Jaacob Bowden's Swing Man Golf Blog

What loft do I need on my driver?

Question:

How do I find out what degree I need on a driver ( I hit the ball high)?

Jaacob's Answer:

I would recommend visiting a club fitter that is PCS (Professional Clubmakers Society) certified.  They're fitting skills are proven and tested.  They will likely have you swing your driver on a launch monitor and help you select a driver loft that will help you maximize your distance based on things like your spin rate, swing speed, launch angle, etc.

Recommendations for a swing speed radar?

Question:

What do you recommend for a swing speed radar?

Jaacob's Answer:

The one that I'm currently using is Sports Sensors Swing Speed Radar.  They make a blue one that only measures swing speed (baseball and golf) and they also make a red one that measures tempo and swing speed.  Last I remember the blue one costs about 100 USD and the red one is about 150 USD.  They are both easy to use (only one button), measure in mph or kmph, and are pretty reliable.  There is an occasional funny reading, but it doesn't happen to often and I guess it's to be expected with any device.

When you start training to increase your swing speed...

by Jaacob Bowden

Today I started up my swing speed training for the 2008 long drive season. 

Even though I haven't trained since the season ended last October and I also lost about 10 lbs from being sick in March, my speeds are actually pretty similar to the starting point from last season.  Here's a few numbers:

    2006 Starting Point - 118 mph (48" driver)
    2006 Peak Speed after Training - 144 mph (48" driver)

    2007 Starting Point - low 130's (48" driver)
    2007 Peak Speed after Training - 155 mph (48" driver)

    2008 Starting Point - 127 mph (44" driver)

Since my body isn't used to the training, I'm actually starting out with something really similar to the Basic Program.  After a couple weeks of this I will add some of the additional things in from my previous 2006 and 2007 advanced training programs.

Starting up my training again has reminded me of a couple things that I want to pass on to you.  While pushing my speed in this first day today, my shots were a bit errant and I was borderline out of balance while swinging.  When you are doing your training, really focus on staying in balance and keeping your good swing fundamentals (you don't want to build unusable speed).  Also, expect that during the first bit of training you may not hit quite as well as normal.  But trust me, based on my previous training experience, as you continue your training your muscular system, neuromuscular system, etc will all adjust to the new speeds.  Your body will learn the balance and coordination necessary for swinging at faster speeds...and in fact, after a few weeks you will likely be swinging better than before you started because of the attention and focus you have put on to ramping up your swing.

So be patient, hang in there, and remember to focus on making good tension-free training swings!

I am, of course, tracking my training again this year.  As the season progresses, I will post a new summary section on the inside of the website to detail and summarize everything  This will be a good complement to the sections about the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Swing speed training work with Natural Golf?

Question:

Does your swing speed training program work with the Natural Golf Swing?

Jaacob's Answer:

Yes, it does.  When I put together the swing speed training programs, one of my goals was to put everything together such that it would be applicable towards whatever swing method you use, whether that is Natural Golf Swing, the Mike Austin method, 21st Century Golf Swing, the conventionally taught PGA swing, or whatever other method you use for your full swing.

Rifle project x shafts for my irons?

Question:

I was looking to reshaft my irons with rifle project x shafts but i don't know what i should go with. 6,6.5,7?? My swing speed is about 110-115.

Jaacob's Answer:

I would recommend consulting with a PCS (Professional Clubmakers Society) certified clubmaker/clubfitter, or someone with an equivalent level of knowledge.  Their skills have been tested and they would be able to help you in deciding more specifically what shaft would be a good fit for you.

I'd also recommend reading Tom Wishon's book "The Search for the Perfect Golf Club".  It won't help you with deciding on a specific brand of shaft, but it is an excellent book written in layman's terms for golfers of all skill levels.  It is designed to give you a better understanding of club fitting and club making in general and how to make it work better for you.

No weight shift to the right in the back swing

Comment:

I feel I play best golf when as little weight as possible moves to the right in the back swing.

Jaacob's Comment:

If you play better golf without shifting much weight to your right side, than I would recommend that you continue to do it that way.  Powerful shots and consistent golf can still be found without a weight shift.  Sometimes when it is really windy, I'll deloft the club a little bit and swing with all my weight only on my left side.  The shots come out a little bit lower, fly more under the wind, and end up going about the same distance.  I've even thought about playing my 7-LW this way even without the wind...but as of yet, I'm not doing so.

Thinking Your Way to Faster Swing Speeds

by Jaacob Bowden

In regards to yesterday's post, you might also find it interesting to know that different swing thoughts produced different swing speeds.

For example, focusing on my left hand was much slower than focusing on my right hand, thinking of turning my back to the target and then facing the target was more powerful and accurate than thinking of either hand position, putting emphasis on my right shoulder back behind me rather than left shoulder under the chin on the back swing produced more powerful shots, etc.

Once I went through all the variations that came to mind, I not only worked on speeding up my weak points, but I also focused on my awareness and speed of all thoughts related to back swing and through swing body positions. 

Afterwards, although it was a little complicated, when I put it everything together I was suddenly swinging 8-10 mph faster and with less effort.  In that way, in just one practice session, I literally "thought" my way to a faster swing.