If you take a look at some PGA player stats you can get a estimate.   Take Paul Goydos, his ball speed is around 149 mph, club speed around 102.    SO in your case at 56 with a bad back, 135 - 141 sounds like your making a pretty good swing!

   I have also read that ball speed is 1.45 times the club head speed (estimate).  So a 100 mph club head speed is roughly 145 mph ball speed.     So in your case at 135 mph, your club head speed is roughly 93 mph.  I think!  

Good luck, hope this helps!  

Hi Curtis, 

Thanks for the response to Rex's post.

Just some clarification. TrackMan does show both club head speed and ball speed when gathering data.  With that said, there is a way to convert swing speed to ball speed and vice versa.  Smash factor is the efficiency with which an individual hits a golf ball.  With a driver, a smash factor of 1.50 is the most efficient.  For example, if someone has a 100 MPH swing speed and a smash factor of 1.5, their ball speed will be 150 MPH.  

Smash factor does go down if someone mis hits a shot.  For example, someone with a swing speed of 100 MPH who mis hits the ball may have a smash factor of 1.45. In this case, their ball speed would be 145 MPH.

With all of this being said, ball speed is the most important factor to look at during a fitting; more so than swing speed.  Ball speed takes into account both how fast you are swinging AND how solid you are hitting the golf ball.

Hope this helps!

Bubba

A bigger question would be is your ball, setup (your stance and ball position), and distance clubs setup to match your ball speed? Proper setup will create better launch angles and thus optimize distance and shot control.

So I did a Titleist fitting two-years ago and the fitter determined that if I made the following changes ,I would generate 5–10 yards more off the tee (note: I was already using the correct ball, pro v1x):

1. Move my driver ball position 0.5 inches forward in my stance.
This created a better impact angle into the ball, which reduced both backspin and side spin. That alone gave me 5–10 additional yards off the tee.

2. On my next driver purchase, they recommended reducing the loft from 9.5 to 8.5.

3. They also recommended a shaft that had a stiffer tip. This would create a more boring ball flight.

Next the fitter let me use one of the brand new 913 drivers with his loft and shaft recommendations. It was a substantial improvement—my shot dispersion became tighter and I was consistently longer.

Modern golf technology is pretty amazing . Minor equipment tweaks can make a huge difference. If you have the resources, a fitting is well worth it.

I specifically asked the Fitter and Golf Pro who was there if there was anything glaring that needed to be changed. They both said no Stance , Ball Position , grip , and turn all looked ok. They recommended a still tipped shaft for me as well. As I hit the ball to high with to much spin. Able to work it from High Flight and 4000 RPM of back spin to a much more boring flight with 2590 RPM of back spin. Went from a carry distance of 214 and roll to 215 (see the issue ) to a carry distance of 227 and roll to 241. That all of course is on Trackman. going from a TM REleven to a 913D2 with a Aldila Tour Green shaft. Shaft is 45 " 67 grams 3.5 Torque with a high / Mid kick point. Am really looking forward to see if this translates to more distance in "real" golf. I can surely use some

Rex,

It sounds like the fitter and pro you saw were spot on!

One of the most important results of a driver fitting is improving launch conditions.  By reducing your driver spin from 4000 RPM to 2500 RPM, your fitter was able to help you gain 14 yards of roll! Not only this, the less spin will result in less turn and more fairways hit.   

Hope you enjoy your new D2!

Bubba