LETTER FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
SHARPENING UP ON PLAYING IN WET CONDITIONS
Greetings and Salutations Eaglebrooke ! I hope everyone had a great July on and off the course . This month we ’ re going to take a dive into speed and power in the golf swing . There is nothing like the feeling of absolutely smashing a driver down the fairway and having it end up 20 yards ahead of your playing partner ’ s drives . But where does this power and speed come from ? Well , I ’ m glad you asked , so let ’ s dive in !
First , we need to understand the moving pieces that produce the speed and power . Usually , the measurement of speed is how fast the clubhead is moving as it impacts the ball . We have come to know this as clubhead speed and even the most basic launch monitor will note this . So , the speed of the clubhead as it hits the ball is indicative of how far the ball will travel . There is also a measurement of the ball speed as it leaves the clubface , the transfer of energy into the ball is measured by the ball speed . The ball speed depends on a few factors , the clubhead speed and how centered on the club face the ball was struck . Once the club head speed is measured and the ball speed is measured , then we take ball speed and divide it by the club head speed , and it gives us another measurement known as Smash Factor . So , for example clubhead speed of 100 mph and a ball speed of 150 mph will have a smash factor of 1.5 . So now that we know how speed is measured , let ’ s look at the pieces of the body that produce speed .
The first piece we will look at is the arms . The arms produce speed in the swing . Speed is the rate at which someone or something is able to move or operate . The arms create the speed at which the clubhead will be swinging . The arms swing the club on an arc , and the longer the arc , the more potential for speed . A player with longer arms has an advantage in producing more speed , versus a player with shorter arms . Research says that after our body is done growing , our arms will only be able to swing the club at certain maximum speed , so where does this extra power come from that can increase our clubhead speed ?
The lower body is what is used to create power . There are 3 ways in which our lower body uses forces and the ground to create it . There is vertical force ( like jumping ) Rotational force ( like or turning and twisting ) and lateral force ( like swaying ). In recent years us as golf coaches have used what are called force plates to measure these forces in the golf swing . Force plates are typically under a player ’ s feet while they hit the golf shot and the amount of force is recorded on a graph . These measurements are called Ground Reaction Forces . When we have the right amount of forces based on our own personal biomechanics we start to add power into the golf shots that will equate to more speed through the club .
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