By Paul Myers

There are a few numbers in golf that it seems everyone wants to know. Of course, your handicap and your average score would likely be near the top of that list. Shortly after those, however, you might find people asking about your swing speed with the driver. Swing speed is a great indicator of total driving distance, so it only stands to reason that people would be curious how fast you are able to swing your driver. Golf is also a game that is a constant competition between friends and opponents alike, so it’s not surprising to find a group of golfers debating who can actually post the highest speeds during their swing.

Of course, it will take a little bit of technology in order to measure club head speed accurately and settle the debate once and for all. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways in which you can measure your swing speed and see how you stack up to the professionals, long drivers, and the other players in your group.

Going for a Club Fitting

One of the easiest and quickest ways to measure club head speed is to go in for a club fitting at your local golf shop. Most golf stores today have club fittings available, as they are a good tool for getting customers to actually buy new clubs. When you go for a fitting, they will generally have you hit a number of shots with your current clubs to take some measurements  using launch monitors like Trackman or Flightscope to find out how your set of clubs can be improved.

Among the many numbers that their measurements will reveal should be your club head speed. You can even tell the fitter that you are specifically interested in your club head speed and they may have you hit a few extra drivers so you can get an accurate average of how hard you are swinging. In addition to learning your swing speed, it is a good idea to have a club fitting completed anyway so you can make sure your set is matched properly to your swing. If not, you might be able to have subtle adjustments made to the clubs you are using in order to make them more effective.

How To Measure Club Head Speed On Your Own?

Not interested in a club fitting? There are a number of at-home products that can be purchased with the intent of measuring club head speed. Our favorite at-home swing speed radar is the Sports Sensors Swing Speed Radar. You can measure your speed whenever you want, it’s great for swing speed training, it’s light weight, it travels well, it’s super affordable (as opposed to $20,000 for a Trackman launch monitor), and it’s as accurate as any at-home radar we’ve ever come across.

A Word of Warning

While it can be fun and exciting to swing at some drives at 100% to see what numbers you can achieve (and certainly that is an important aspect of swing speed training), it’s important to remember to take only what you can control out on the course.

There’s usually a tipping point where you cross the threshold of what you can hit straight. You can actually use your radar to check this if you want. Swing Man Golf’s Jaacob Bowden’s threshold is about 92% of his max speed. When he was working with David Gossett, David was also roughly 92%. Senior Tour player Andre Bossert can actually go upwards of 97%. Your personal number may be more or less, but the point is to train yourself to never swing above that threshold if your interest is in shooting the best possible scores.

If you liked the article about how to measure club head speed in order to find out your swing speed and you think it would help another golfer, please

 

To learn more about Swing Man Golf products, to get your own radar, and to learn how you can increase your swing speed, click here.

 

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