Every speed gain we talk about at SuperSpeed Golf has to hold up in a lab first. The person behind most of that work is Dr. Tyler Standifird, a professor of biomechanics at Utah Valley University and the Director of Research for SuperSpeed. Most of the studies on our research page were designed and run by Tyler, using real golfers, real launch monitors and force plates that measure exactly how the body creates speed.
Utah Valley University recently featured Tyler's golf lab in a new video. Take a look inside the space where much of the SuperSpeed research happens:
A career built on how golfers move
Tyler's work focuses on biomechanics: how the body produces force and turns it into club speed. His lab at Utah Valley University includes Trackman, Bertec and Smart2Move force plates, and Qualisys motion capture, which lets him measure not only how fast a golfer swings but how they push into the ground to get there. He has presented his research on grip strength and ground reaction forces at the TPI Summit, his studies have been covered by Golf.com, and he has been a guest on golf podcasts including Fit for Golf and The Sweet Spot. His findings have also shaped our products directly. Rest periods and rep counts in the SuperSpeed protocols, the SuperSpeed Squeeze grip protocol, and the grip on the new Speed Sticks Pro all came out of his research.
Highlights from Tyler's SuperSpeed studies
- Ground Force Study: 15 recreational golfers completed 6 weeks of Level 1 training and gained 5 mph of club head speed, 11 mph of ball speed and roughly 22 yards of carry.
- On-Course Study: golfers tracked with Shot Scope gained 6 mph and 15 yards off the tee, hit more fairways (41% to 51%) and lowered their scores by about 2.5 strokes.
- Junior Speed Study: nine juniors ages 6 to 14 added an average of 8 mph and 22.2 yards in 5 weeks.
- Non-Dominant Swing Study: golfers who trained only on their non-dominant side still gained 6.4 mph of driver club head speed.
- C Club Study: 11 golfers gained 4 mph of club speed, nearly 10 mph of ball speed and 22 yards of carry.
- Grip Strength Pilot Study: golfers ages 22 to 85 improved grip strength 5 to 7% and added 2.0 mph in just 4 weeks.
Why his research matters for your game
Across his studies, Tyler has found that golfers can expect roughly a 5 to 7% increase in club head speed during their first five to six weeks of training. Those gains hold up for juniors, seniors, beginners and low handicappers, and they show up on the course, not just on the launch monitor. Every time we update a protocol or design a new product, Tyler's data is part of the conversation.
Want to dig into the numbers yourself? See every study on our research page, or start your own training with Speed Sticks Pro.