What this swing shows
The reference is a tour-average driver swing recorded with motion capture. At the ball the club head moves at about 52 m/s (116 mph), and the ball carries about 230 m. The speed is built in order: the pelvis reaches its fastest turn first, then the torso, the lead arm and finally the club, and each part slows down as it hands its speed on. Golf biomechanics calls this order the kinematic sequence; the row “Fastest moment of each part” shows it for every card.
Change one link in the chain
- Upper body starts first, the move behind many over-the-top swings: about a fifth slower, and the club head comes in high over the ball with the face shut.
- Hips don’t turn through: about a quarter slower, and off the middle of the face.
- Lower body half a beat late (60 ms): about a quarter slower, low over the ball with the face shut. The chain starts in the middle.
- Chest doesn’t follow the hips (40 ms late): only about 3% slower, because the arms and club make most of it back.
- Casting, or releasing the wrists early: about a quarter slower. The lag stored in the wrists is spent before the ball.
- Arms only, with the legs and trunk turning 60% as far: a third slower, and off the face.
Two forms of early extension change the strike rather than the speed. Standing up 10° on the way down lifts the club head about 9 cm, so the ball is hit thin or topped. Hips thrust 5 cm towards the ball push the club head about 7 cm further out, onto the heel, where shanks come from.
Face, path and the D-plane
Six cards change only the club at impact. The ball starts mostly where the face points (here 85% face, 15% path) and curves by the gap between face and path, as the ball-flight laws and the D-plane describe. In the real swing the face is about 5° open to the path, so the ball fades about 35 m. Directions are for a right-handed golfer.
- Face 2° open: about 16 m further right. Face 2° closed: about 19 m less to the right.
- Path 4° more in-to-out: the curve shrinks to 9 m. Path 4° more out-to-in: it grows to 50 m.
- Hitting up 5° more: launch 12° instead of 7°, carry 246 m. Hitting down 5° more: launch 2°, carry 196 m.
Limits
This is one recorded swing with an assumed loft and a rigid shaft, so it launches lower than a real drive. Use the numbers to compare swings with each other, not to predict your own.