swolf score

my best ever swim golf score was 3 days ago for 50 yards with flip turn SPL was 15 out/16 back, time was 44 seconds
44+15+16 = 75

I can swim a faster 50 with more strokes
I can swim a slower 50 with fewer strokes
but for a 44 second 50, that was the fewest strokes I've ever done to create that speed. (If you're curious, my tempo was 1.15 strokes per second) .

The big "BUT" here, however is whether or not that's sustainable. I can't swim 15 SPL @ 1.15 strokes per second for more than 50 yards. It's like being in a really big gear (I'm 5'3")

While this is a nice target to extend, I'm far more comfortable at 17SPL at teh same or slightly faster rate for a longer swim of 500/1000 or more.

To compare this to swim fitness, last week's "fast" 500, not quite a TT was a 1:40/100 average, and recent 100 repeats around 1:30 / 100. I consider this out of shape for me...take 5 seconds off for "in shape" from each.

So your "goal" golf score will change with yoru distance.


So congrats on starting to use the metric to learn more about your swimming...shooud be an enjoyable discovery.

ETA: the swim sense counts stroke cycles, so the number will look different and is a little less accurate since the watch is only on one wrist (8 cycles could be 15, 16 or 17 strokes depending on which watch you wear the wrist on)

Edited by AdventureBear 2012-01-31 11:30 AM

Because for me taking 15 strokes is a really long stroke. I'm 5' 2.6" or so on a good day with a negative ape index. I can increase or decrease the stroke count, I can increase or derease the tempo.

What Im looking for are current sustainable SPLS & Tempos at various distances that I can then manipulate to find my current limits...and then a plan for improvement.

What I did on that day was start with a moderate tempo, slow it down while swimming 50s and reduce my stroke count, then I reversed the TT and icnrementally increased the tempo while holding the longer strokes. I made a decision to hold SPL of 15 (plus 1 for the turn) and continued to increase the tt beyond where I started.

When I hit that combo (15SPL @ 1.15 sec/stroke) I felt strong, but strained. it's like being in your lowest gear riding up a big hill. For that reason I coudlnt' sustain it beyond 50yds, or for more than about 7 50s in a row.

Certainly with fitness the goal would be to be able to swim 100s/500s & beyond at a chosen SPL & Tempo.

That's where the experimentation & Evaluation comes in is figuring out what combos are good for you.

I can swim 15 SPLall day long but I'm not very fast....because a sustainable 15 SPL demands that I slow my tempo. I can swim a tempo of 1 sec/stroke for awhile, but as my technique fades my SPL increases. Either one of these combos will create a slower speed.

I spend the majority of my practices time finding combinations of tempo & SPL that work for me...that represent my current fastest for that distance....then focus on improving those metrics. On that particular day, i wanted my "best" golf score for 50 yards and that's what I got. I'll continue to work on improving my best golf score for 50 yards by working on increasing the tempo while holding 15SPL. But at that rate, hitting 14SPL probably is not very practical given my height.

The OP asked about golf scores and I was happy to share my "best" score. My point is (I guess) that lowest golf score may not be an optimal combination.

I hope that helps clear things up...sorry i got so techy...

Edited by AdventureBear 2012-01-31 11:44 AM

That's one reason why I sold mine.

Damn you guys.... Got it. haha, jokes on me.