You want distance?

[mr3856a]

Ok, so, I personally own the Speed Stik, the Momentus Power Hitter Driver, Momentus Strength Trainer, and the Momentus Swing Trainer, all designed for adding distance. So, what's the next logical step? Buy another strength trainer.

My teacher in South Carolina swears by this thing, says it is the best training aid in golf - the Power Swing Fan:



Laugh all you want, until you swing this thing 10 times and then switch to swinging your driver, that is. Make sure you tie your shoes tight before you do!

It's like swinging underwater, and when you go back to your club it's like swinging a toothpick. I've been using the thing maybe 2-3 times a week for the past month, with a week off or so, and I've picked up 4 mph in driver clubhead speed. Might not sound like much, but 4 mph is what, 10 yards? I'm going to start using this sucker every day like I'm supposed to and see what comes of it.

[TTUfirebird2008]

Originally Posted by mr3856a

Ok, so, I personally own the Speed Stik, the Momentus Power Hitter Driver, Momentus Strength Trainer, and the Momentus Swing Trainer, all designed for adding distance. So, what's the next logical step? Buy another strength trainer.

My teacher in South Carolina swears by this thing, says it is the best training aid in golf - the Power Swing Fan:



Laugh all you want, until you swing this thing 10 times and then switch to swinging your driver, that is. Make sure you tie your shoes tight before you do!

It's like swinging underwater, and when you go back to your club it's like swinging a toothpick. I've been using the thing maybe 2-3 times a week for the past month, with a week off or so, and I've picked up 4 mph in driver clubhead speed. Might not sound like much, but 4 mph is what, 10 yards? I'm going to start using this sucker every day like I'm supposed to and see what comes of it.

How much is it?

[Leaguegolf]

Originally Posted by mr3856a

My teacher in South Carolina swears by this thing, says it is the best training aid in golf - the Power Swing Fan:



Laugh all you want........

Ok I will and I suggest you buy it. That way you'd have at least one fan.

[Bigvivec]

The instructors at my range use this with their students, mainly for warm up...I tried it...provided alot more resistance than I thought it would...just would be afraid that it would be a prescription for overswinging as you can't really "swing" that thing, and to move it through the air you have to use muscles that wouldn't be called upon to a similar degree with a regular or weighted club...personally I think that a heavy club is the best as you maintain a sembalance of a golf swing, and tempo/transition timing is just as if not more important that sheer swing strength and speed...it is good to be strong and fast, but without the proper sequencing, balance and timing it is all for naught...

[GolfSavage]

A recent program on Versus had them checking the effect of swinging a weighted club prior to hitting, similar to how a baseball hitter swings a bat with a weight when he's on deck.

They had a PGA pro warm up using the weight, then hit several drives. After a cool-down, they had him warm up swinging his regular, unweighted club and hit again. His second set of drives averaged several (I think 8-10) yards longer than when he used the wieghted club to warm up.

The theory was the weights tended to make you use more of the the stronger, slow-twitch muscle fibers, actually slowing down overall swing speed. The feeling of increased speed after using the weight is just your mind comparing the speed of the weighted versus the unweighted, not the speeds you swing the unweighted club before and after using the weights. It was funny, because the pro thought he was really killing the ball, crushing it down the fairway after using the weighted club, but he was actually losing distance.

[JungleJ]

I think the theory of the weighted swing trainer is probably sound - the idea is to use them away from the course. The Momentus is supposed to help you with rhythm and hand speed. They're not "warm up" aids though.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by TTUfirebird2008

How much is it?

I found it on one website for $50.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

...it is good to be strong and fast, but without the proper sequencing, balance and timing it is all for naught...

Well it's interesting, because you have to work to cast this thing/come over the top, I mean really work. That's kind of the neat part, is that you can feel where you're releasing the club.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by mr3856a

Well it's interesting, because you have to work to cast this thing/come over the top, I mean really work. That's kind of the neat part, is that you can feel where you're releasing the club.

To me it doesn't have the feel of a golf club...and that is the key...swinging a big fan like a golf club would seem to be a risky thing as you would be exposing your tempo, timing and leverage on an object which doesn't swing per se, rather it is forced through the air...for muscle training I would much rather toss a medicine ball which works golf specific muscles without interfering in my fragile experiment called a swing...

[OnePutt]

4 MPH of swing speed should get you 6 MPH of ball speed, and that would mean more like 15 more yards, not 10.
What do you think would happen if you tried a small parachute near the end of the driver shaft? Would give you more air resistance just like the big fans, and you could still carry the club in your bag as usual. Should do the same thing I'd think. Just a lot cheaper and more convenent to carry out to the range.

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by OnePutt

What do you think would happen if you tried a small parachute near the end of the driver shaft?

I for one would probably strangle myself if I did that...

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by OnePutt

4 MPH of swing speed should get you 6 MPH of ball speed, and that would mean more like 15 more yards, not 10.
What do you think would happen if you tried a small parachute near the end of the driver shaft? Would give you more air resistance just like the big fans, and you could still carry the club in your bag as usual. Should do the same thing I'd think. Just a lot cheaper and more convenent to carry out to the range.

Ya know what? People have made a million dollars off worse ideas!!!

[larryrsf]

Originally Posted by Bigvivec

To me it doesn't have the feel of a golf club...and that is the key...swinging a big fan like a golf club would seem to be a risky thing as you would be exposing your tempo, timing and leverage on an object which doesn't swing per se, rather it is forced through the air...for muscle training I would much rather toss a medicine ball which works golf specific muscles without interfering in my fragile experiment called a swing...

Just watch any really good player hit drives. When he wants to hit it farther, he simply "fires" his hips and that does it! His hips lead his shoulders, stretching his back muscles which then fling his shoulders and arms around, "popping the whip" and flinging the clubhead through the ball. Distance has NOTHING to do with using arms or hands consciously--in fact that actually slows the clubhead.

Watch these long drivers hit it 300+ with a Whippy driver --the shaft as flexible as a flyrod. Watch their hips!!!

http://www.tempomaster.com/videos/commercialrender.wmv

Larry

[petermo]

Originally Posted by GolfSavage

A recent program on Versus had them checking the effect of swinging a weighted club prior to hitting, similar to how a baseball hitter swings a bat with a weight when he's on deck.

They had a PGA pro warm up using the weight, then hit several drives. After a cool-down, they had him warm up swinging his regular, unweighted club and hit again. His second set of drives averaged several (I think 8-10) yards longer than when he used the wieghted club to warm up.

The theory was the weights tended to make you use more of the the stronger, slow-twitch muscle fibers, actually slowing down overall swing speed. The feeling of increased speed after using the weight is just your mind comparing the speed of the weighted versus the unweighted, not the speeds you swing the unweighted club before and after using the weights. It was funny, because the pro thought he was really killing the ball, crushing it down the fairway after using the weighted club, but he was actually losing distance.

I read this elsewhere and the theory is apparently correct. It was explained that distance, especially by little skinny guys, is generated by the "fast, twitch" muscles and that the benefit from using any weighted club comes from swinging it very slowly to stretch the bigger muscles.

Quite a lot can be achieved by swinging a length of garden hose cut to about 43 inches. The objective is to get it to really "swish" - and it's cheap, but unfortuantely, not patentable.

[fireman07]

I would rather use a house broom. That way wheI get sick of swinging it my wife can put it to good use...lol

[alangbaker]

Originally Posted by larryrsf

Just watch any really good player hit drives. When he wants to hit it farther, he simply "fires" his hips and that does it! His hips lead his shoulders, stretching his back muscles which then fling his shoulders and arms around, "popping the whip" and flinging the clubhead through the ball. Distance has NOTHING to do with using arms or hands consciously--in fact that actually slows the clubhead.

Nonsense. The idea that you can't use the muscles in your arms and hands consciously to accelerate the club is simply nonsense.

The problem isn't *whether*, but *when*. Focusing on the use of the hands and arms *can* lead to using them to early in the swing, but that's an entirely different issue.

Watch these long drivers hit it 300+ with a Whippy driver --the shaft as flexible as a flyrod. Watch their hips!!!

http://www.tempomaster.com/videos/commercialrender.wmv

Larry

Funny. No one who competes in long drive competitions use a Whippy *in* competition. Why is that? BTW, did you really expect a commercial to do anything but say how great the product is supposed to be?

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by alangbaker

Nonsense. The idea that you can't use the muscles in your arms and hands consciously to accelerate the club is simply nonsense.

The problem isn't *whether*, but *when*. Focusing on the use of the hands and arms *can* lead to using them to early in the swing, but that's an entirely different issue.

Precisely!

The hips and lower body are a vital part of power to be sure, but to say that the arms and hands have nothing to do with power is ridiculous.

When pro's talk about an 80% swing or a 90% swing and so on, what they're referring to is the use of their hands and arms. In an 80% swing, the hands and arms are relatively "quiet" and they do more or less "go along for the ride".
But when additional power is desired, then the hands and arms become active to add a bit of boost to the swing in much the same way as an afterburner adds boost to a jet engine.

I know myself that when I want to simply swing to hit a fairway and maintain as much control as possible, I keep my hands and arms relatively quiet. This is true whether I'm hitting a driver or a wedge. But when I want to "let the shaft out", my hands and arms (in my case my right arm) plays a significant role in adding power.

As has been said so many times before, it's all in the timing. If the hands / arms are too early, that can lead to a too-soon release and a smothered shot and if they're too late it can lead to a slice. But when they're properly timed and in synch with the rest of the body, they can add up to tens of yards to carry distance depending on the club being used.

The only swing that depends entirely upon the synchronous unwinding from feet to hands with no "assistance" is the so-called "Trebuchet Swing". This particular swing is just as Larry describes: A swing in which the whole of one's power is completely dependent upon unwinding the body in the reverse order in which it was wound and allowing the hands and arms to remain quiet and act simply as a connection between the body and the clubhead.
This particular swing is, in my opinion, extremely hard to time properly and takes a great toll on the body. It's similar to the "Iron Byron" swing of mechanical testing equipment and requires a tremendous amount of centrifugal force and usually has the player ending in a "reverse -C" position at the end. It works, but it's not a swing for a lifetime and the control of things like ballflight and shot-shape are dependent upon accurate alignment at the start. In many ways it is a far more difficult and limited (in terms of shot shape) than other swings.

I'd say that better than 95% of all modern swings involve use of the hands and arms to create power and also aid in shot-shaping to a large extent and to varying degrees and to say that the hands and arms play no role in any of this is wrong.



-JP

[Leaguegolf]

Originally Posted by fireman07

I would rather use a house broom. That way wheI get sick of swinging it my wife can put it to good use...lol

I keep several brooms in my house. Every time my mother-in-law visits, she flies home with one.

I've used a weighted golf donut, similar to those that baseball players use, to help stretch before playing but I never considered it a tool that would help with distance. I want to feel the weight of the club head when I swing and swinging immediately after using the weight eliminates that feel.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by larryrsf

Just watch any really good player hit drives. When he wants to hit it farther, he simply "fires" his hips and that does it!

Wait, Larry, so are you saying that if you start your swing with your shoulders...

Oh, nevermind.

[mr3856a]

Originally Posted by alangbaker

BTW, did you really expect a commercial to do anything but say how great the product is supposed to be?

Did you expect larry to give us anything than his standard spiel?

[larryrsf]

Dr. Melvin, inventor of the Whippy Te