Leek

I wanted to get my clubhead speed up, so I also researched this. I found some posts on another site where people were claiming some pretty incredible clubhead speed increases with some heavy devices. One guy claimed he gained something like 30 mph (which I honestly doubt). I found a guy who is a long drive competitior who was working on a number of swing fixes and speed increases. He actually did increase from about 125 mph to I think the 140 mph range. I could actually see proof in his results. I asked him a number of questions, and he recommended a program using a device called Swingspeed. I asked him and the manufacturer a lot of questions over a couple of months then in January I bought their LD model. It's a sort of a shortish club like device with removable weights that allow you to put anywhere from 2 to 6 lbs on it. Anyway, it came with a DVD that had a number of drills on it to increase flexibility, strength and fast twitch muscles. When I first got it, I noticed a couple things: 1. The left arm only swings are better ingraining the feel of the left arm pinned to the chest until release. This is a major power accumulator. 2. My hips twist (always have pretty much), not slide. What I first was just a sort of explosion. It sequences like this, slightly before reaching the top, weight shifts left, axis tilt increases, wrist angles (and lag increases), then the hips fire- must faster (it feels like explode) left. I also practice several sets with a gripped 57 gram shaft only, then several sets with a real driver. The woosh sound is much later and much much louder. Then I bought a Swing Speed Radar + Tempo Timer on the advice of a reknowned clubfitter named Frank Viola to measure my progress. Frank told me the SSR is very accurate. What's the point of all the effort if I couldn't monitor any progress? After 3 weeks of doing the drills on the DVD that came with the SwingSpeed, I went to the range to monitor my results. I knew something was up when I was seeing mid-90s with my 6 iron during warmup. I don't what my 6 iron speed was before, but my driver was mid-90s (sometimes low 90s) three weeks earlier. Then the driver- first swing- good contact 104! I then made a few swings that were NOT pretty- 98 and 100. Now, I'm pretty enthused- what happens if I swing OUT OF MY SHOES??? Take a couple big cuts- 104-107, but bad contact. Excitement is over, just normal swings. They stay from 101-105. Average was about 103 over 25-30 swings. That was about 8-9 mph in 3 weeks. Two more weeks later, I went to the range with my Swing Speed Radar + Tempo Timer. First driver swing, pretty smooth 106! I hit about 10 balls trying to take it pretty easy, all were between 104-107! I tried some harder swings, then full out. I could get to 112 for a few swings, but had no control over the ball. Hit the rest at a comfortable 80%ish power level, very straight and consistently 105-107 swing after swing. Interestingly, I also checked tempo, and my typical tempo before starting this regimen was 1.01 seconds from takeaway to impact. Today it was .87-.92. I did not feel quick, in fact rather lazy. This tempo does seem too fast though, based on what I've read. I was really jazzed about this. Increasing from low to mid 90s, to a comfortable 106-107 is about a 20-30 yard increase! I've continued to work with this device and added some additional things for speed work, something called an overspeed device- essentially a graphite drive shaft with surgical tubing on the end. I haven't continued to increase my speed as quickly, I'm now averaging 107-109 on comfortable (about 80-85%) swings and can reach over 115-118 if I swing all out. The best thing about this is Mike, the LDA competitor got me a big discount on the device (the manufacturer is a buddy of his I think) and told me if I know anyone who wants one, he thinks he can get them the same deal. Then on the Swing Speed Radar + Tempo Timer, Frank directed me to a guy who got me a good deal on that too! These boards can be a great place to get really good deals, and trade information with people Mike. If you want information on the drills I'm doing, my workouts or anything like that, just ask. I'll be happy to share. My handicap index ranged from 4-6 last year with my lowish driver club head speed. If I can keep my short fame up, and maybe chop off about 1 putt per round, I'm thinking I can get to scratch or better. I'm really excited!

Those are some great posts. Here's my favorite. It's a concise description of a perfect pivot and swing: At address, bend over from the hips enough so you can reach the ball with little or no knee bend, and still can reach past your shirt seam with your left hand (not with a club). With the butt of the club pointing as near to your belt buckle as you can, use your stomach muscles to move the grip end of the club in the takeaway, as if the head and was stuck in the ground. Use your hands to reach for the spot you want to hit at the the top, pulling all the slack out of your body, all the way down to your left foot. From the top, start down by using the ground to stretch all the pinch-able fat and skin from the left side of your torso. Make a motion that would throw your arms right off off your body if you had detachable arms like a Mannequin. These arms should hit the ground near the target line just ahead of the ball. RESIST moving the "bowtie" area forward. Stay as bent over as you can and finish with your hands as far from your left ear as you can.

My driver is very inconsistent. I'd guess it's not properly fit. I play to between a 6 and 9 hdcp (higher earlier in the season), but my game is really dependent on my driver. If I'm hitting fairways, I can score pretty well (low to mid 70s) and sometimes even flirt with the high 60s. When it's bad, it's very bad and my scores balloon. I was fit for my current driver (Cleveland Launcher Comp NVS 65 S) on a monitor at a demo day. I would like to purchase a premium driver, and get a shaft that maximizes what I have. If I go to a Launch monitor and put my specs on one of the shaft threads, would the results help me find a driver that works for me? I am pretty interested in a TourStage X Drive, I think.

How would you compare the playing characteristics of the Matrix Ozik Xcon shafts to the comparable weight Rombax x07 shafts? Launch/Ball Speed/Spin/Dispersion I am considering an Xcon 6 and a Rombax 6X07 in my driver.

I need to buy a replacement Pitching Wedge. I lost my TourStage Z101 PW. It had a Nippon NS Pro 950 GH Stiff. I would like to buy any Z101 PW. If I can't find one I would also buy an X Blade CB PW. Thanks for your help. Lee

Are the TS-202s sold?