Weight Loss and Swing Speed

[lowndes]

I’m curious if anybody here has lost a significant amount of weight (say 75-100 pounds) and seen their swing speed/form dramatically improve?

[phizzy30]

I have a client that used to weigh 302 at 6'.  Though a lot of diet and exercise I got him down to 210 over the span of almost 2 years.  He's an avid golfer so I worked some speed training components into his workout routine.  I also have him do balance work and a lot of static and dynamic stretching as well.  He's gone from 140 to 160 ball speed as a result with much better form. 

[jonsnow]

3 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

I have a client that used to weigh 302 at 6'.  Though a lot of diet and exercise I got him down to 210 over the span of almost 2 years.  He's an avid golfer so I worked some speed training components into his workout routine.  I also have him do balance work and a lot of static and dynamic stretching as well.  He's gone from 140 to 160 ball speed as a result with much better form. 

I lost about 30 pounds (220 to 190ish) probably 25 years ago & saw a pretty significant increase in distance & consistency. For lack of a better word, I felt much "quicker" through the ball & had several years of the best ballstriking of my life.

 

I know it's not the amount of weight you referenced, but I have since gained the 30 back plus another 25. I'm also 64 now. I'm hoping phizzy will expand a little on what he did with his client to get those kind of results as I would like to lose about 55 pounds & get in much better condition for golf. It's tough to find a trainer who also knows anything about golf where I live, would have to go about 35 miles to Augusta to meet with someone face to face who fits the bill. There's so much information online that it's overwhelming & tough to figure out where to start. More cardio, more weight training, more balance, more flexibility, what to eat, what to avoid? Some of the info is contradictory, especially if you have a specific reason (improving your golf swing) beyond being healthier for losing the weight. 

 

Thanks for the post, lowndes. Been meaning to post something along these lines myself. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your screen name? Are you from Lowndes County?

[PhilsFanDrew]

While I haven't lost what would be deemed a significant amount of weight.  I am about 20 lbs less than what I started the season in March/April and hitting the ball at least 5-10 yards further.  Even with that little bit of weight lost I feel that I have increased mobility and can make a better turn.  I'm actually looking to lose at least 30 more lbs as my goal is 50lbs but I intend to make sure I do some strength training with a protein heavy diet to make sure my weight loss is strictly fat and not muscle. 

[lowndes]

Glad to hear it - I know just getting healthy should be enough motivation but always nice to hear about the golf improvements as well.

 

Jonsnow - I'm no more qualified than you but I'll tell you what I'm going to do.  I plan to do a normal full body workout (think crossfit but it isn't crossfit) 3 days a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) , Joey D fitness biomechanic exercises 3 days a week (I read his book and am going to do a couple online training sessions to get that regime straightened out) as well as do the Stack on those same days (Wed, Friday and Sunday).  Nutrition is the most important part to go along with the above. 

 

'll tell you how I came up with my user name if you don't make of me for its origins.  About 15 years ago I was joining a message board and had some Crockett & Jones Lowndes shoes come in the mail.  So I just picked Lowndes as my username.

[jonsnow]

As good a way to pick a screen name as any. As you can probably guess, I am a big Game of Thrones fan (read all the books, too), at least until the final season. I was just curious. Lowndes County is way down in south central Georgia & my niece's husband is the head pro at Kinderlou Forest, a really nice course there. If you're an older HS football fan, Valdosta is the county seat, also the hometown of Doc Holliday who was a dentist before heading west & becoming a gunslinger.

 

Good luck with your program & let us know how it's going. 

[jonsnow]

I almost typed "I am a big Lord of the Rings fan" before catching myself & remembering where I pulled my screen name. Made me think of this:

 

 

[Mike_C]

I've done it a couple of times.  About 20 years ago in about 9 months time went from 260 all the way down to 175 for a short while.  Can't say I hit it any further, but it messed my swing up somehow, that is when I think my early extension really started, and I got the shanks, I think it was to do with my center of gravity and balance.     Over many years gained all the weight back, then in 2018 went on a low carb/keto diet, and the weight melted off, got down from about 260 to about 200, which is a better number for me as I'm 6 ft 1, my swing didn't really change much, or form change much.

 

The oddest feeling both times was that there was nothing in the way for my right arm as I came down, I felt almost lost at first, as I think when my gut was bigger I sort of had my right arm slide across my body and I could sense were it was.  With no gut, it was just sort of "out there" if that makes sense. 

 

After losing weight a few years ago I stayed pretty steady weight wise, but I had a heart attack in October 2020, and over the past year+ or so have put on 15+ pounds as I've gone back to eating more carbs, but I'm hitting the ball really well so far this year. 

 

 

[againstthegrain]

myTPI.com is a great place to look for qualified professionals(trainers, dieticians, and chiros.)  My current trainer doesn't know squat about golf and she has made an immense difference in my fitness.  And I've been with other trainers w a deep knowledge of golf, and fitness for golf so I have some experience w the type of person the OP seeks.  Find someone that will change up your program every couple of weeks and do the workouts consistently.  Add flexibility and mobility segments in addition to the trainers program.  And add other activities.  For instance I alpine ski all winter (no golf) and now have added swimming, but biking, hiking, and walking don't take much more than the motivation to get off the couch. 

 

IMHO, do a general strength training regimen, incorporate lots of core, balance, stability, and the speed will come.  Stick w functional full body work like squats, deadlifts, etc and in general stay off the machines.   

 

As far as diet, that is a huge weakness for me.  The first thing to know is "you can't out train a bad diet."  Limiting sugar and carbs as much as possible and choose fish and chicken over beef is a winning strategy.  Another maxim is don't drink your calories, so booze, soda, and juice should be eliminated or reduced to the absolute minimum. 

 

Focusing on swing speed seems like it's very far down the road and perhaps the longer term improvement in one's health would be a far greater positive impact and source of motivation.  Good luck!!! 

Edited June 28, 2022 by againstthegrain

[phizzy30]

5 hours ago, againstthegrain said:

myTPI.com is a great place to look for qualified professionals(trainers, dieticians, and chiros.)  My current trainer doesn't know squat about golf and she has made an immense difference in my fitness.  And I've been with other trainers w a deep knowledge of golf, and fitness for golf so I have some experience w the type of person the OP seeks.  Find someone that will change up your program every couple of weeks and do the workouts consistently.  Add flexibility and mobility segments in addition to the trainers program.  And add other activities.  For instance I alpine ski all winter (no golf) and now have added swimming, but biking, hiking, and walking don't take much more than the motivation to get off the couch. 

 

IMHO, do a general strength training regimen, incorporate lots of core, balance, stability, and the speed will come.  Stick w functional full body work like squats, deadlifts, etc and in general stay off the machines.   

 

As far as diet, that is a huge weakness for me.  The first thing to know is "you can't out train a bad diet."  Limiting sugar and carbs as much as possible and choose fish and chicken over beef is a winning strategy.  Another maxim is don't drink your calories, so booze, soda, and juice should be eliminated or reduced to the absolute minimum. 

 

Focusing on swing speed seems like it's very far down the road and perhaps the longer term improvement in one's health would be a far greater positive impact and source of motivation.  Good luck!!! 

Stay off the machines?  I disagree.  Older golfers and those with physical limitations can't do squats, deadlifts and bench press all day.  I have my older clients do more dumb bell and machine work and they've made huge strides.  The point is to work around a person's limitations and not force them to do exercises that could otherwise potentially cause them injury. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by phizzy30

[Nels55]

About 7 years ago I lost 30 lbs or so and I have kept it off so far.  Losing weight can be tricky and there are things that even experts don't understand about metabolism and so on.  For me the most important thing was that I was not going on a diet with a fixed goal.  My goal was to change my eating habits as best I could for the rest of my life.  LOL I am 6' tall (shrinking damn it) and 180 lbs right at the moment and I am not satisfied with that as I want to get to 175 lbs.  LOL if I weighed 175 lbs I would be working to get to 170 lbs.  So I am happy with my weight but still working to improve.  Makes sense?

 

As for the OP's question the weight loss had no effect on my game over the long term.

 

As far as diet goes try to eat less sugar.  Less sugar!  For instance I drink soda water instead of Pepsi or whatever.  Once I got used to the soda water I found that I like it better then soft drinks.  Ah well there is a lot of good advice out there on how to lose weight take advantage of it!  

[2bGood]

18 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

I have a client that used to weigh 302 at 6'.  Though a lot of diet and exercise I got him down to 210 over the span of almost 2 years.  He's an avid golfer so I worked some speed training components into his workout routine.  I also have him do balance work and a lot of static and dynamic stretching as well.  He's gone from 140 to 160 ball speed as a result with much better form. 

 

Sounds like dude trained and become faster, losing weight was somewhat secondary. 

 

Not a popular answer, but I am not sure less weight and swing speed/better golf are all the closely tied. 

Lots of examples in the pro ranks to prove the point.

 

I am a dude that has yo-yo'd up down allot over the years. The sweet spot of my best golfs about 20-30lbs over my ideal weight. More than that and I lose range of motion and less than that I seem to lose some rhythm and smooth power. Maybe if a played longer when thin I would find it ??? 

 

A friend of mine played on the LPGA. She always said her best golf was when she was fairly pregnant. Working around the baby bump headed he with rhythm and body sequence...

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by 2bGood

[MattyO1984]

I lost 85 lbs about 9 years ago.

 

My wanting to lose it was because I realised that things had gotten way out of hand and I needed to have a much healthier lifestyle. I did it for that reason, not golfing but it definitely had a positive impact on my golf. I did a lot of strength training and a lot a spinning. I didn't really do anything specific concentrating on speed training (although I do now). I had wondered if losing such an amount of mass was going to impact upon my ability to hit it a reasonable decent but I found that I was able to stay much around the same and if I ever needed to go after one, I was definitely more able to do that and time it better when I was at my fittest.  

[phizzy30]

6 hours ago, 2bGood said:

 

Sounds like dude trained and become faster, losing weight was somewhat secondary. 

 

Not a popular answer, but I am not sure less weight and swing speed/better golf are all the closely tied. 

Lots of examples in the pro ranks to prove the point.

 

I am a dude that has yo-yo'd up down allot over the years. The sweet spot of my best golfs about 20-30lbs over my ideal weight. More than that and I lose range of motion and less than that I seem to lose some rhythm and smooth power. Maybe if a played longer when thin I would find it ??? 

 

A friend of mine played on the LPGA. She always said her best golf was when she was fairly pregnant. Working around the baby bump headed he with rhythm and body sequence...

 

You have heavier guys like Ryan Fox who can smash it out there.  Then there's Cameron Davis who's a bean pole that averages low 180's ball speed with driver.  Clearly Different body types that are on the opposite side of the spectrum.  Pure speed has more to do with the Type II fast twitch fibers IMO.  I was merely stating the progress my client made and with it the increase in distance.  Some of it had to do with improving his physical capabilities by giving him the tools to succeed but he's also been taking lessons from his instructor so I'm sure his swing sequencing has improved as well.   

Edited June 29, 2022 by phizzy30

[jonsnow]

3 hours ago, MattyO1984 said:

I lost 85 lbs about 9 years ago.

 

My wanting to lose it was because I realised that things had gotten way out of hand and I needed to have a much healthier lifestyle. I did it for that reason, not golfing but it definitely had a positive impact on my golf. I did a lot of strength training and a lot a spinning. I didn't really do anything specific concentrating on speed training (although I do now). I had wondered if losing such an amount of mass was going to impact upon my ability to hit it a reasonable decent but I found that I was able to stay much around the same and if I ever needed to go after one, I was definitely more able to do that and time it better when I was at my fittest.  

That's awesome, Matty. I know what you mean about things getting out of hand. I'm 6'2' & weighed about 160 when I finished high school, filled out to 185 by the time I finished college & the weight crept up on me over the years until I'm 245 at 64. At least it's a relatively healthy 245, I can still do pretty much what I've always done physically, just slower & probably not as well as I used to. No known health issues, no medications. I'm actually lucky to be as healthy as I am. I've got friends & relatives near my age who have all kinds of chronic health issues. My diet is terrible, I eat too much of the wrong things. 

 

I really want to get to a healthier lifestyle & weight by my 65th birthday in May 2023 whether it does anything positive for my golf game or not. As I get older here's what I notice: I see a lot of old people & I see a lot of fat people. What I don't see is a lot of old, fat people.

[againstthegrain]

9 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Stay off the machines?  I disagree.  Older golfers and those with physical limitations can't do squats, deadlifts and bench press all day.  I have my older clients do more dumb bell and machine work and they've made huge strides.  The point is to work around a person's limitations and not force them to do exercises that could otherwise potentially cause them injury. 

My post says "in general stay off the machines" it doesn't say don't ever use them especially for rehab or other circumstances that necessitate there use.  And we're talking about training for playing golf not about the ancients getting off the couch for the first time in decades trying to regain the strength to carry a bag of groceries.       

[jonsnow]

24 minutes ago, againstthegrain said:

My post says "in general stay off the machines" it doesn't say don't ever use them especially for rehab or other circumstances that necessitate there use.  And we're talking about training for playing golf not about the ancients getting off the couch for the first time in decades trying to regain the strength to carry a bag of groceries.       

Hey! I resemble that remark.

[2bGood]

8 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

You have heavier guys like Ryan Fox who can smash it out there.  Then there's Cameron Davis who's a bean pole that averages low 180's ball speed with driver.  Clearly Different body types that are on the opposite side of the spectrum.  Pure speed has more to do with the Type II fast twitch fibers IMO.  I was merely stating the progress my client made and with it the increase in distance.  Some of it had to do with improving his physical capabilities by giving him the tools to succeed but he's also been taking lessons from his instructor so I'm sure his swing sequencing has improved as well.   

Sorry that was not all a response to you. Very happy for your client. Safe to say if he keeps that up he is likely to playing golf longer even if the weight loss was not what made him longer. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by 2bGood

[lowndes]

3 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

You have heavier guys like Ryan Fox who can smash it out there.  Then there's Cameron Davis who's a bean pole that averages low 180's ball speed with driver.  Clearly Different body types that are on the opposite side of the spectrum.  Pure speed has more to do with the Type II fast twitch fibers IMO.  I was merely stating the progress my client made and with it the increase in distance.  Some of it had to do with improving his physical capabilities by giving him the tools to succeed but he's also been taking lessons from his instructor so I'm sure his swing sequencing has improved as well.   

Just to be clear - I’m not losing weight to gain swing speed.  I hope it is a consequence of it though.  That was why I started the thread to see peoples experience.

 

You raise a good point about fast twitch muscles though.  Isn’t that hard to tell if you have or not while overweight?  I lost a bunch of weight 12 years ago but didn’t golf at the time.  I was surprised that I’m pretty quick (sprinting) when lean and healthy.  When fat and out of shape not so much.  And since I was fat and out of shape prior to that discovery I never knew how quick I really was.  Is what you are describing the same thing?  Seems it is much easier to tell when not fat.

 

not trying to say sprinting speed has any correlation with swing speed but just trying to make an analogy based on being fit vs fat and actually seeing what you naturally have.

Edited June 29, 2022 by lowndes

[b.mattay]

Not a weight loss specifically, but I hit it slightly further 5 years ago at 150 pounds than I do currently at 185.

[phizzy30]

3 hours ago, lowndes said:

Just to be clear - I’m not losing weight to gain swing speed.  I hope it is a consequence of it though.  That was why I started the thread to see peoples experience.

 

You raise a good point about fast twitch muscles though.  Isn’t that hard to tell if you have or not while overweight?  I lost a bunch of weight 12 years ago but didn’t golf at the time.  I was surprised that I’m pretty quick (sprinting) when lean and healthy.  When fat and out of shape not so much.  And since I was fat and out of shape prior to that discovery I never knew how quick I really was.  Is what you are describing the same thing?  Seems it is much easier to tell when not fat.

 

not trying to say sprinting speed has any correlation with swing speed but just trying to make an analogy based on being fit vs fat and actually seeing what you naturally have.

When you sprint, you are activating the type II fibers in your lower body so theoretically it could help develop a little more speed in your swing.  It's one of the reasons why I do cardio 4 days a week.  As far as weight and fast twitch fibers go, there is no correlation.  John Daly is/was overweight and he was making 130+ss back in the day.  Still hits it's pretty far although nowadays he's borderline obese. 

[MountainKing]

I've gained about the amount you're indicating and lost about 20 yards off my drives and a full club on my irons, of course a back surgery in the process hasn't helped either.  I'm working hard at losing it so in a year or so hopefully I'll have an answer to if that was the reason I lost speed.

[golfarb1]

Golfers should lose weight NOT to improve their golf swing but to improve their general health . Improvement in their golf swing is only a side benefit.
Americans have consistently gained weight in the past 40 years . And so have any number of diseases like diabetes .

And losing weight should not be the only goal ; it is estimated that the average male loses 3-8% of their muscle mass every decade past the age of 30.This trend accelerates past the age of 60. 
 

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

21 minutes ago, golfarb1 said:

Golfers should lose weight NOT to improve their golf swing but to improve their general health . Improvement in their golf swing is only a side benefit.
Americans have consistently gained weight in the past 40 years . And so have any number of diseases like diabetes .

And losing weight should not be the only goal ; it is estimated that the average male loses 3-8% of their muscle mass every decade past the age of 30.This trend accelerates past the age of 60. 
 

 

I mean, I'm picking mostly in jest, but I am pretty sure if a golfer decided to lose a ton of weight to improve their golf game in any way, said golfer also receives the health benefits of losing weight. 😄

 

Whatever ya gotta do. If that's the incentive, then the golfer should absolutely decide to lose weight to improve their golf swing. One just has to hope it does improve so they don't decide to gain it back. 😄

Edited October 11, 2023 by Mikey_HACKilroy

[MountainKing]

49 minutes ago, golfarb1 said:

Golfers should lose weight NOT to improve their golf swing but to improve their general health . Improvement in their golf swing is only a side benefit.
Americans have consistently gained weight in the past 40 years . And so have any number of diseases like diabetes .

And losing weight should not be the only goal ; it is estimated that the average male loses 3-8% of their muscle mass every decade past the age of 30.This trend accelerates past the age of 60. 
 

 

Does the motivation really matter?  If the end result is better health,  who cares the reasoning to what got it going.