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Swing speed vs. carry distance


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Hi everyone,

I have a question that I would like to try and figure out. I have an average swing speed of 121mph but yet I am only recording about a 275 yard carry distance. When I look at charts, I should be carrying the ball 310 ideally. What would be causing me to not get my maximum distance? I have a Hzrdus smoke 6.5 70g low spin shaft with an epic flash head. I absolutely smashed a drive today and it went nowhere. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

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Oh man, this could be any of a number of things...

Just cause it says low spin, I'm not sure that means it will definitely be low spin for you and your swing/driver.  Could you be hitting with too much loft?  Could you be hitting it too far into the upswing?   I doubt it would be the ball, but I'm not an expert there either. 

I know this is a common answer but going to get fitted or at least get on the trackman would be super helpful for you.  It would isolate where the problem might lie.  

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As stated above,  it could be a lot of things.     Start with the simple things,  where do you hit the ball on the face, what are your spin numbers and AoA?

 

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Yeah. Impossible for us to give you any credible info without seeing LM numbers.  But at that speed you are definitley leaving yards on the tee box. But the reasons could vary greatly.  

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One other question...how do you know your swing speed?   I'm wondering if the 121 is accurate?  Not trying to say you're not swinging hard but this could be the simplest answer.

Driver: :callaway-small: Epic Flash Sub-Zero  Project X HZRDUS Smoke

3 Wood: image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg M6 UST Mamiya Proforce V2

3 Hybrid: image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg M6 UST Mamiya Proforce V2

4 Hybrid : image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg M4 Stock Stiff Shaft

Irons: image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg P790 (5I-AW) - 2 deg strong - Nippon Modus3 105 Gram/Stiff 

60 Degree Wedge: :titelist-small: Vokey SM7 - AMT Black/Stiff

54 Degree Wedge: :cleveland-small: RTX Zip Core

Putter: :ping-small:  Sigma G Tyne Putter

Ball: :titelist-small: ProV1x

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18 minutes ago, Tlyoung3 said:

Hi everyone,

I have a question that I would like to try and figure out. I have an average swing speed of 121mph but yet I am only recording about a 275 yard carry distance. When I look at charts, I should be carrying the ball 310 ideally. What would be causing me to not get my maximum distance? I have a Hzrdus smoke 6.5 70g low spin shaft with an epic flash head. I absolutely smashed a drive today and it went nowhere. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Like everyone said before could be anything. I am in your boat 115-120 SS typically and I’m around 260 average. Why? Negative attack angle. Definitly get some data from a launch monitor if possible should tell you your story

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Could be a wide range of factors. Take a look at this video from TXG. Could be angle of attack and strike location.
Was your swing speed measured by GCQuad or Trackman? What kinds of ball speed are you seeing? Typical flight?


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https://youtu.be/a9EkzYWgGkE

TXG just put this video out and it may answer some questions.  If I had to guess without any metric numbers or video of your swing in slow motion, it would not surprise me if you are releasing or flipping a little early which will lead to power loss.  Even if you have a low spin shaft, if you release early, you will get more spin on the ball.  It's probably the most common issue people have concerning delivery IMO.  Record your swing from the front and see what your hands/wrists are doing before impact.  

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Depending on the launch monitor you use, your swing speed might not correlate well to published charts. Fairly well understood that some monitors record highest speed with is the toe, while some like trackman have a proprietary algorithm that tracks the entire clubhead. 
 

What is your favorite iron, the one you always flush, and how far does it carry iron? What is your typical ball flight pattern? Those can give us some insights into how you are presenting the clubface to the ball. 
 

Everyone is on the nose in the thread, that distance is very dependent on strike parameters like launch, spin, efficiency, etc. I drive the ball 285 total when I get the face squared up, but with my typical miss of a low-face push fade the ball goes 235 total. 50 yard difference with little swing speed change. 

Stats: 5'4", Male, R-Handed, Moderate Tempo, Driver SS 115mph
 

Driver: Taylormade SiM Max 9*, TM Ventus Blue 6X
3w/5w: Callaway X-Hot, S-flex Fubuki shafts
3h: Tour Edge EXS Pro, Smoke Black 80g 6.0
4i-PW: Mizuno MP-4, DG S300
Wedges: Titleist SM7
56* Wedge: Callaway Jaws w/ 12* of bounce

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It's all about the ball speed really. Your PTR or 'smash factor' is basically the difference between your swing speed and ball speed and the relationship of how efficiently your hit the ball. The normal 'perfect' smash factor would be 1.50 for a driver - meaning if your swing speed was 100mph for example, then your ball speed would equate to 150mph. If, like many amateurs your smash factor was below 1.40, then you could potentially be losing 10-15mph in resultant ball speed for your strikes - even before you factor in other variables such as launch angle and spin.

Launch, spin and speed are all factors that affect distance, but of all the factors that really matter - speed is king. Without speed, you ain't got distance. 

A good way to see how much speed affects ball distance (as well as launch and spin) is to play with the flightscope trajectory optimizer:

https://flightscope.com/products/trajectory-optimizer/

 

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Awesome responses guys, thank you.  I’m using a 9 degree lofted head.  I’ve gotten my numbers from a GC2 and Mevo.  Here are some readings.
BC23C25D-1C8C-4CDB-9337-67FA9CEBDB2A.png.fb32bc3763a018916c5a276516cf1b25.png
CC0CC7D1-42AD-4FF1-A420-A7E746944450.png.bfe8f6656ea8dc98f1fba958ba7a94c7.png
6CC00934-0747-4461-AD95-C3077DA3FBCF.png.ac29e5961040ed220731bd7c87ca0ecc.png
66A71B7E-9E91-42D6-B79B-3094778ED09F.png.0690e16e65169b31ba312bfc87abcee1.png

I’m guessing you’re AoA is negative with those launch and spin numbers from a 9 degree head. Watch the TXG iron vs driver swing video they just put out.


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45 minutes ago, jaskanski said:

You smash is pretty low and costing you yards. A fitting session is designed to give you better contact giving you better smash giving you better distance!

doing the math on your smash and swing speed give you a ball speed of roughly 160mph...and looking at the trackman chart of average PGA players puts you below them in terms of ball speed (and thus carry).  And they also have less spin and I'm sure other better swing stats. The puzzle is coming together!   

Seems you could benefit from slowing your swing but making better contact (improving ball speed).  

Gotta love golf! 

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4 Hybrid : image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg M4 Stock Stiff Shaft

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Adding more here.  You are hittting the ball about 50 yards high to their 32 yards.  Launch angle of 10 vs. 15+. 

I know this might sound like I'm ripping your swing apart, and I apologize if it is coming off that way.  Just trying to use objective numbers to help figure this out for you.  Once you know where the "problem" is, you can start attacking it and correcting it.   Best of luck out there, I'd kill for that swing speed!

Driver: :callaway-small: Epic Flash Sub-Zero  Project X HZRDUS Smoke

3 Wood: image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg M6 UST Mamiya Proforce V2

3 Hybrid: image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg M6 UST Mamiya Proforce V2

4 Hybrid : image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg M4 Stock Stiff Shaft

Irons: image.jpeg.693c1038c87ba93f656427286d5ff6c6.jpeg P790 (5I-AW) - 2 deg strong - Nippon Modus3 105 Gram/Stiff 

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2 hours ago, Tlyoung3 said:

Awesome responses guys, thank you.  I’m using a 9 degree lofted head.  I’ve gotten my numbers from a GC2 and Mevo.  Here are some readings.

BC23C25D-1C8C-4CDB-9337-67FA9CEBDB2A.png

CC0CC7D1-42AD-4FF1-A420-A7E746944450.png

6CC00934-0747-4461-AD95-C3077DA3FBCF.png

66A71B7E-9E91-42D6-B79B-3094778ED09F.png

Good numbers! But you are definitely going to need to tweak them for more distance. The “optimum” drive numbers are somewhere in the range of 13 degrees launch with 2200 RPMs of spin, and a smash factor of 1.45. 
 

I’d recommend a lesson to improve you understand of how to deliver the club to the ball. There are two skills you can work on to improve the numbers by yourself though. One is center face contact. Take small swings and hit the ball on the toe, heel, and center on purpose for face awareness. More challenging would be to also change the height on the face too. Ideally once you gain some face awareness, you’ll want to strike the ball just above the exact center, and very slightly on the toe for most drivers.

Second you need to work on your face/path relationship into the ball. All clubs, but especially the driver need to come into the ball with a “flat” and slightly from the inside path. To get the feel I like to have people do Harvey Pennick’s famous drill of clipping a low tee out of the ground. Another good drill to get the feel is to feel the ball low and hit half shots trying to feel the club get low early in the downswing so the clubhead can brush the grass from your trail foot to your lead foot. Slowly work up to full swings keeping the “brush the grass” feeling and you will level out your strike in no time! Pay attention to ball curvature, even on half swings, ideally you hit push-draws to maximize smash. If your hitting cuts, you are coming from the outside. 

Stats: 5'4", Male, R-Handed, Moderate Tempo, Driver SS 115mph
 

Driver: Taylormade SiM Max 9*, TM Ventus Blue 6X
3w/5w: Callaway X-Hot, S-flex Fubuki shafts
3h: Tour Edge EXS Pro, Smoke Black 80g 6.0
4i-PW: Mizuno MP-4, DG S300
Wedges: Titleist SM7
56* Wedge: Callaway Jaws w/ 12* of bounce

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Den... no problem at all man, I don’t see it as you ripping my swing apart.  I appreciate everyone’s feedback.  I expected to hear some honest feedback so thanks again everyone for chiming in.  Looks like I need to continue to work on making better contact.  I did get fitted for this driver but it was early season so maybe a mid season fitting is better.  Looking to make a trip to club champion when things start to settle down and open back up!

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18 hours ago, Tlyoung3 said:

Awesome responses guys, thank you.  I’m using a 9 degree lofted head.  I’ve gotten my numbers from a GC2 and Mevo.  Here are some readings.

BC23C25D-1C8C-4CDB-9337-67FA9CEBDB2A.png

CC0CC7D1-42AD-4FF1-A420-A7E746944450.png

6CC00934-0747-4461-AD95-C3077DA3FBCF.png

66A71B7E-9E91-42D6-B79B-3094778ED09F.png

Based on those numbers your launch and spin are both too high. 

  • Turn the loft down on your driver. 
  • Hit the center of the face or 1/8" above. Not low, toe, or high. 
  • Use a Titleist AVX or Taylormade TP5x ball to lower spin
  • Try a lower spinning driver head: Callaway's Sub Zero, Ping LST, Taylormade M3/M5

I am having problems with too much backspin on my driver right now as well. The Titleist AVX is consistently lower spinning and gives me 20 more yards. Also, lowering my loft down to 8 deg has helped. I could probably use a 6 or 7 degree driver and still launch at over 12 degrees. 

I tested the Sub Zero models at the store today and it helped but, I don't think it will get me all the way there. I think the LST and M5 will do better but, haven't tried it. 

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22 minutes ago, TimoTe said:

Based on those numbers your launch and spin are both too high. 

  • Turn the loft down on your driver. 
  • Hit the center of the face or 1/8" above. Not low, toe, or high. 
  • Use a Titleist AVX or Taylormade TP5x ball to lower spin
  • Try a lower spinning driver head: Callaway's Sub Zero, Ping LST, Taylormade M3/M5

I am having problems with too much backspin on my driver right now as well. The Titleist AVX is consistently lower spinning and gives me 20 more yards. Also, lowering my loft down to 8 deg has helped. I could probably use a 6 or 7 degree driver and still launch at over 12 degrees. 

I tested the Sub Zero models at the store today and it helped but, I don't think it will get me all the way there. I think the LST and M5 will do better but, haven't tried it. 

Please - do not listen to armchair fitters who know absolutely nothing about LM dynamics This is absolute drivel. I will say no more.

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5 hours ago, jaskanski said:

Please - do not listen to armchair fitters who know absolutely nothing about LM dynamics This is absolute drivel. I will say no more.

I've read your post on this thread and some others. Your posts tend to be very negative. I wonder what has happened that causes your posts to be so jaded?

I hope you find peace.

I do know how to read launch data. My goal was to offer solutions rather than not. 

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On 6/18/2020 at 6:45 PM, Tlyoung3 said:

Hi everyone,

I have a question that I would like to try and figure out. I have an average swing speed of 121mph but yet I am only recording about a 275 yard carry distance. When I look at charts, I should be carrying the ball 310 ideally. What would be causing me to not get my maximum distance? I have a Hzrdus smoke 6.5 70g low spin shaft with an epic flash head. I absolutely smashed a drive today and it went nowhere. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Curious what shot shape you hit most? 

Draw, straight, fade, hook, slice?

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