After graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines, Marty Jertson tried playing professional golf on the mini tours. But when he didn’t make it through Q-School, he pivoted to club design, and took a job at Ping, where he’s worked ever since.
Jertson is now Ping’s VP of fitting and performance, as well as the co-founder of TheStack, a speed-training system that enables golfers to maximize their distance and clubhead speed.
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Though he no longer plays full-time, Jertson has still managed to qualify for multiple major championships. And once he got there, he realized how important it is to drive the ball both long and straight.
When Jertson played in the 2018 PGA Championship, he discovered that his playing companions were outdriving him by at least 20 yards on every hole. And he knew that he needed to hit it farther if he wanted to compete with them.
“That became my mission,” Jertson told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode of Subpar. At the time, Ping was collaborating with biomechanics expert Sasho MacKenzie, who was researching the idea of putting customized weights on the club and following a specific regimen for speed training purposes.
“That’s where it all started,” Jertson said. “I worked on it, and got faster.”
TheStack was born.
Matthew Fitzpatrick was an early adopter of TheStack. Over the course of a year and a half, he made huge gains in distance off the tee and ball speed, culminating in a win at the U.S. Open last year.
“The two guys who gained the most speed on the PGA Tour last year were Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland, and they both used TheStack in that process,” Jertson said.
So how can TheStack benefit a recreational player? Jertson said that the average new user gains 6 mph in clubhead speed in six weeks, which equates to 15-20 yards. And Jertson was quick to emphasize that the commitment is minimal. All that is required to improve is 15-20 minutes of time with the system, 2-3 times per week.
After the first six weeks, the app software will direct you into a new program to help you continue to improve.
During his conversation with Knost and Stoltz, Jertson highlighted one particular success story in which a player used the program for a year and gained a whopping 22 mph in clubhead speed. His handicap also dropped from a mid single-digit to scratch.
TheStack can be used by all ages, from juniors to seniors. As for Jertson, he estimates that he gained 10 mph in ball speed.
Pair the Stack with a launch monitor to exactly record your gains; the Swing Caddie SC300i Launch Monitor ($499.99) is an ideal choice.
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“Your ceiling just goes up, which is a game-changer,” Jertson said.
For more from Jertson, including loads of tech talk and a simple tip that can improve your game, check out the full interview below.
