A question about swing speed

[Aztecs1]

I currently have a swing speed of about 90-94 mph. I am about 6'3 240 and when I go to these hitting bays I see old/young/small/big people with much higher swing speeds and distance. My average drives are about 230. Which hurts on those long par 4s. So as a goal for the season I would like to increase my drives to put me in better position for shorter irons. Here are the things I am doing:

 

Bought Golf Shape by Cindy Reid and have been following the exercises stretches etc

 

Using the Vijah SpeedStik

 

Looks like video of my swing is showing I cast the club at the top. I am doing some drills to increase my lag. My regular ball flight is either a push (no slice) or a push hook.

 

After about 3 months of working out with the golf specific workout routine I am going to take some lessons (currently a 20 handicap)

 

But my question is how much can I look to improve? Is swing speed something you either have or don't? Similar to a baseball pitcher? A pitcher can workout as much as he wants, but he is either blessed with a 95mph fastball or he is not.

 

I'm open for suggestions/tips!

 

Thanks

[d0n]

I'm 6'3 260. My swing speed was in the low 100's 8-10 months ago - I don't know where it is now but it has to be higher.

DON'T WAIT GO SEE THE INSTRUCTOR NOW! You could have a couple of little things wrong now and in 3 months you will have reinforced them. Why not spend the next 3 months reinforcing the right mechanics. Get your swing check out now.

I recently went to a new instructor who pointed out I was not finishing my swing and was stopping at the ball. I did 3 lessons with him over the last three weeks. We worked on a full swing along with slowing down my backswing and I've never hit the irons better or longer. Afterward my irons increased around 20yards per club.

Go see an instructor who can get your mechanics down. You gotta swing slower with the new changes anyways. You can then build up speed as your workouts go along and as your proper mechanics get more solid.

[golfsmh]

I would definitely look into working with an instructor on your swing first off to see how much distance you can gain from that. A few minor swing changes can be a good way to gain some distance in the beginning.

Workouts are also a good way to gain some distance if you still feel youre lacking once you have taken a few lessons. Its good to find a way to incorporate flexibility as well as strength conditioning in your workouts. Distance is not just about how hard you go after the ball; its about finding a way to utilize your entire body in one fluid, compact motion.

[againstthegrain]

Go get a 3D swing analysis. This will tell you exactly where in your swing you are losing power. It's better to know upfront so you don't waste time w the wrong instructor. You can try some lessons to fix it. If you can't improve then a physical screening is in order to determine if a physical restriction is limiting your ability to make an efficient swing. If your 35+ get the physical screening before the lessons.

At 6'3" 240lbs strength is not a limiting factor in fact in may encourage an arm swing w/out the proper swing sequence which is key to generating swing speed and distance.

[Aztecs1]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to go ahead and schedule some lessons (maybe a 5 pack) now instead of waiting as originally planned. I
ll try to update my progress after a couple of months.

[larrybud]

[quote name='Aztecs1' post='859186' date='Jan 11 2008, 01:45 PM']I currently have a swing speed of about 90-94 mph. I am about 6'3 240 and when I go to these hitting bays I see old/young/small/big people with much higher swing speeds and distance. My average drives are about 230. Which hurts on those long par 4s. So as a goal for the season I would like to increase my drives to put me in better position for shorter irons. Here are the things I am doing:[/quote]

Obviously everybody has a physical limit, but at your size there's no way you're even close to it. I'm 5'7 145 and I hit it farther than you. It's all technique, which explains the 20 cap.

Most likely there are fundamentals (grip, alignment, posture) that an instructor will correct right away that will immediately help. My buddy Hoganfan gave one of our golf league participants a lesson last year after we played 9, and had him hit probably 4 or 5 drives in a row better than he's ever hit in his career, and 90% of the instruction was fundamentals.

[The Boom Bapp]

Stretch stretch stretch.

Swing a weighted club left handed and right handed doing 3 reps of 10 daily.

work the forearms, CORE, wrists, glutes, and lower back. Pilates is a KILLER workout for golfers.

Oh, did I mention stretch.

See an instructor to help with posture and technique. You have plenty of power but it just needs to be discovered and applied.

Check how much you are loading the club at the top (LAG), more lag can lead to faster club head speeds at the bottom of the swing and increased ball speed is a given translating into distance off the tee.

Best of Luck.