Somers Golf

  I'm 6 or so weeks into speed training with the Stack System and as we know I have made gains with driver, both in the stack sessions and out on the course. But, it was time to validate that with some data and so I performed the progress check, which is the same program as the original baseline. I've put those two sessions side-by-side in the images above and we can see the results speak for themselves across the board - 5mph quicker with driver, 9mph quicker with the 195kg, 5mph up on the 280kg, 4mph up on the 145g, 6mph on the 95g, 2mph on the trail arm and 5mph on the lead arm. These are all averages set with full swings, which whilst you all know I've gained much more (15mph) those swings were based on max intent, so are not really a far comparison, they're just there as a means to help increase my ceiling. As we can see 5mph out on course has the potential to increase distance by 29 yards, which is not only a healthy gain, it's something I think I'm actual...

  It's been a couple of days since my last stack session as I reflect on what has been just over a months worth of speed training. I've put the last two sessions together in this blog, because I'm busy with work and didn't have time to focus on them individually. And, whilst neither really offered the level of performance I've become accustomed to, I do think that the performance in these sessions broadly speaks to something close to the speed I'm currently gaming, rather than my outright max. It is altogether frustrating that I didn't break the 100mph barrier come the end of the program too but that just means I have a very achievable short term goal as I move into the next stage of my speed training, which we'll see what I'm given once I complete the progress check. Now, whilst I've been able to keep my grit score high during the foundation program, my next issue comes with the progress check, as it's asking me to complete that today (two d...

  My sixteenth stack session in the foundation program was at 240g, 80g and 195g, all at max intent and whilst I didn't break through any major milestones, it does feel as if over the course of the last few sessions I've found a level. I say that because my deviation is much tighter with the 195g at the end of each set... Set 10 - 97mph Set 11 - 98mph Set 12 - 95mph Set 13 - 99mph Set 14 - 96mph Set 15 - 99pmh Set 16 - 98mph And, as you can see from the session numbers themselves there's only a couple of outliers - the 81mph in set 1 and the 98mph in set 3, everything else is really pretty tight. Once again I'll press home the point about this all transferring to the course too, as both my longest drives and averages are well up on where they have been, even when I've been playing into some pretty strong headwinds.

  Today's stack session saw a return to my top speed - 99mph in the 195g weight category, with my sessions becoming more closely aligned again, just as they were at the start of the foundation program. It'll be nice to nudge the bar over that 100mph barrier but it's safe to say that will happen, it's just a case of when (I mean, it technically already has, as the figures are calculated based on my mini driver, not driver shaft length). In the meantime I'm still finding speed in the other weight categories, with a new set record achieved on both attempts at the 120g today. The 101mph swings that I got in both of those sets is also my highest single at 120g and with three at 100 in that second set at that weight I was quite pleased. I'm also making some tweaks with my swing at the moment which I think the stack should help ingrain, as it seems to help with organising your swing, especially at the higher weights. Let's keep pushing.

  Stack session 14 was the last in phase 3 of the program and saw the use of 240g, 80g and 195g all at max intent. The two 90mph speeds either side of the 93 and 94mph swings in the 195g set didn't see me push the needle in terms of overall gains but, there were gains on the 240g and 80g sets. Not only was this visible in the reps, with a 88mph and 105mph respectively, the set averages were up to 87mph and 104mph, both of which were significant gains. I've noticed that if I become a little more mobile (small jumps up and down on the spot) as the rest period comes to a close before starting a new set I can get moving more quickly. This along with constantly trying to widen my backswing arc without swaying too much off centre seems to be providing a recipe for improvement. And, whilst I've said it before, the gains aren't just showing up in stack sessions, I'm definitely longer off the tee. Now, some of this comes down to course conditions improving but, most of it is...

My thirteenth stack session and the penultimate in phase 3 of the foundation program led to further gains and yet another 1mph in stack speed / eSpeed. I averaged 86mph on the 255g weight in set 1, with a couple of 87mph swings thrown in there. Then it was onto the 95g sets, first of those sets saw me average 100mph with a couple of 103’s in the mix, whilst the second set saw me average 103 (a new set record) with a 105mph swing amongst the batch. As I got onto the 195g set it felt like I could maybe be a little quicker, as proved to be the case with two at 95mph and an average of 94mph. This puts my gain over the course of the foundation program to 15mph and a potential distance increase of 45 yards. I followed the stack session up with eighteen holes and shot another great round of 80, albeit without the clearer cut birdie and par shouts I've had of late. We had an easterly wind and this clearly made life tougher on the way out, as it was into our faces all the way. It was a good...

  Stack session 12 was a similar session to #11, albeit with the weights in each of the first three sets a little different when compared with last time out. And, whilst I was a few mph off my best in the final set there were some glimpses of extra speed shown throughout the course of the first three sets. Set 1 saw a PB on the 235g with an 85, which is also the new set record for that weight. Meanwhile, I hit 103 on the 80g twice in the second set. I followed the session up with another eighteen hole round and have finally broken 80 whilst in company of another member, which also means that card has gone in for handicap and will likely see me drop pretty close to a 12.0 It was a great round with a 79 carded, with 2 birdies and 5 pars BUT with a lost ball off the tee on 16 and two 3 putts, let alone two duff chips that I can recall and a topped 3 wood on 8, I know there's still plenty left in the tank. There's lots more to come!..

The latest stack session was the first in phase 3 of the foundation program, which sees me having to swing at max intent (swinging as quickly as possible, not an on course swing) for all four sets. The first set was with 280g on the stack and boy could I tell that it was only just shy of being on the max weight setting (300g). My max during that set was 83mph and I averaged 81mph which I don’t think was too bad to be honest. Next up we had two sets at 75g with a max of 104mph and average of 101 in the second set, followed by a max 106mph and 103mph average in set three. Finally it was back onto the 195g weight for the final set with four swings at max intent. This set is what’s used to calculate the stack, eSpeed and distance potentials and I managed a new PB of 95mph and a set average of 93mph, which was also a PB and results in another 1mph gain overall. That now puts me at 14mph gained with a distance potential gain of 42 yards! I’ve said it before but it’s worth mentioning again th...

I'm going to admit it, even though I was still having fun with the stack, I was a little irked that over the last few sessions my performance had dropped off somewhat. However, I knew I wasn't alone in this battle as others had seen similar results over the course of their programs too. Another day, another session then and to be fair it's probably the most amped I've been in a number of sessions heading into this latest one, with it also being the last in this phase of the foundation program before moving onto a different set type. I was faced with 8 reps at 205g, 8 reps at 135g and 8 reps at 105g all with full intent (your on course max swing), followed by 4 reps at 195g with max intent (swinging your absolute maximum swing). I started out with a new set record on the 205g at 88mph, then followed that up with a PB of 97mph on the 135g (x3) which also led to a new set record of 95mph. Set 3 saw me hit 100 twice for a PB and nudged the needle on the set record to 99mph ...

No, I'm not talking about the clubs in my bag, I'm talking about the results both on and off the course this week. Let's start with the stack training, which for one reason or another seems to have stalled out when it comes to the all important max intent swings with the 195g weight. Wednesday's session saw that set average out at 89mph meaning my eSpeed and Distance Potential took a hit as a consequence. However, I did break a new set record on the 125g weight with a 95, besting my 94 that had previously sat as the tide line. I proceeded to card an 81 with 1 birdie and 4 pars on my next 18 hole round, hitting 58% of the fairways, a measly 22% of greens in regulation, whilst taking 32 putts. It was a back-to-back day for the next stack session with a round to follow, which I know I said I wasn't going to do this week but, needs must when you're trying to speed train and improve on the course too.  The problem with doing this is I think I don't fully commit t...