Happy New Year!
- markg9237
- Jan 9, 2024
- 3 min read
I would like to start this first blog of 2024 by wishing everyone a Happy New Year.
The subject of this blog is going to be distance...who does not want more distance!
I have promised myself in the spirit of New Year Resolutions to claw back some of my former speed/distance.
As my focus shifted from playing golf to teaching, and with the arrival of two children, I have noticed on the rare chance I do get to play, I've lost a lot of yardage. I can attribute this to many things: lack of practice, specifically time practicing with a driver and not enough time on the golf course, this combined with the natural ageing process and not training with weights for several years.
As a young assistant Pro I was lucky enough to complete my training at Burhill Golf Club in Surrey. Paul Casey and Gary Orr were both members there at the time and because of this we were lucky enough to have access to tour only club fitting from Titleist and Nike. I was a long hitter in my youth, probably the biggest strength of my game. When being measured by Titleist I distinctly remember the numbers that I was able to achieve and the fitter telling me the numbers were almost identical to Ernie Els, who at the time was was one of the longest players on tour. Incredibly this was 15 years ago! With the driver I was achieving clubhead speed in the region of 118-120mph with a ball speed in the low to mid 170's. I'm 6 foot 2 inches tall and at this time I was around 13.5 stone. Now I'm the same height ( I hope), but sadly a stone heavier and a lot less flexible and strong!
I was intrigued to see Matt Fitzpatrick's transformation from a middle of the pack hitter to one of the longer players on the PGA Tour. With his win at the U.S Open really highlighting how important and helpful extra distance is to everyone.
Matt Fitzpatrick used a product called the Stack to increase his clubhead speed and a mini launch monitor from PRGR to record his progress. The beauty of this pocket sized launch monitor is its relative inexpense, its accuracy and the ability to record swings without ball being struck (a crucial element for increasing swing speed). The Stack hardware also comes with access to its App, you enter your swing-speed data into the app after swinging with the various different weights, it then creates the perfect training programme to increase your clubhead speed. The app is what separates the Stack, from the various other training aids on the market. Here is a little more information on the product:
I have purchased the Stack system and the PRGR launch monitor with a view to get back to my former speed. I am going to document my journey on X (formerly Twitter) as I lead up to our Academy's annual golf trip to France in May. I will post a review of my first session, a key session to benchmark where I currently am, there will be a few clips of the work out with the Stack and my views on how it feels and tips for increasing speed in general. I am not looking forward to seeing where I currently am after huge amounts of inactivity in terms of playing on the golf course and a definite physical decline, but I am excited to see how the Stack training protocol and some golf-specific training in the gym will improve my game. Please follow me over on X (formerly Twitter) @mggolfcoaching for more regular updates and I will be updating the blog monthly.
Wish me Luck!
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