Ball Speed Vs Swing Speed - What’s More Important?

All things being equal… the higher your ball speed when it leaves the face of your driver, the further it will go.

It’s simple physics.

So what’s more important?  Ball Speed or Swing Speed?

Well, both really.

You see, there’s a high correlation between your swing speed and your ball speed.

Without a high swing speed… you ain’t going to get the ball rocketing off down the launchpad of the lush fairway before you!

And that’s why I firmly believe that the number one limiting factor to how far you hit your driver is your swing speed.

There’s other variables in play, but your swing speed is numero uno.

If you’re swinging it fast, but you feel you’re not getting the distance you deserve… it’s likely you need to work on improving the quality of your ball striking (sorry swing speed alone doesn’t solve all your golfing problems).

In the world of long drivers and launch monitors they talk about the “Smash Factor” … it’s a ratio between your ball speed and swing speed.

Basically your “Smash Factor” tells you about the quality of your club face contact with the ball.  The higher the smash factor, the better the transfer of energy from your club head to the ball.

A smash factor of around 1.5 is widely regarded as a good number.

e.g. if you’re swing speed is 100mph and your ball speed is 150mph (150/100 = 1.5) your smash factor is 1.5.

If you’re not striking the ball towards the middle of the club face, or you’re hitting the ball with a glancing blow instead of dead solid,
then you’re smash factor and ultimately how far you hit the ball will suffer.

So now you know…

To hit it further you need to increase your swing speed and improve the quality of your contact… which in turn turbo charges your ball speed and sends that little white, dimpled creature away from your clubface faster than it’s ever gone before.

That’s the plan at least.

Sean Cassidy “Real Men Swing Fast”

ps - If you want to know swing speeds, ball speeds and smash factors of tour pro’s during tournament play… there’s a great article over at The Deep Rough that’s worth a look.  It’s called “Ball Speed and Carry Distance at the Skins Game”.

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