The science of how to improve overall player performance has evolved rapidly in the last 25 years.
Detailed analysis today allows golfers at all skill levels to better understand which areas need improvement and how to engage various tools in order to do so.
About SuperSpeed Golf
Formed in 2014 to bring OverSpeed Training to the world of golf, SuperSpeed Golf has remained the industry leader in golf swing speed training.
SuperSpeed’s model is coupling high end training products with detailed training protocols which are heavily researched to produce proven results. SuperSpeed’s founders, Mike Napoleon and Kyle Shay come from a background of elite golf coaching looking at all aspects of the game including physical characteristics, golf biomechanics, and motor learning science.
Pairing these concepts with widespread access to their training programs has helped SuperSpeed become and remain an industry leader. SuperSpeed products are used by over 700 Touring Professionals and 300,000 Amateur golfers around the world.
Michael Napoleon, PGA
Striving to continually innovate modern coaching methodology, Michael Napoleon believes truly expert coaches produce lasting positive change with very little input.
For years Napoleon owned and operated a golf performance academy called Catalyst Golf Performance in the Chicago area. Catalyst incorporated golf coaches, golf fitness professionals, rehabilitation experts, nutritionists, and club fitters under one roof to provide a comprehensive one stop shop for improvement.
In 2012, Napolein began product R&D on an Overspeed training product called the SuperSpeed Golf Training System, released in the fall of 2014. Since the launch SuperSpeed Golf has become a global brand and a new standard for speed. Now with over 700 touring professionals actively working with the products, SuperSpeed is making a distinct impact on the games of golfers all over the world.
He speaks regularly at seminars, coaching summits, teaching symposiums, and many other events with the primary goal of educating fellow professionals about not only speed training, but also business strategy, golf biomechanics, and coaching science.
The Napoleon Story
I’ve always been a golf coach who isn’t afraid to try new things and find new ways to help players achieve their goals. I truly feel that this should be the passion of anyone who wants to coach this great game.
The issues with this philosophy really boil down to taking the time to properly test new training techniques and developing the most effective delivery method for the player.
When I started in the golf business out of graduate school, I looked at what the best coaches in the world were doing. They had technology that most coaches didn’t and knew exactly how to use it. They looked at many details of the player beyond their golf swing. And they created very simple, easy to follow plans for the player to practice.
We implemented this same technique at our golf academy business and took it to the next level with SuperSpeed Golf. We test everything that we recommend to golfers with extreme detail. We make sure we know what results the player is going to get, how long it will take, and exactly what practice programs they will need to follow.
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You wake up in the morning — what’s the driving passion?
I’ve got a 4-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter who love to play a bunch of different sports including golf. Having time to spend with them, take them to their activities, and hopefully instill a love of sport in them is a key driving force that gets me up in the morning.
What was the genesis for SuperSpeed Golf?
We came across the concept of Overload/Underload training from a famous baseball coach named Tom House in the fall of 2012. At that time, we were running a full-service golf academy business in Chicago, Catalyst Golf Performance.
We did some research and worked to find the best way to adapt this training that was primarily done for pitchers to increase throwing speed to golfers swinging a club. It took a couple years of testing, but we found that with some subtle adjustments to the weight differences between the clubs, we could get 100% speed improvement rates in a couple different studies.
After these results, we knew we had something that could help all golfers and went all in on this concept. We termed the training Overspeed Training to describe the results we were seeing in our initial research and launched the business in the fall of 2014.
What is the main differentiator between SuperSpeed Golf and various competitors?
At SuperSpeed we keep things as simple as possible for the player. Our core 3 club training system is the easiest overspeed training system on the market. Switching between the clubs, which is an essential part of the training, is simple.
There are no weights to adjust or settings to change. Our protocols are color coded with the clubs and simple to follow.
The other thing that distinguishes our products is the body of training protocols that we offer. Our products are not just another training aid that comes with no instructions. We have years of training built for our products and are constantly working to create new and more effective training protocols.
Data analysis is a central component for golf at the very elite levels today. How is that now impacting golf at the recreational level and what should golfers at that specific level be looking for?
Technology is very dangerous for players in my opinion. I believe golfers should be looking for what drills to do to improve deficiencies in their game, not just why or how they are doing something wrong. I think of analysis technology like a medical test.
You don’t want your doctor just to spit out all of your test results and not prescribe anything to fix the problem. This is where many players go wrong with technology and become consumed by the numbers.
I do think that there will be consumer technology in the future that will self-analyze a swing and offer specific drill or program recommendations for players.
In approximate terms — what is the percentage of sales via online efforts, brick and mortar retail outlets and green grass shops?
Online sales (DTC website, Amazon) – 40%
Retail – 25%
Green Grass – 35%
These numbers have changed over time with more sales moving toward retail and other B2B sales streams. We have spent a lot of time working to cultivate and support our green grass accounts including golf clubs, golf coaches, and academies.
We developed an online certification program and currently have over 1800 Superspeed Certified professionals.
Related: Robert Davis III interview
Who is your customer?
Our customer is any golfer who wants to hit the ball farther.
Companies routinely tout the importance of customer service. Define the term and the approach followed by SuperSpeed Golf.
Customer Service in regards to our company is helping our customers achieve the results they want. That includes not only helping them with their orders, but also assisting and supporting them throughout the process of using our products.
If you could change one thing in golf unilaterally — what would it be and why?
I’m a big fan of adding a rule that would allow players to move a ball out of a divot in the fairway. The rules of golf should reward the player for hitting great shots. Until this is adopted, our plan is to just to help players hit the ball past all of the divots.
Best advice you ever received — what was it and who was it from?
If you are really good at something, don’t do it for free and figure out how to get it in front of as many people as possible.
Honestly, I don’t remember who said this to me at some point about 15 years ago, but it has stuck with me for a long time.
Biggest challenges facing the company short and long term are what? And what strategic answers are you implementing to deal with each?
Our biggest challenge at the moment is finding ways to make our already simple products even more simple and effective.
Much of this thought is currently going into a big digital app project that will not only be an easier delivery method for our protocols, but also a more interactive experience for players using our products.
We are very excited about this project and feel it will be the next step in making speed training a part of every golfer’s practice regimen.
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