As a Medicare Nation card member, swing speed is a touchy subject. In the old days of dates and balatas, I could bomb it. I couldn’t do much else but hit my old MacGregor tour a mile and a half. In every way, mind you, but it was definitely a mile and a half.
Father Time, however, is a thief.
And that mouse bastard has stolen my movement speed.
I haven’t seen 100 mph with my driver in over a decade. When I swing well, I’m about 94.5. When I’m not, it’s the 80s and my mind is clouded with thoughts of XXIO.
So when people in GolfForever asked me to take a swing speed challenge at the PGA Show Demo Day, I realized the only thing I would have to lose is my dignity.
Which, luckily, is a highly negotiable commodity.
With that as background, here’s the story of how a 10-minute, 49-second video told Father Time to kiss my ass.
GolfForever and the swing speed challenge
I have been a loyalist GolfForever user for two years now. It has been sporadic at times, but I have been very consistent over the past four months and I can tell you that I feel very happy for 65 years. It was a no-brainer to say “hell yes” when GolfForever asked me to participate in its swing speed challenge.
The idea was simple: after walking through Demo Day and taking a large number of swings in various booths, I would visit GolfForever, take five swings and get a swing speed baseline. Then I would go through a 10-minute guided warm-up routine on the GolfForever app and take five more swings.
The expectation was that my swing speed would increase.
I had already taken a good number of swings and felt pretty loose during my pre-warm-up swings. We used the new one Shot Scope LM1 launch monitor and the results were fairly predictable: a solid, consistent 94.5 mph average.
Then GolfForever VP of Brand and Communications Jon Levy released the video, hosted by golf fitness coach Scott Shepard, and away we went.
The value of a good warm-up
The complete warm-up routine is readily available at GolfForever app, but here’s a slightly shortened version from GolfForever’s YouTube channel:
As you can see, there is nothing here to destroy the earth or possess. You can use any club, although the GolfForever Weighted Swing Trainer is a powerfully useful tool. Anyway, this old man went through the motions. It’s definitely a more elaborate warm-up than my normal routine, which usually consists of some stretching and, by comparison, less comprehensive effort to create mobility.
For the viewers out there, here’s a snippet of what my GolfForever warm-up looked like:
Anyway, after going through the program, I took five more swings. The first couple were a little faster, but nothing really got me going beech. The last couple, however, got me going beech. Here’s a look at the before and after:
That’s a 4.1 mph increase in swing speed. In just 10 minutes and 49 seconds. Statistics say a big boost can add nine to 10 more yards of carry with the driver. Surprisingly, my numbers weren’t as dramatic: just three more carry yards and two more total yards.
However, you’ll notice that my shock factor was down by .05 shocks (or whatever that unit is called). Most of a break factor drop can actually be as much as 9 to 12 less yards. Therefore, the increased swing speed more than compensated for the less efficient stroke. Considering this all happened with an OPTM driver we borrowed from COBRA (couldn’t tell you the model or axle), I’ll take it.
Once I get all that newfound, powerful testosterone into my swing, I might really learn to like it. At my age, anything over 240 meters is cause for celebration.
250 and above gets a parade.
Final thoughts
Again, you don’t need to buy or subscribe GolfForever to use this warm-up or any warm-up routine, for that matter. The shortened version of the routine is available for free on YouTube.
We media types get complicated all the time, but GolfForever is one of those things that I have and will happily continue to pay for. It is much less expensive than our local YMCA and all the workouts are golf specific. They are very well conveyed and explained. As long as you have a place to anchor the resistance band, you can use it anywhere.
fundamental GolfForever swing trainer pack it costs $349.99 and, something I didn’t know when I bought it, it is HSA/FSA refundable. Annual subscription renewals run about $200. Again, you don’t need any of these to work and go through a proper warm-up. My problem is that I’m the type of guy who needs structure. Without it, I’d spend my evenings holding the couch and scarfing down bags of Doritos.
So in the end, I’m glad I learned firsthand what a proper warm-up can do. I don’t plan to go gently into that good night and I’m happy to have a laugh at my Father’s expense. I know that in the end, Father Time will have the last laugh on me.
So, in that spirit, here’s a message for that rat bastard…
Get up, buckaroo. Get ready to plant one in my bottom group of pages because this old man hit 98.6!
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