Today we retested one of our students on the launch monitor to see if his driving distance had improved after 7 weeks in our Power Improvement Program.
This particular player is a 2 handicap, but does this mainly by being a good iron player with a solid short game. When he came in his distance off the tee was the biggest limiting factor for him. Below are his before and after numbers on the launch monitor:
Ball Speed Backspin Launch Angle Carry Dist Total Distance Side Spin
12/7/09
137.6 3089 8.9 deg 207.0 235.4 yds R680
2/6/10
145.8 2735 10.9 deg 236.3 266.8 yds R491
Obviously, the results after 7 weeks of work are outstanding. He gained 8.2 MPH ball speed and over 30 yards in total distance while also reducing his sidespin. So how did this happen?
Number one, we had a dedicated player who puts in the work necessary to improve his game. Secondly, we determined where his power leaks were and created a plan of attack specific to his needs.
In this particular case when we did the evaluation a number of things stood out. His major swing flaws were an over the top move with a pronounced slide during his downswing. On the K-Vest his sequencing was not in the correct order. Instead of hips leading thorax leading hands, his downswing started with thorax then hips then hands. His X Factor was 39 and didn’t improve during the swing (we would like to see a higher X Factor that increases during the start of the downswing). His power testing showed that he lacked power in his legs while his thorax and core strength was good. He also failed a number of physical Titleist Performance tests that directly correlated with his golf swing flaws.
Titleist Performance Testing
We started this player on a Titleist Performance Institute workout that was specific to his needs. He was not able to make an efficient swing because his body wouldn’t allow it. Once his workouts were under way we started working on biomechanical feedback on the K-Vest. He was in weekly with work in between sessions as we then moved to some drills to increase speed and improve his swing.
K-Vest Biomechanical Drills
The results speak for themselves, but the reality is we feel he still has more distance to be gained. His slide is much improved, but not gone thus his attack angle is improving (as noted by his improved launch and spin numbers and pictures at impact). Next week we will retest on the K-Vest as well as Power Test in order to further measure progress.
Could this have been done by just giving this player golf lessons? It’s doubtful that this much progress would have been made. This player has worked with some top golf instructors in the past and distance has always been an issue.
The good news is we are only halfway through his program. We fully believe this player will be hitting the ball consistently 280 yards by the golf season – a full 45 yards improvement!
Andy Thompson, www.totallydriven.com
Tags: Totally Driven, K-Vest, Titleist Performance Institute, x factor, golf distance improvement, power improvement program, launch monitor, distance off the tee
