Does Club Head Speed Come From Shoulder Turn?

It's been awhile since I have commented although I still follow all the messages. I just remembered a training thought I was given that seemed to help my swing speed and produced more powerful drives. One of my first lessons I was told to take the driver and swing it like a baseball bat. I found that taking a few swings like that gave me the feel of swinging faster and looser. I then set up to the golf ball and found that my swing produced a longer, more powerful drive. This follows the "Feel the Swing, Swing the Feel". Hope this might help some of you that have a bit slower swing speed get a bit more explosive off the tee. I found that the practice swing did not mess up my other mechanics, just enabled me to get through the ball quicker and certainly got me to the front foot easily.
Kevin Mc.

Kevin,The last couple of lines in your letter after reading the whole thing, resonated with me. It was only today on our first day on the hallowed turf of our course that I was able to try it out. In the habit of rushing to the course early morning with little warm up. Well today took 3 or 4 'baseball' like swings on the first tee and then took my usual set up routine. From the first ball it surprised me. After the first few holes noted my normal fade had stopped and the balls were going straight to where they had been aimed! It only got better, approach shots were on target almost for every shot. With the lush dew early morning, a challenge at the best of times from 150yds in my wife and I left the course both smiling happily. The weight transfer happened almost without thinking. The next round will be [weather permitting] Friday and am patiently, impatiently waiting to go again : - )
A long time since you commented and like you we keep an eye on the messages too. Thanks again and gave my South Island golf mate a heads up, but he has already had 3 outings doing almost the same thing as you suggested. Keep on swinging DH and DL in NZ

Until recently my forward upswing has been more left side dominant and probably involved too much lower body action. After figuring out a way to time the forward upswing that involved a deliberate pause/wait, I was surprised to see that both shoulders started to feel like they were more involved and equally contributing to the swing. The overall result was more swing speed and distance with a very consistent draw with every club.

I know that having both arms/shoulders equally involved has always been a part of Surges' mantra of swinging the arms faster while supported by a stable lower body. Adding a pause/wait may not be something that is Surge approved but it has been great for my consistency. The funny thing is that now that I know what to look for, as far as the shoulder turn goes, I can see that the tempo of the pros on TV regardless of swing speed also has a discernible pause, before the transition. Observe that towards the end of the backswing, the inside front of the left shoulder points towards the inside of the right knee when making a 3/4 or longer backswing.

I've only been able to get to the range a couple times this year before the winter snap back the last couple weeks, but I was working on that slight pause at the top with beneficial results. I think it keeps you from doing Furyk like loops that get you out of your desired swing plane, and gets your downswing started correctly. I took it to the putting green and immediately noticed I started to hit the putter more centered and solid square. I'm anxious for this crap weather to improve so I can get back out (N.C. Ohio).

Once again, I am recovering from shoulder surgery and hoping to get back into "the swing" of things. After last year's surgery, I couldn't get to trusting my shoulder to handle swinging fast. Of course I tried to get back into it too quickly and never fully recovered. This time, I am studiously adhering to what the doctor and physical therapist tell me to do and not to do. I had surgery at the end of January and, 2 months later, am starting to chip and putt without any problems. It is really difficult not to try full swings. My therapist did not believe I could swing a club at this point. Her husband is a rotational swinger who complains about his occasional pains. I plan to play my first round at the end of May and expect to be better than I was before my first shoulder injury 2 years ago.

I used to hit my driver 210+yards and now only 170 yards. I have arthritis in my left foot and right knee. I use the ppg set up (Bowed legs) to help getting any discomfort in knees but can't get to all of left foot at finish. I would like to at least get 190 yards+ on drives. Irons are 1 cub more now. Any suggestions. I have a lot of your DVD's but can't find anything that helps. I shoot from the senior tees and score between 77 to 87.