Theoretical maximum distance for 100 mph club head speed?

[SteveL1]

Are my expectations too high?

I have been testing drivers and shafts for the past three months and find that I seem to max out at around 275 total distance with a 100 mph swing speed. Is this all that one should expect to get at this speed? I've read where you want the launch angle around 12* and spin in the mid 2,000's which I've gotten close to.

So what is the theoretical maximum yardage one can expect from 100 mph swing speed and how do you go about figuring that? Guy at Golfsmith today said that with a little more tweaking I should see 300 yrds. Seriusly? I don't think so.

[fish dude]

Sorry, but somebody is blowing smoke up your heinie.

[baseballfrk8998]

115 or so you might see 300.. I swing it up towards 110 and can count the number of times I've seen 300 on one hand.

[mdgboxx]

Isn't the calculating factor somewhere arond 2.5? Like 100 mph = 250 yds?

[LuckyGolfer2009]

At a higher altitude maybe?

[wmblake2000]

[quote name='SteveL1' timestamp='1329027545' post='4265067']
I have been testing drivers and shafts for the past three months and find that I seem to max out at around 275 total distance with a 100 mph swing speed. Is this all that one should expect to get at this speed? I've read where you want the launch angle around 12* and spin in the mid 2,000's which I've gotten close to.

So what is the theoretical maximum yardage one can expect from 100 mph swing speed and how do you go about figuring that? Guy at Golfsmith today said that with a little more tweaking I should see 300 yrds. Seriusly? I don't think so.
[/quote]

Somewhere on this forum I saw a link to something by Tom Wishom that I copied. He describes optimal carry (no rollout) at 90 mph ss at 221 and for 105 mph ss at 274. That suggests to me that at 100 mph ss, carry would be around 260 ish. So unless you're playing on a course with a ton of rollout, I can't see 300. Your 275 sounds about right, in other words, as optimal distance.

[Stretch]

100 mph centered hit with perfect launch conditions will get you about 235 yards carry.

[Golfdaddy44]

300 is possible, but your tee box needs to be elevated 60 ft above the fairway and a 30mph breeze at your back..,

[GolfScrub]

My average SS is about 103 mph and I get about 235 yards carry according to the Vector LM.

[quote name='Stretch' timestamp='1329032799' post='4265261']
100 mph centered hit with perfect launch conditions will get you about 235 yards carry.
[/quote]

[Stretch]

Yup, no conforming driver is going to be able to make the ball fly much further than that.

 

[PaulBoy]

[quote name='Stretch' timestamp='1329032799' post='4265261']
100 mph centered hit with perfect launch conditions will get you about 235 yards carry.
[/quote]
That's been my experience too! - When I had my first fitting I was lucky to add 15yds to that, but with an Oban Devotion I managed to increase that to nearly 40yds (presumably any low spin shaft would do likewise?) - I have since changed to an Oban Kiyoshi & increased my carry by 10yds but still have almost the same roll-out! - 300yds for me is a rare thing (perfect conditions / down-wind etc) but 250-275yds down the middle is working pretty well for me so far ... Paul

[k b]

my SS is 99-102 and BS is approx 148mph. average drive including roll is about 255-265.

the only way you're seeing 300 on average, or once in a while is if the thing you're "tinkering" is your swing speed

[jcosjrgolf]

[quote name='mdgboxx' timestamp='1329030523' post='4265187']
Isn't the calculating factor somewhere arond 2.5? Like 100 mph = 250 yds?
[/quote]
Yes. This is a general equation for maximum carry. Not sure at what elevation.

[SteveL1]

I thought the guy was full of it and I really don't trust the numbers from the monitors in a retail store that is trying to sell new drivers. I'm just trying to make sure that I'm getting as much out of my driver as I can. Through my experimenting with shafts and ball position, I was able to get the spin down considerably which should help with roll out. I found that I was playing the ball too far back in my stance which created some unwanted spin. Also found that shortening the club to 44.5" helps me hit the center of the club face more consistently which obviously increases ball speed.

You know, this site is a really bad influence!

[Poser]

Yup, no conforming driver is going to be able to make the ball fly much further than that.

 

 

Where did you find this software?

[wmblake2000]

Yup, no conforming driver is going to be able to make the ball fly much further than that.

 

 

I am not going to pretend I know, but the table I copied from Tom Wishon says that the optimum launch angle is more than what this pic shows. He only reports 90 and 105 mph ss, so you have to do the math to approximate 100. At 100 mph (145ish ball speed) optimum carry comes with about 14* launch and 2150 rpm spin. This, he says, generates 250ish yds carry.

[wmblake2000]

[quote name='wmblake2000' timestamp='1329064438' post='4266597']

I am not going to pretend I know, but the table I copied from Tom Wishon says that the optimum launch angle is more than what this pic shows. He only reports 90 and 105 mph ss, so you have to do the math to approximate 100. At 100 mph (145ish ball speed) optimum carry comes with about 14* launch and 2150 rpm spin. This, he says, generates 250ish yds carry.
[/quote]

Here's that link... http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/587863-wishons-fitting-chart/page__p__4253057__hl__wishon__fromsearch__1#entry4253057

[Vintage1976]

Yup, no conforming driver is going to be able to make the ball fly much further than that.

 

 

Where did you find this software?

 

Here's a link l use for this

 

http://www.flightscope.com/index.php/Technology-Explained/trajectory-optimizer.html

[bellairemi]

275 is really good - with my 100-101 swingspeed I get 260 carry/roll as maximized on Trackman.

[quote name='SteveL1' timestamp='1329027545' post='4265067']
I have been testing drivers and shafts for the past three months and find that I seem to max out at around 275 total distance with a 100 mph swing speed. Is this all that one should expect to get at this speed? I've read where you want the launch angle around 12* and spin in the mid 2,000's which I've gotten close to.

So what is the theoretical maximum yardage one can expect from 100 mph swing speed and how do you go about figuring that? Guy at Golfsmith today said that with a little more tweaking I should see 300 yrds. Seriusly? I don't think so.
[/quote]

[Stretch]

[quote name='fuab' timestamp='1329062716' post='4266423']
Where did you find this software?
[/quote]
It's a Web app provided by FlightScope. The address is: [url="http://www.flightscope.com/index.php/Technology-Explained/trajectoryoptimizer.html"]http://www.flightsco...yoptimizer.html[/url]

There are a number of other free resources available if you're interested in this kind of stuff. I would also recommend TrajectoWare: http://www.trajectoware.com/wrap.php?content=description.html

[quote name='wmblake2000' timestamp='1329064438' post='4266597']
I am not going to pretend I know, but the table I copied from Tom Wishon says that the optimum launch angle is more than what this pic shows. He only reports 90 and 105 mph ss, so you have to do the math to approximate 100. At 100 mph (145ish ball speed) optimum carry comes with about 14* launch and 2150 rpm spin. This, he says, generates 250ish yds carry.
[/quote]
I just input the launch conditions that the OP stated in his post. I agree that you could theoretically do slightly better, but 250 yards is a real stretch at 100 mph club head speed. In [i]Common Sense Clubfitting[/i], Tom cites an 11 to 12 degree launch angle as optimal for a 147 mph ball speed and estimates a max carry of 235 yards.

[Medic]

Ok, I am completely new to the scientific part of all of this but I do have a question.

Does "Swing Speed" equal the club head speed? Or the entire club shaft and all?

I ask this because it occurs to me that the long drive competition winners seem to always have longer drivers - about 2 inches or so. And this somehow increases the club head speed at the time of impact which leads to those long distances.

Which leads to the obvious question can the average Joe add some length to their shaft and end up netting some extra yardage off of the tee?

[Jamboy72]

Just for reference, my ss is 110-113 and if it is a forced carry of 260 from the tee, I don't go for it...At 100, if you carry it 250, you are pretty dang maxed out!

[Pleasedwith3putts]

250 carry is pretty much maxd out. At 147mph ballspeed, 2500 rpm is too low for 12* launch so you either need to get spin up a bit or ideally get launch up about 3* to max out

[wmblake2000]

[quote name='Medic' timestamp='1329066596' post='4266837']
Does "Swing Speed" equal the club head speed? Or the entire club shaft and all?

Which leads to the obvious question can the average Joe add some length to their shaft and end up netting some extra yardage off of the tee?
[/quote]

Swing speed is the speed of the clubhead at impact, and this speed will increase as the shaft length increases, which is why all mfgrs sell drivers with longer and longer shafts.

The tradeoff is, with a longer driver, you don't hit the true sweetspot as often - and this means reduced distance. This is somewhat helped by the area around the sweetspot becoming more able to transfer the energy from the clubhead speed to the ball.

So there's an optimal shaft length for you that balances the additional speed from the extra length with the more frequent solid impact with the club's sweetspot.

[hobbygolfer]

The guy was really pulling your leg . 300 yards with 100 mph is not possible. Besides the nice website from Flightscope, you can go to www.trajectoware.com. If you register to the forum, you can download a nice piece of software for free to fool around with. The guy who did the programm discussed the parameters with Tutleman and Wishon. I use that software in my fittings to show players, what to expect from their ballspeeds under perfect conditions. Some of the male golfers are pretty depressed after seeing their 290 yard drives disappearing in the world of phantasy.

Regards,
Michael

P.S.: The owner of the Trajectoware website won't send any spam nor malware. I'm a registered user for more than four years and never got any mail from him.

[Medic]

[quote name='wmblake2000' timestamp='1329067873' post='4267005']
[quote name='Medic' timestamp='1329066596' post='4266837']
Does "Swing Speed" equal the club head speed? Or the entire club shaft and all?

Which leads to the obvious question can the average Joe add some length to their shaft and end up netting some extra yardage off of the tee?
[/quote]

Swing speed is the speed of the clubhead at impact, and this speed will increase as the shaft length increases, which is why all mfgrs sell drivers with longer and longer shafts.

The tradeoff is, with a longer driver, you don't hit the true sweetspot as often - and this means reduced distance. This is somewhat helped by the area around the sweetspot becoming more able to transfer the energy from the clubhead speed to the ball.

So there's an optimal shaft length for you that balances the additional speed from the extra length with the more frequent solid impact with the club's sweetspot.
[/quote]

Thanks!

But with a stock driver doesn't adding some length cause a change in the flex? I added 1 inch to my stock FT-9 Tour and it seems more "whippy" near the tip.

Which would obviously lead to the question of how to go about adding length without messing up the setup. (I would assume that you would need a shaft that is already cut to the longer length as opposed to adding a plug for length?)

Thanks again and in advance.

[SteveL1]

I should have been clearer in my original post that the 275 in on monitors and not real world course results. I did mention that I don't trust the numbers on most that are around town. We have two Golf Galaxys, an Edwin Watts, one Dick's and a Golfsmith in town so if you add them all up, I've got 11 dfferent monitors that I can get on plus the Tee's Bar & Grill who has 10 monitors themselves. None of these are Trackman so I have no idea of how accurate any of them are.

Real world results are much closer to 240-250 with the occassional sprinkler head assisted 280.

[rocker40]

Everytime i go hit, my backspin is in the 3500-3700 range. Is that my swing or the shaft? How can i lower it closer to 2500?

[jaskanski]

[quote name='rocker40' timestamp='1329073011' post='4267657']
Everytime i go hit, my backspin is in the 3500-3700 range. Is that my swing or the shaft? How can i lower it closer to 2500?
[/quote]

There could be a number of factors. Without knowing your launch stats, it could be any number of factors, such as attack angle and actual dynamic loft at impact. Depending on your swing speed, angle of attack, dynamic loft and actual ball speed, it's difficult to pin down any one cause of your perceived high spin. If you want an honest opinion, it's probably your swing - as it usually seems to bee the case in 99 cases out of 100. Bottom line - no shaft is really going to shave 1000rpm off your spin figures, but a modest change to your angle of attack and your overall spin loft might.

[wigolffan]

my swing speed is somewhere between 111 and 116 depending on the day and 300 is a rare thing for me, I would have to imagine at 100 its darn near impossible to get to 300