I have a normal speedish swing speed with my irons, but for some reason, I trouble swining my driver at the same speed. (Fairways not included) Therefore, I am losing distance

What can I do to try and speed up my driver swing speed, is it just strength, or should I wait and see if it comes in time.

1. Take a look at your driver set up? Swingweights, shaft weight, flex, length etc. Is there something you are missing that is causing the difference? If you are happy with your iron/fairway wood speed than I would start looking there.

2. Is it mental? Do you have confidence in your driver? Are you swinging it as freely or are you steering it leading to a tense tentative swing?

3. Training for increasing swing speed: Just normal strength work does not translate into faster swing speed. You must focussing on building speed strength (ie moderate weights moved faster rather than maximal weights pushed slowly). Get more flexible, elastic muscles fire quicker than tight restricted muscles. Think Martial artist rather than bodybuilder! What more you can do depends on how much speed you want to add and how serious you are about maxing out?

There are a number of other tricks to gaining speed but these are the major common ones that will work for someone looking for a 5-10 mph improvement at lower swing speeds (ie. less than 120mph)

Junior: the longer the club the faster the clubhead speed is IF you are using the same swing. What are you changing swing wise that would cause a breakdown of your iron swing?

Think Martial artist rather than bodybuilder!

I like this !

Think Martial artist rather than bodybuilder!

I like this !

If Tiger plays Lefty will he be that good ?
You sure Square is Good ? Don’t Think So !
Good Golf is Fun plus the Great Outdoors…
In the Bag: Clubs and Balls. My Handicap is Bad Golf.

Needs to be considered…

Extra mass is more weight to swing not necessarily more power. Bench Pressing 300 lbs is nice and looks good in the gym but will it make you swing faster? Maybe fractionally.

Have high flexibility and have the ability to contract and move weight quickly will prove more positive to swinging a club faster. Afterall it only weighs less than 500g (maybe relative swinging weight of maximum 16lbs)

High power to weight ratios are preferable for speed sports.

Other LDers and strength professionals may not agree often wanting to focuss on size and strength but IMHO it is an approach that can be hit and miss.

Sports science has moved more towards sport specific training for the event at hand. In my opinion for golf, sheer speed will beat sheer strength everytime!

Two models of this are Tiger Woods and Jamie Sadlowski. Not physically big, but good power to weight ratio, huge speed potentials and great flexibility leading to faster contractile rates!

Thanks for all the replys guys

I think a major factor probably would be confidence. For some reason, I always hit my fairways and irons straight/slight draw, and therefore have the confidence to swing harder and stroke the ball with greater clubhead speed. With the driver, it can sometimes be a bit inconsistant :(

golf guru- Im not really sure, its definently a different swing, something Id have to look at. Mentally, I think I am striking down on the ball with my irons, but with my driver sweeping it off the tee, instead of driving through it.

That is why you are having issues. You need not have the same down strike for all of the clubs. The reason people say you sweep a driver is that it is closer to the low point of the swing – but you are still hitting down plane on it.

Thanks for all the replys guys

I think a major factor probably would be confidence. For some reason, I always hit my fairways and irons straight/slight draw, and therefore have the confidence to swing harder and stroke the ball with greater clubhead speed. With the driver, it can sometimes be a bit inconsistant :(

golf guru- Im not really sure, its definently a different swing, something Id have to look at. Mentally, I think I am striking down on the ball with my irons, but with my driver sweeping it off the tee, instead of driving through it.

Be confident. I sense from your posts that you are steering, trying not to lose control.. Free wheel with it.

A great man once said: the ball is incidental, swing through impact!

As guru said, the swing is the same down out and through.

Let go for awhile and just let it flow!

Aussie_Bomber,

Have you ever used a Speed Chain or a Swing Fan?

I have a Swing Fan but it is hard to quantify it’s benefit.

What is your maximum swing speed?

Mine is 120 mph (swinging out of my boots).

What do you use to measure your swing speed?

I have a Swing Speed Radar but I don’t know how accurate it is.

What is the easiest way to gain 10 mph.

Hey Royshh…

No to the chain but yes to the fan… I have thought about the chain because I used to use chains in powerlifting but it is more suited to vertical type training where load increases as the bar rises. Swing fan is good if used correctly, can teach you the optimal power sequence. I kind of outgrew mine a little though, don’t find the resistance I used to.

I will leave exact number out of posts as I dont want to give away all before season but I have put 30mph on it in 5 months. Have broken 140’s and am getting faster. However I place no limit on how fast I can get, I just train hard and desire to add more and more speed.

I use a doppler radar in training and launch monitors – to get ball speed also. At the end of the day ball speed is the telling factor. You can swing fast and have bad contact and ruin ball speed. Similarly you can have slower speed with a better “smash” factor that produces better ball speeds. The faster the ball travels the further it goes.

I use my radar as a guide only for training. As I carry the rear fence of the driving range I need something that indicates progress, that allows me to quantify my training and equipment. If you are using the same unit it will give you an indication of improvement and thats the reason I use it. If something is not working I can tell pretty quickly and don’t waste time on something that is not producing results.

I can’t believe that you added 30 mph in 5 months. That’s crazy.
Did you really have a swing speed of about 110 mph when you started training?

Maybe you should go in to the business of adding yards to people’s drives. That’s all most people care about anyway, bashing it further. The promise of extra distance is so alluring.

I know that the guys on the PGA Tour would kill to gain an extra 15 yards.

Brad Faxon is the poster child for the Titleist Performance Institute yet his driving distance borders on embarrassing. All those long hours in the gym under the watchful eye of these self proclaimed experts.

IT’S PATHETIC.

Greg Rose and Dave Phillips are nothing more than a couple of charlatans.