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Originally Posted by cyc53870  This will be one of top dozen questions in the afterlife then... How just a relative few lucky people can swing so naturally far which is why golf remains such a difficult sport despite science and technology, etc. My best guess is that these people must have at least 80% fast-twitch muscles... Or the equivalent of an athletic talented golf gene... |
I think you're onto something, concerning the likely preponderance of FT muscle fibers. In any sport requiring short-duration bursts of exertion, those with a lot of FT have an advantage. This is why not just any massive guy can be a good (American) football linebacker. Not only do those guys have to be big, but they must move explosively, and the ability to do that has a lot to do with FT muscle. With the golf swing, a lot of FT muscle means that clubhead speed can be generated quickly, and it will *look* relatively effortless. Obviously, at the top levels of the game, technique plays a huge part too. But if you consider Lorena Ochoa and Corey Pavin, we can assume that both of them have superb technique. Nevertheless, Ochoa tends to drive the ball farther than Pavin. What explains that? I doubt it comes down to what we usually think of as strength. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Ochoa has a much higher density of FT muscle.
I guess it's all academic, but there is a lesson in it. If you're making good contact with the ball but still not getting immense distance, it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong. And if you try to swing faster than what your FT muscles will naturally support, you'll almost certainly end up convulsing your body in other ways that will result in worse contact and less distance. This is why we all occasionally, or even regularly, have the weird experience of getting better distance when it feels like we didn't make much of an effort at all.