Most golfers will admit that they would like to increase their distance and become longer hitters. One important aspect to accomplish this is your swing speed. Larry McMillen submitted a question about swing speed and wanted to know of any tips he could try in order to get his speed up.
"I'm having trouble finding where specifically to ask a question on the site. I've been trying the the swing now for several months with some success. I have access to a launch monitor and my swing speed just is not high enough to get any distance. According to the launch monitor I am only generating about 70 mph of speed. Any suggestions? I think I do the bump fairly well but unless I can get my swing speed up in the 90's at the very least, I'm never going to hit the ball anywhere."
Rotational swing instructors will tell you that taking a bigger turn is the way to increase your swing speed. But why turn your body more and put more strain on your back? With the Peak Performance Golf Swing, we move the body less and swing the arms faster. One day I was giving a lesson on the range while DJ was practicing right next to us. My student asked what DJ does when he wants to hit the ball farther. So, we decided to ask him right there on the range. He gave a really great response that I use to this day to describe how I want my students to think. He said that when he wants to hit the ball with more distance, he holds his knees and legs firmer and swings his arms faster towards the target.
A good way to help improve your swing speed is to use what I call "The Swish Test." By using a rod or a club upside down, you can hear a "swish" sound when you swing the club. The sound should be loudest right at impact, not before or after. Take a few swings and try to increase your arm speed each time until you can hear and feel that you are swinging faster. This should help you add some distance to your game!
Keep it vertical,
The Surge!
Don Trahan
PGA Master Professional
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Comments
Thanks. Funny how much we
Thanks. Funny how much we trust our tires. They didn't even look bad and still had plenty of tread left.
I have done a lot of thinking
I have done a lot of thinking about lag and always looking closely at my videos to try to figure out if more lag really does=more club speed like "everybody" thinks it does.
So far the theory doesn't seem to hold water in my swings. Some of my longest balls lately have been with the club at less than 12:00 face on at the top of the swing.
I am not intentionally creating lag or intentionally not creating lag. Just trying to hit the ball as hard as I can and what happens happens. Seeing the video of a particularly long drive that never gets to 12:00 face on at the top surprises me and goes against everything I thought I knew about club speed.
Sorry Kevin but by self
Sorry Kevin but by self definition "steady state" and "deceleration" are not components of acceleration but an abcense of acceleration or the opposite of acceleration. Surge has frequently stated that the club head should be getting faster through impact, "on, on and on".
ÃÂ Congratulations to both
ÃÂ Congratulations to both Cindy & yourself, Robert! Enjoy your anniversary get-away.
LOl
LOl
Dropped my rotational swing 2
Dropped my rotational swing 2 years ago for ppgs and am experiencing problems and am lost at where to go now.ÃÂ Have lost distance and gone from a draw..rotational to a fade/slice...ppgs. I am coming over the top..from my divots and divots are huge and deep.....have tried less body motion and moving ball back.....gives me low, squirty fades.ÃÂ Have tried faster weight shift forward......thins and shanks.ÃÂ Weight more to my heels helps divot pattern somewhat and balance also, but results just arent there.ÃÂ Used to be 7-8 hdcp....now 12 plus.ÃÂ At range today tried my old rotational swing and hit ball much better, further and with a draw.ÃÂ Only improvement I have seen with ppgs is no back pain......but will endure the pain going back to rotational, if I have to.ÃÂ Dont want to but, unless I can get this sorted out, that is where I am heading.ÃÂ Any help would be much appreciated to stick with theÃÂ ppgs.
Thanks, everyone, and I will
Thanks, everyone, and I will continue to post video of my progress, so feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I suggest you also subscribe to Steve's as he tends to post much more interesting examinations of specific techniques or tests.
ÃÂ Dave,
ÃÂ Dave,
When it comes to acceleration, there are three states, not two: acceleration (increasing velocity), steady state (which could be any point from zero to max, and deceleration (slowing down).ÃÂ Once something reaches maximum speed, it can stay at that speed (velocity) until something happens to change it (your arms and body have no more room to move).ÃÂ Don is accurate when he says to accelerate through impact up to the T-finish.ÃÂ Most of us will not continue to accelerate to the T-finish, but should be able to reach maximum speed at impact and maintain that speed to the T-finish.ÃÂ I, for one, have a bad habit of decelerating as I reach the impact point.ÃÂ That means that I reached max speed before impact (lost distance).ÃÂ When I keep trying to accelerate all the way to the finish, I get max speed and max distance.
Kevin
That was great Robert!..
That was great Robert!...thanks for sharing!.....just goes to showÃÂ how Surge and hisÃÂ staffÃÂ provide first classÃÂ instruction!.... Can't wait to hear about your progress after Dave's instruction.ÃÂ ÃÂ
ÃÂ We were waiting for a
ÃÂ We were waiting for a group of guys in front of us to get out of the way one time and they were all gathered around a ditch for a long time. Finally we drove up there to see what was going on and they said there was a rattlesnake in the rocks. I got my 7 iron and stood over the rock pile and when he stuck his head out I took his head completely off with the club. Nicked up the bottom of my 7 iron pretty good on the rocks but I figure that was better than having him bite me the next time I played the hole.
No telling what the swing was
No telling what the swing was but it was fast. That's not a situation where you want to take a chance of missing or only hitting it hard enough to make it mad. LOL
You have to have good hands to hit rocks at full speed though.
Good stuff, Don. I actually
Good stuff, Don. I actually use a small piece of bamboo for this same practice. Closer in width at the point where I grip it, but still extremely light.
ÃÂ SGW,
ÃÂ SGW,
TreoSoft is my preferred ball. I found them on sale at Dicks over the holiday season last year, 2 doz for 30.00 and bought 12 dozen myself. I figure that should last me a few years. I also found the Precept Laddie just prior to that at 19.99 for a 30 ball box, and unfortunately bought 2 boxes of them, because I though the TreoSoft would be impossible to find.ÃÂ
They claim the IFix is not only equal but better, which I strongly disagree with. I do not like it at all and will probably switch to the Laddie once the TreoSoft are unavailable. I may even go to the Precept Lady over the Laddie. I also like the Callaway Pearl which is a soft core 3-piece lady ball.
ÃÂ Steve
ÃÂ Steve
Don't go getting yourself hurt pal.
We need you on here too much for that,
Dick
What I can tell you from
What I can tell you from experience is that, if you've lost distance with the PPGS, it's because you're not actually doing it right yet.
Get some video of your swing, view it, and if you want you can put it up on YouTube and we'll gladly try to help with what we may see. You can check out how a number of us swing by clicking our names on these comments pages (if the name is in orangish-yellow, it's a link, such as mine). You can also use the very reasonably priced Online Lesson Program. For an example of what you get, click my name and view the online lesson Dave Seeman gave me on my driver swing.
Having a lot of fun watching
Having a lot of fun watching Player, Palmer, and Nicklaus playing the Par 3 event at the Masters.
T,
T,
I'm with you on the Treosoft.ÃÂ I seem to hit it straighter than the e5.ÃÂ Yesterday I tried the e6 and seemed to hit it as straight as the Treosoft and gained some distance.
Just curious if you've tried the e6?ÃÂ
ÃÂ Robert
ÃÂ Robert
Like the song says, "Happy anniversary baby, got you on my mind."
Hope you guys have a wonderful time, and get in some great rounds.
Who wouldn't want to be you with a trip like that, and with great company?
I will have you in my prayers while you are traveling.
God bless,
Dick
And did you pull the body out
And did you pull the body out and take it home for dinner?
Me too Phil, and I'm glad my
Me too Phil, and I'm glad my wife wasn't driving somewhere. She is scared of these mountain roads as it is.
She's a north Missouri flat lander. ;-)
Martin hall said the same
Martin hall said the same thing but added that you can slide 8" of pvc pipe over your handle which slides to the handle on the back swing and comes crashing down as you club head swings thru. trick is to get the click at the impact zone. same effect as the switch but shows the transfer of power. Instead of the 70 cents could also buy one of several $100 widgets which do the same thing.
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Tom Jinks Michigan
ÃÂ Make some good memories
ÃÂ Make some good memories with Cindy, they are one of the most valuable things of life, especially as we age.ÃÂ
ÃÂ Steve
ÃÂ Steve
I played 50 holes today.ÃÂ I got to be a hero to one form of life and a theft to another.
As I was crossing the bridge at the creek on the 15th hole, I saw about a 5' snake had a 4" fish in its mouth on the bank below the bridge.ÃÂ We used a long ball retriever to hit the snake.ÃÂ When it released the fish to strike at the retriever, the fish got loose.ÃÂ A few swipes with the retriever sent the little fish flying back into the creek.ÃÂ It was gone in a flash.ÃÂ I ain't driving that cart ever again, just in case the snake got the cart number.ÃÂ Don't want the snake to put a out a BOLO for me to all its friends.
Dick
ÃÂ It's long been common
ÃÂ It's long been common practice in both baseball and golf to swing a weighted club or bat to make the real one feel lighter.
(And theoretically swing it faster).
In more recent years most of the studies show that really doesn't happen like we all thought it did (except Stan Musial who must have been ahead of his time and never used a weighted bat).
In studying everything I could find on speed training for a long time here is my opinion.
I think best way to swing faster (or do anything faster) is to do it faster. In golf that means using something lighter than a club to train us what it feels like to create extra speed.
Swinging something heavier than a club can never provide this speed training. What it can do is provide strength training and stretch out muscles, which is also beneficial.
My "recipe" for speed:
General fitness combined with swinging a weighted club or other heavy device but NEVER just before playing or practicing.
Finishing a workout by swinging some device lighter than a golf club, much like Surge was doing with the shaft or a light rod of some type.
Using a SwingRite to keep track of the release point and to push yourself to increasing speed while using controlled swings.
Last but not least. Don't be afraid to take a real whack at the ball in practice in a time you allot just for speed training.
Back to the weighted club. Here is an article on one study on the benefits, or lack thereof.
http://golfdashblog.com/swing-...
Here is another that's a little hard to read but does have useful information in it.
http://www.hititlonger.com/blo...
Hi Don,ÃÂ Love what your
Hi Don,ÃÂ Love what your saying. I have had a lot of knee surgery(former college football basketball and baseball player.) so the athleticism is there but the body is not what it once was.I will be turning 60 this June and I like what you teach. No question this is for me. When is your next Old South session?ÃÂ
I like the SwingRite, but my
I like the SwingRite, but my number is about 5.5. I also wonder if I am the only one who has trouble detecting the exact point of the click. It is going so fast through impact, that I am not fully sure if it is clicking at, before, or after.
As for the swoosh test with any object, my hearing is not sharp enough to detect at what point it is the loudest either. I also have an item called a Tempo Ball, which I've had for 20 some years from an old Wally Armstrong video lesson. It's a standard grip with a hollow rubber ball at the other end and approx 30" of strong rope/string between the two. It also provides a swoosh sound, which is hard for me to detect the precise loudest point. Another object of this aid is to keep the cord taut between the two on the FUS. I have never seen this item for sale anywhere else other than through Wally Armstrong. He may well have a patent on it, but it is a good device for smooth tempo development. You can see a small pic of it here mixed in with the other aids he uses.
http://www.wallyarmstronggolf....
WARNING: WARNING: Do not listen/watch any video at this site. Doing so may cause distress.
Hi K....
Hi K....
Yes, it can be tricky business moving from one swing to another, but I have seen a few people blend aÃÂ rotational swing with a limited 3/4 turn. ÃÂ Even that one element canÃÂ be helpful.
It must be tough to give up that draw and strokes while trying the PPGS. I have some non PPGS elements in my swing, that some of the Nation might consider a compromise or even wrong. I don't care. I have limited vertical because of a shoulder injury, so I'm always slightly laid off. So what. ÃÂ I can't keep slight outward pressure on my knees AND have my weight over my arches.... it's anatomically impossible for me. We work with our realities.
RobertF has made a good suggestion below. The Nation has some really
bright people that understand both swings. ÃÂ Steve Smith, RobertF and others will likely give helpful feedback.ÃÂ
As I've stated prior, it's about results. If you get better results going rotational, and can mitigate some pain with the limited turn, that may be one way you move ahead.
Have the Nation take a look before you leave PPGS.
Yeah, it's usually rubbing of
Yeah, it's usually rubbing of the sidewalls that causes blowouts. The treads can look perfectly fine and the tire goes BOOM!
Robert,
Robert,
In the video surge says the swoosh should start at impact. However, in the last paragraph, which reads,
"A good way to help improve your swing speed is to use what I call "The Swish Test."ÃÂ By using a rod or a club upside down, you can hear a "swish"ÃÂ sound when you swing the club. The sound should be loudest right at impact, not before or after. Take a few swings and try to increase your arm speed each time until you can hear and feel that you are swinging faster. This should help you add some distance to your game!"
I suspect that the proper answer is that the swoosh should start before impact, increase (get louder) ÃÂ through impact, and then decrease. Yes?
Dave
ÃÂ
Surge: another great video!Ã
Surge: another great video!ÃÂ I really appreciate your daily tips and reminders. The weather here has finally started to warm and the snow is gone, so hopefully we canÃÂ get out and start golfing.ÃÂ Missed the blog the past couple of weeks so I've got some catching-up to do.ÃÂ My computer got a bad virus and needed some serious repairs - but everything is about back to normal.ÃÂ Hit 'em straight!ÃÂ R2
ÃÂ I could live without Duct
ÃÂ I could live without Duct Tape, but it would certainly make many things more difficult.
A man or woman who has a pair of Channel Locks, Crescent Wrench, Hammer, and role of Duct Tape, can repair almost anything. It may or may not be pretty, but it will be functional.
http://thereifixedit.failblog....
Thanks for addressing my
Thanks for addressing my swing speed problem Surge.ÃÂ Just for your info, I am 68 yrs. old and still in fairly good shape with goodÃÂ coordination.ÃÂ I do have a bad left hip but I've found by turning my left foot a few degrees further to the left as you mentioned D.J. doing relieves any stress on my hip socket.ÃÂ Thanks again for the dailies and keep up the good work.
ÃÂ A young man hired by a
ÃÂ A young man hired by a supermarket reported for his first day of work. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, gave him a broom, and said, "Your first job will be to sweep out the store." "But I'm a college graduate," the young man replied indignantly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that," said the manager. "Here, give me the broom -- I'll show you how."
If you go to the Instruction
If you go to the Instruction & Clubfitting tab above and select Golf Schools: Eastern US, you get the information you're looking for. Here's the quick link:
http://www.swingsurgeon.com/Go...
I think I am pretty accurate
I think I am pretty accurate at detecting the exact point of the click with a SwingRite. Probably not as accurate at detecting the highest level of noise through the impact area with a swish sound producing device, but close enough to get a general idea and would know it if I was way off.
Somebody on the blog one time said they attached a whistle to a shaft.
The device at the link you posted looks like it would be good. I made the mistake of watching the short video at the site and boy did it hit my pet peeve.
Golf instructors should NEVER talk about a baseball swing because I have yet to see one that had any clue what they are talking about. Anybody past Pony League that swings the barrel of the bat around in a circle like that isn't going to go much further in baseball.
In baseball the butt end of the bat is driven into the hitting zone with the shoulders opening and the right arm bent and the right hand close to the body at impact.
Whew!! Had to get that off my chest once again. Ha ha!
http://www.chrisoleary.com/pro...
ÃÂ Coach
ÃÂ Coach
Any idea which involves duct tape can't be all bad.ÃÂ I have to say again how much I love my Swing Rite.ÃÂ It is helping me a lot.ÃÂ It might not have duct tape on it yet, but it will soon.
Dick
No. I wasn't in the mood to
No. I wasn't in the mood to ride around in the cart with it for another 10 hrs. since we always played from daylight to dark at that course.
Killed a timber rattlesnake last year while running and it appeared to be about 6 feet long. Went on home and got the truck to go back and get it because the world record is 6 feet 2 1/2 inches and it should have been close, but when I got there it was gone???
Steve - Glad you are safe and
Steve - Glad you are safe and sound. God is looking after you.
Dick Higgins
Love it Surge. great reminder
Love it Surge. great reminder of what has helped me most and protect my back and swing faster.
Less body and more arms. Hold the knees more and swing faster toward the target. So clear. In spite of "knowing" thisÃÂ I still ocassionally am guilty of allowing my body to add speed.ÃÂ It is really counter productive and harder on the back.ÃÂ I catch myself and again go back to the body friendly ways of quieting down the body rotation.ÃÂ Otherwise I start fading back to the old rotational ways. This lesson is again a good reminder for me.
I have posted the lessonÃÂ with Matt that teaches the same idea and is one of my all time favorites but will post it again here for anyone new or old who has not saved it to your favorites.
Thanks again Surge. Your reminders areÃÂ needed to keep us on track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
ÃÂ
Don absolutely the best video
Don absolutely the best video you have done in a really long time. ÃÂ Thanks so very much for this lesson.
I'm pretty sure that how much
I'm pretty sure that how much lag we need depends on how we are creating the speed, which can vary from person to person. I doubt if my son would be able to hit the ball as far as I do if he took as short a swing as I do because he is not as fast as I am. On the other hand he is stronger than I am and given the head start of a longer swing he is almost always 10 to 20 yards in front of me.
I played softball for years on a pretty elite team and we had two home run hitters that went about it in totally different ways. One was very strong and not particularly fast and used a 35 ounce bat and pretty much just overpowered the ball out of the park. The other was very fast and not particularly strong and he used a 28 ounce bat and just created so much bat speed that the ball jumped out of the park. Neither one could hit well at all with the other one's bat. I'm pretty sure golf has some similarities to that and some people are using the longer club head arc from more lag to create more of the speed than some other people that are using getting the hands from point A to point B as fast as possible and timing the release of what lag they have.
That's not to say that I don't have lag, even on the short swings, just not as much of it. Another factor is that people with much more skill than I have can make center impact with greater lag where I probably make more consistent impact with less, which also gives me the confidence to swing as fast as I care to swing. With the longer swing I am probably never committing that much to the shot.
As with most things we all have to find our own way.
Thanks for sharing your video
Thanks for sharing your video. I believe that is going to help me as well.
Surge, The whoosh drill is
Surge, The whoosh drill is one of my all time favorites. I swing a broken off driver as fast as I can while staying in balance. Into the catcherâÂÂs mitt, back down for a whoosh and up to a tee finish. Speed creates distance; I swing fast in an up-tempo way!! I noticed that when I do this drill on a regular schedule I can expect 10 â 12 yards more with my driver; I even do it during round if we have a wait on the tee box.
ÃÂ Yes, I've tried all of
ÃÂ Yes, I've tried all of the Bridgestone E series balls. I was not impressed with the price results comparison. I think the Laddie performs better for me, and at a lower cost.ÃÂ
Rleavton:ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ
Rleavton:
ÃÂ
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Just to name a few off the top of my head -- Wilson 50, Bridgestone e5, e6 and TreoSoft (no longer made new but available "used and re-conditioned"), Precept Laddie, Top Flite Gamer V2, Callaway HX Bite.
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ I prefer the TreoSoft -- but the Wilson, Bridgestone and Precept all all very close to it in overall performance.
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ And best of all -- all of them are cheaper than the "Tour" Name balls!
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Keep hitting them STRAIGHT and LONG
ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Amos
Ron,Next week is the Swing
Ron,
Next week is the Swing Surge tourney at Old South. Three days of Instruction and two days of a golf tournament.
Then the next school at Old South is April 23-25 with Don Instructing.
If you want either one call Debbie at customer support above and sign up. It'sd well worth it.
Hal
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