Okay, here’s my attempt at writing a blog post in that style.
Alright folks, lemme tell ya ’bout this thing I was messin’ with – average PGA swing speed. You know, just tryin’ to see where I stack up, maybe get a little ego boost, or, more likely, a reality check.
So, first thing I did, I went down the rabbit hole of Google. Started searchin’ like crazy. Saw a bunch of stuff, numbers all over the place. Then I saw something like: “The vast majority of PGA Tour golfers sit between 110-125mph. On the LPGA Tour the average driver swing speed is approximately 94 mph.” Okay, that gives me a ballpark. But ballpark’s no good, I needed MY numbers.
Next, I dragged my lazy butt down to the driving range. Yeah, the one with the beat-up mats and the balls that look like they’ve been through a war. Didn’t matter. I grabbed my driver – the one I swore I’d replace last year – and got to work.
I didn’t have one of those fancy launch monitors, so I just focused on swingin’ smooth and record the flight. I just used my phone to record each swing, nothing too professional, but it’s good enough to review later.
Started swingin’. Felt rusty as heck. First few shots were all over the place – slice city, anyone? Then I settled in, found a rhythm. After like, ten swings I started feeling it.
Came back home, uploaded all the videos to my computer. This took longer than it should because my internet is from the stone age, anyway, I reviewed each swing and used some video analysis software to get an estimated swing speed. The software is definitely not perfect, but at least I can get an idea.
I was averaging around 98-103 mph. Not PGA Tour material, that’s for sure. But, hey, better than I thought! Considering I haven’t been playin’ much lately, I’ll take it.
After that, I figured, alright, gotta work on consistency. Power is nothing without control, right? So, now I’m thinkin’ about drills, maybe some lessons (ugh, the thought!), and definitely more range time. Basically, the experiment showed me I got a lot to improve.
- First, warm up more.
- Second, focus on my tempo
- Third, book a lesson
The end result? I’m still an average golfer. Nothing changed. But I learned something, which is always good, and I have a clear goal of what to improve on next.
