In order to get most of the energy transferred from your club head to the ball, you don’t want any energy used up overly compressing a very soft low compression ball since more energy is used up when a club hits a very soft ball. This will be discussed later, when we discuss an average swing speed for hitting a high-compression ball. The ball will be compressed if you swing slowly. Women tend to have slower speeds so they use a soft compression golf ball. This ball will compress more easily and go further than high-compression balls which are harder to compress.
What is my speed?
If you aren’t sure, most proshops and golf retailers can measure your speed.
On the high end, here’s the average swing speed of the fastest club head speeds on the PGA Tour right now:
• Bubba Watson 124 mph
• Gary Woodland 123 mph
• Rory McIlroy 122 mph
The RE/Max World Long Driving Champs are up around 145+ mph. Connor Powers was the 2014 Champion at 152.8 mph.
Bubba uses Titleist, Gary uses Callaway and Rory uses Nike golf balls
Different golfers have different speeds generally related to your handicap.
Handicapping can impact the speed. A 18 handicapper’s speed average is around 90 mph. This results in an average driving distance approximately 230 miles. You can also increase your speed if the club is held looser and you are more relaxed. Distance is often affected by trying to swing harder.
You need to practice speed improvement and that’s something you can do at the driving range. Jack Nicklaus did not go to the range much unless it was to learn something. If you aren’t trying to improve on something, going to the range is tedious.
Golf Labs employed a robot that could travel at 90 mph with a loft of 13.75 degrees.
Here are the results:
• TaylorMade TP Black 259.1 yards
• TaylorMade Noodle+ 259 yards
• TaylorMade Red 258 yards
• Titleist NXT Extreme 257.5
• Bridgestone Precept Laddie 256 yards
• Nike PD Soft 255.9 yards
• Bridgestone Tour B330-S 255.2 yards
• Top Flite Freak 254.5 yards
• Wilson Luxe 254.2 yards
• Titleist NXT Tour 254.2 yards
The difference in robot driving distance at 90 mph for the above 10 balls is only 4.9 yards. You might consider choosing the ball that gives you the best feeling for your short game. Your scoring. You won’t see any pictures in scorecards. If you’re anything like me, the longest drive usually goes to someone else. It’s much better to have a lower score.
You big hitters should also remember that the robot’s speed was 90 MPH, and not Tiger Woods’ speed of 20 years ago, when he could swing at 130 MPH. Do you recall what I mentioned at the start about low compression balls and high speed? The robot tried Nike’s One Platinum, a high-speed compression ball made to transfer maximum energy from high (like Tiger Woods). However, when the ball was struck with a speed of only 90 mph, it traveled only 239.1 miles. Before you buy high-compression balls, find out your speed before purchasing them. To get maximum distance, it’s better to try one of these lower compression 10 balls for 90 mph swings.
Are you interested in measuring your own clubhead speed?
Use the Sports Swing Speed Radar to measure your own swing speed. It has a Doppler radar sensor which measures swing speed up to 200 MPH. It can be placed between 8-10 inches and suspended from a net or batting cage. This product meets the safety regulations of FCC and runs on 3 AA Batteries. Check out if you have enough children to compete with the old man. Family competitions are a lot more fun.