Have you ever watched someone swing a golf club such as Ernie Els, Fred Couples or Jake Knapp and wonder how they are able to hit it so far, yet make it look so smooth and effortless? These types of swings and tempos are the envy of most golfers and something most of us can only dream about. Today I want to cover how they achieve this and also dispel a couple of common misconceptions related to this topic.
*Also if you are interested in this topic I am hosting "Fast" Eddie Fernandes and Dr. Joe LaCaze for an upcoming speed and longevity workshop on September 28th and 29th where they will be covering this topic among several other things.
The importance of swing sequencing and efficiency:
The reality is that while these swings may look effortless, these golfers are still applying significant effort in the swing. Their swings however are very efficient with no wasted energy. What is meant by swing efficiency? The best definition I heard of swing efficiency was from Dr. Greg Rose, co founder of the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI). He described swing efficiency as as swing that is repeatable, accurate and produces maximum power with the least amount effort. The ability to maximize power with the least amount of effort is a perfect description of the swings mentioned above. How can swing efficiency be achieved? The sequencing of your body in the swing plays a big part in this. Swing sequencing refers to how your body is able to transfer speed and energy throughout the swing. An efficient transfer of speed and energy would start from the ground, go through the legs, then to the core, through the arms, out to the club head and ultimately out to the ball. The speed and energy should build up as it travels through each segment of the chain until it eventually reaches the ball, similar to cracking a whip. The golfers mentioned all are able to do this flawlessly and is a big part of the reason in why they are able to swing very fast, yet make it look easy. There is no wasted motion and the speed is all being delivered to the ball. Advancements in technology with 3D motion capture and force plates have helped make it possible to assess this in golfers, since video alone cannot sufficiently measure this. Many amateur golfers are not able to swing with this same sequencing and efficiency and often times have energy and speed leaks in their swing.
Don't underestimate the importance of the physical capabilities needed to perform these swings.
As mentioned above many amateur golfers struggle to create the same swing efficiency and sequencing that the pros are able to produce. While this is a somewhat obvious statement, this doesn't mean it isn't possible for amateurs to improve this in their swings. So what causes a swing to get out of sequence or inefficient? Swing mechanics can obviously play a role in this and what most golfers would look to. However, the body and your physical capabilities play an equally important role in determining how you swing the golf club. Golfers such as Ernie Els possess levels of mobility, stability, strength and power and coordination that allow them to perform these swings and efficiently sequence and transfer this energy. Not taking this into consideration before trying to copy the moves of these professionals will likely just lead to frustration. While the individual muscles and joints need to function properly they also need to be able to work and fire together in athletic motions such as the golf swing. Dr. Joe LaCaze of Rotex Motion demonstrates this concept in the video above. In the video below "Fast" Eddie also explains this concept where he describes how proper loading of the right foot can create a chain reaction in helping create proper loading of the right hip and spine. Improving how your body moves and functions in the swing can result in speed gains without feeling like you are swinging any harder.
Tempo: What is good tempo and is smooth and slow reflective of what these golfers are actually doing?
The golfers mentioned above are among
the most common examples of good tempo as they are so smooth. These swings are mesmerizing and look like they are hardly trying. It can be easy to assume that this smooth tempo means that they are moving slowly. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. In actuality these golfers mentioned above are actually moving much faster than you think. John Novosel of Tour Tempo has analyzed thousands of PGA Tour swings and one of the common denominators among all the swings was the ratio of the time between the downswing and backswing. They found that on average the backswing was three times as long as the downswing or a 3:1 ratio. For example many golfers on the PGA tour will be 24 frames/second on the backswing and 8 frames per second on the downswing. 21:7 and 18:6 would be faster swings and 27:9 and 30:10 would be slower swings, but all would be in the 3:1 ratio. I sent my swing to John to be analyzed and was shocked at how fast some of the swings on the PGA tour are. For example, in a side by side with Rory with the same frames per second he was a impact as I was just beginning by downswing. Compared to Ernie Els I was only slightly better and was at shaft vertical by the time he was at impact. If you are trying to copy swings such as these, just beware that slow doesn't necessarily mean smooth and vice versa.
The importance of having speed in reserve: I will use Jake Knapp as a good example of this concept. Jake's average club head speed is 123 mph and his average ball speed is 183 mph. While these are very impressive, he is actually capable of a maximum ball speed of 200 mph ball speed (nearly 20 mph faster). This means Jake can swing at 90% effort and still achieve 180 mph ball speed and part of the reason that he can make these swings look relatively easy, because he isn't swinging at maximum effort. Many amateur golfers do not have the luxury of this speed reserve built up and have to swing closer to their maximum effort to try to maximize their distance. This is just one example, however the vast majority of professional golfers have speed in reserve compared to their "cruising speed" on the course. If you would like to cruise at a certain speed on the course, you need to build your maximum speed up to allow this.
Want to learn more about this concept and how you can achieve it? Come attend our upcoming workshop with "Fast" Eddie Fernandes and Dr. Joe LaCaze of Rotex Motion. While Ernie Els and Jake Knapp are amazing to watch, imagine someone with similar tempo, yet swings over 150 mph club head speed and 220 mph ball speed! Eddie is that golfer and it is amazing to watch. Eddie not only can do it, he is also a skilled teacher in helping others to become more efficient and powerful as well.
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