitness program (FIt for Golf which) seems to be a largely focused on functional strength, mobility, etc. Both largely did not play golf or get any lessons during the fitness period (which they both did plenty of in the first season), both picked up ~7mph of swing speed. They could be lying through their teeth of course, but they seemed pleasantly surprised

[dpb5031]

I've been into the weights for nearly 40 years (52 YOA) and was a multi-sport athlete. Rickie is one of the few who actually looks more diminutive on TV than in reality. He's not big or "jacked" by any stretch, but he's got a pretty athletic looking physique when you see him up close/in person. Muscular legs & calves plus very lean.

[dpb5031]

 

...and me 33 years ago lol!!! (added for cred ?)

[Krt22]

You better hit it farther than Rickie, muscle man!

[dpb5031]

I wish...lol?!

Can still squeak out 160 ball speed on good ones, but down significantly with age from my best. And I'm not in horrible shape for my age, still reasonably strong in the gym, but just not as fast/explosive at 52 as I used to be.

[GoGoErky]

Exactly on the first post. I have a military buddy who started the fit for golf offseason program last year and loved he bought another one of the programs from him. Buddy was a gym rat already and now only does fit for golf.

one of my golf partners here started the fit for golf in December.

[cardoustie]

Nice serratus

ballsy post

[dpb5031]

Hahahaaa...thx!!! Very long time ago...

Father Time has no mercy. Ya gotta fight it best ya can! ?

[puresurfr]

I see how u earned the title of "#worstwrxer"

[Trav1989]

Well Jamie Sadlowski said when he was training for long drive he was working on his body 90% of the time and swing 10% so guys saying it won’t make you faster are crazy. Working out are getting STRONGER will 100% make you faster

 

Its on Mark Crossfield’s YouTube channel

[LICC]

Except you can’t show any Tour player who significantly increased distance from strength training.

[GoGoErky]

Crazy right. the current world #1 gained distance by using a powerlifting routine this offseason.

[airjammer]

Yes, maybe we should have been working on his swing more because he didn’t get knocked out of the wld title because he wasn’t fast enough. He’s probably not hurting for money but he surely made way more money in LD than missing cuts on the PGa Canadian tour.

That is what the conversation is about..nobody in their right mind is going to say swinging as hard as you can several times a week will not increase your swing speed or getting stronger/more explosive can help you swing faster. The caveat is that it appears that you have to actively try to gain speed by swinging as fast as you can. There have been plenty of people that have gotten massively stronger and gain nothing in swing speed if they just played golf as usual.

Scott Stallings is a perfect example, hasn’t gain much if any statistically in distance even though he’s very fit in comparison to where he was a few years ago. So obviously gaining speed just doesn’t come with being stronger and fit.

Phil has gained major clubhead speed but he changed the way his lower body moved and it has affected his accuracy. Francisco hasn’t finished in the top 10 of a tournament in close to a year and has been a missed cut machine. Those are just two current high profile examples of gaining speed and losing form. Bryson is still TBD at this point.

Now that everyone knows the recipe for gaining speed, have at it.

[Rosco1216]

Scott Stallings is not a good example though. He lost a ton of weight and trains to be healthy and fit. He has not put on a lot of muscle or gotten a lot stronger in terms of absolute strength. His focus has been for muscular endurance and overall fitness health. He does CrossFit style without the heavy Olympic style lifting(which is very dangerous in CrossFit).

I know many will say “what?? Look at him he’s ripped! He’s put on a lot of muscle!” Yes he’s “ripped” but I guarantee he hasn’t put on a lot of muscle, he’s simply lost all the fat that was covering up the muscle he had.

[clevited]

[img]https://s3.amazonaws.com/golfwrxforums/uploads/123/R1XQK562ZHKY.png[/img]So now you are admitting but not admitting that strength training/exercise definitely can improve a person's speed and now focusing on 3 players where you feel it isn't helping them. This thread isn't about accuracy, or how chasing speed can make or break your game, this thread is about strength training and its ability to help players, amateur or professional create more speed and therefore distance.

Oh and Hi @LICC, nice to see you in here again, giving thumbs up to a post that goes against your many posts (saying strength training works). How is the flag spamming treating you these days? I have a decent amount of posts on this site, better get cracking, gotta flag em all!

[clevited]

I can't remember if it is this thread or another, but there are articles that specifically mention his increased speed as a result of his weight loss and new found fitness.

 

Also there is this, first one is from 2016 and shows average and max club head speed. Second is from 2019 and shows the same.

Here is distance gains,

Here are ball speed gains,

His transition to higher swing and ball speeds occurred during the 2018 season it seems, right when he was losing all his weight and no doubt getting stronger through his workouts. Could be coincidence but this coupled with the article that explicitly states he got faster through his fitness changes makes me believe he got faster by getting in shape and getting stronger.

[airjammer]

I cannot remember which thread but regardless he says he has gained speed but...pga stats say otherwise. So if he did it might be 1 or 2 mph or perhaps he feels that he is swing 80% effort to get previous 85% effort idk. Either way driving stats says he’s gained zilch. Being a engineer as you are..you can’t morally believe something not confirmed by actual data?

[Rosco1216]

Oh I’m sure he has gained a little speed, gained some muscle, gained some strength(absolute). All of those are small increases. Where he has seen the biggest difference is in loss of body fat and increased muscular endurance and overall cardiovascular health. All of which is what he trains for.

[LICC]

Scott Stallings has done extensive strength and fitness training for years. He has not significantly increased distance. Indisputable.

[clevited]

Data posted above. Being an engineer I think about things in a much larger and complex scope than most do (doesn't mean I see it all, just in general I connect the dots more). I tend to see the things others miss. He gained significant speed, especially max speed. He didn't gain as much corresponding distance. Why might you ask? Good question I am glad you asked. Many pro golfers sacrifice distance for control. Perhaps he chose equipment that gave him more spin while keeping his current distance. He could if he wanted to, maximize distance and then you would see your precious increased distance stat. We also don't even see what benefits he may or may not have had with his irons. Being able to take a club less compared to what he used to when he is the same distance from the green can be a big advantage too. More stopping power with a 9 iron vs an 8 iron for instance.

 

Edit: He gained more than 1 or 2 mph btw, at least according to those stats vs when he was much heavier. Again, could be coincidence, but the evidence seems to support that it isn't, and it looks like some reasonably accurate conclusions can be made taking everything into account.

 

Edit 2: Perhaps he played a different mix of courses as well. He had many less shots recorded in 2016 vs 2019 as well. Maybe 2020 would be a little more telling, or maybe the same, who knows. Several variables at play that can mess with that precious driving distance number that is your holy grail for evidence. Look at the entire picture, it is seemingly more telling of the truth.

 

Just for fun, here is 2020 driving distance for Scott so far. Does it mean anything? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[LICC]

All speculation with no factual basis. Scott Stallings has done extensive strength and fitness training for years. He has not significantly increased distance. Indisputable.

[GoGoErky]

It’s already been talked about how driving stats don’t correlate to speed increase or not. It’s a stat with many variables that affect it.

One would be rough vs fairway. If a drive carries 280 and lands in the rough it’s going to be shorter than a drive by the same person on the same hole that lands in the fairway

[airjammer]

There isn’t large enough sample size for 2020 to make any kind of comparison imo. He’s been fit for a while and even if he did gain distance this year in particular it obviously just because he has focused on gaining speed as a priority over just being fit or it could be a swing change..who knows??‍♂️ That is part of the conversation thou..being more fit doesn’t automatically increase speed so is anyone claiming that it takes a couple of years for speed to show up after gaining strength..obviously Kyle Berkshire is proof that isn’t the case.

The order is 2019, 2018, 2017 for pga tour club head speed. He has gained less that 1 mph in the 3 years. If anyone cares to debate he has gained significant speed thru working out please just pm me so you don’t embarrass yourself in front of the whole community.

[clevited]

Did you look at what I posted? He averaged 112 in 2016, almost 116 in 2019. His increase occurred during his time getting fit.

 

Also, I said 2020 numbers may or may not tell us anything, but it is an interesting start to the year. Did you also forget to look at peak speed? He peaked at 120 in 2019 vs 115 in 2016, that is a very significant increase. If you look back further, you can see where his health and fitness went downhill. He used to be close to what he is now. He dipped quite a bit during his heavier years and increased quite quickly after getting fit again. It will be interesting to see if it increases beyond what he did prior to his health issues.

 

I don't understand why you put on the "embarass yourself" farce. You do know you and your buddy are largely the only two defending your claim that strength training does nothing for swing speed and therefore distance. You point out Scott Stallings gaining nothing through it, I just gave you pretty good evidence it has helped him significantly. In the same post where you point him out, you admit to strength training increasing speed but then you start a tangent about accuracy and how players aren't winning since doing it. You might just be the one embarrassing yourself. Nice to see you pick up your buddy's flag though and run with this. I am ready to do this dance all over again if you like.

[airjammer]

So your evidence is that he gained back what he once had?

2012..like I said it’s embarrassing. He’s 3 mph slower now than in 2012 so he got fitter and slower than in 2012 with all 3d biomechanical and ground force data and knowledge we have now.

please pick someone else..Stallings doesn’t appear to have gainEd anything and probably didn’t care if he did.