Ball Flight Laws &#8211; Plugged In Golf

Part 5: Gear Effect

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Ball Flight Laws #4 – 3D Club Path

Matt Saternus — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:00:35 +0000

Time to Think in 3D

Ok, class, strap on your thinking cap, because this lesson is going to bend your noodle. Today, we are going to leave the 2D world behind and move into 3D as we discuss the 3D Club Path AKA Resultant Path.

Do You Slice Your Driver But Not Your Irons?

I can’t tell you how many players I’ve coached who have come to me with that issue. “Matt,” they ask, “Why can I hit my irons straight but not my driver?” The answer: you have very different Resultant Paths with your irons vs. your driver (yes, loft and length are issues, too, but we’ll talk about that another day).

The Golf Swing is Three Dimensional

Everyone knows that the golf swing is, roughly speaking, an arc that exists in 3D space. However, most people think about the club path in two dimensions (i.e. “Swing to the right of the target”).

To really understand ball flight and club path, we need to recognize that the 3D Club Path is made up of three things:

Horizontal Swing Plane or Swing Direction – Swinging right or left of the target, from a bird’s eye view

Vertical Swing Plane – The angle of the swing arc, relative to the ground

Angle of Attack – How much up or down the club is moving at impact

But all those words…not very helpful. Let’s get some pictures to clear things up.

The Resultant Path

In these photos, we are going to use the hula hoop as a stand in for the arc of the swing (Swing Direction) and the Sharpie will indicate the 3D Club Path.

Here the hula hoop (Swing Direction) is pointed straight at the target, and so is the Sharpie (3D Club Path). The Swing Direction and Club Path are the same because the Angle of Attack is zero, the club is moving perfectly level to the ground at this point. Keep in mind, the Swing Direction and the 3D Club Path are the same at one point in the swing.

In this picture, the hula hoop (Swing Direction) is pointed straight at the target, but the Sharpie (Club Path) is actually pointed to the right. This is because the club is moving down (negative Angle of Attack) which shifts the Club Path to the right.

This picture shows the opposite of the last one: the Swing Direction is still pointed straight at the target, but the Club Path is pointed to the left. This is because the club is moving up (positive Angle of Attack) which shifts the Club Path to the left.

What would we have to do to get a positive Angle of Attack and a “straight” Club Path?

To “zero out” the Club Path with a positive Angle of Attack, we need to shift the hula hoop (Swing Direction) to the right.

Practical Applications

I know that’s a lot to get your head around, so here is the Cliff Notes version:

When you hit down on the ball, your club path is more to the right.

When you hit up on the ball, your club path is more to the left.

So in terms of practical application, it is easier to draw the ball when you’re hitting it off the ground (hitting down) than when you’re hitting it off a tee (hitting up).

What You Should Do

Hopefully, as we have moved through these lessons you have learned more about more about your swing and your tendencies with each club. This lesson gives you a more detailed understanding of why some of those tendencies exist. For example, you may have found that you hit your 7I straight, but the 9I and wedges tend to draw. Now you know why: by hitting down more, you are shifting your Club Path further right, promoting a draw.

I will be creating lessons to help you control your Club Path and Angle of Attack in the future, but if you have any specific questions or lessons you’d like to see, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

Understanding Ball Flight

Part 4: 3D Club Path (Resultant Path)

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Ball Flight Laws #3 – Spin

Matt Saternus — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:00:51 +0000

Introduction

The topic of the day is spin. I’ll address how spin is created, how to maximize spin with your wedges, and how to minimize spin with your driver.

What Creates Spin?

To create spin, you need spin loft, speed, and friction. Speed is pretty self-explanatory (more speed = more spin), so we’ll focus on spin loft and friction.

Spin Loft

The primary factor in creating spin is spin loft.

Spin loft is defined as the difference between the Dynamic Loft* and the Angle of Attack**.

So, for example, if I hit a wedge shot with a DL of 45° and an AoA of -5° (a negative AoA means a downward strike), my spin loft would be 45° – (-5°) or 50°.

If I hit a driver shot with a DL of 13° and an AoA of 3° (a positive AoA means an upward strike), my spin loft would be 10°.

*Dynamic Loft is the loft of the club at impact

**Angle of Attack is the angle at which the club is traveling at impact.

Maximizing Spin

“So to maximize spin, you maximize spin loft, right?”

Not so fast. Remember that I said you also need friction to create spin. When the spin loft exceeds 45°, you lose friction and, thus, spin. Said another way:

To maximize spin, you want a spin loft of 45°. More or less spin loft will reduce spin.

This is why most players will create more spin with their pitching wedge than their lob wedge.

Minimizing Spin

With the driver, the problem is not how to create more spin but how to scale it down. We want just enough spin to keep the ball airborne. This will give us maximum carry (especially in the wind) with the potential for lots of roll.

Since friction is not an issue with the driver, and we don’t want to reduce speed, our only means of reducing spin is reducing the spin loft.

To reduce spin loft with the driver, we want to get a positive angle of attack (hit up) while keeping dynamic loft relatively low.

This means we’re going to want to tee the ball high and try to keep from adding too much loft to the club at impact.

Myth Busting

With your new understanding of spin, you can now dismiss some of the myths about spin. Let’s run down some of the common ones:

1) “You have to hit down more to make it spin.”

Yes, hitting down (having a steep angle of attack) will increase your spin loft. However, if that spin loft exceeds 45°, the spin is actually reduced. Many people would spin their wedges more by hitting down less.

2) “More loft means more spin.”

Again, this is true only to a point. For most people, the club that spins the most will be their pitching wedge or gap wedge. With a 56 or 60 degree wedge, it is very hard (maybe impossible) to get the spin loft down to 45°.

3) “Big grooves make the ball spin.”

Sort of. The function of grooves is to channel away moisture, grass, and dirt so that the ball and club face can come together without interference. If you were to hit a clean, dry golf ball off of pavement, it wouldn’t matter if you had big grooves or none at all. The underrated aspect of wedge design, so far as spin is concerned, is having a rough club face to increase friction.

Bottom line: grooves are great, but remember that the goal is clean ball-club face contact. Clean and dry your wedges before every shot.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve found this lesson helpful. In future lessons, I’ll address the techniques that will help you to spin your wedges and bomb your drives. If there are specific topics or shots you’d like to see addressed, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Understanding Ball Flight

Part 3: Spin

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Ball Flight Laws #2 – Curve

Matt Saternus — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:00:38 +0000

Time to Fix the Slice

Welcome back for another lesson on ball flight. Hopefully you’ve read Lesson #1 on start direction, because in today’s lesson, Curves, we’re going to build on that information. Before we get into that, I need to clear up two things.

#1: Semantics

I will admit that I am a little obsessive about language. As such, it drives me absolutely mad when I hear people throwing around “open” and “closed” without a reference point. “Open” and “closed” are relative terms. Your club face can be open relative to the target but closed relative to your path. It is important to be clear about the reference point to avoid confusion.

#2: Path Alone Doesn’t Create Curves

While I appreciate simplification as much as the next guy, I cringe when I hear people say, “Path curves the ball.” To me, this saying is why there are guys on every range in America trying to “swing to right field” to fix their ball flight when what they really need to do is get their club face in a better position.

What Does Create Curves?

Here’s the answer:

The relationship between the club face and club path creates curvature.

Or, said another way:

The ball starts between the face and the path, then curves towards the face (or away from the path).

To get even more practical:

When the club face is closed (more left) relative to the path, the ball will draw, or curve left.

When the club face is open (more right) relative to the path, the ball will fade, or curve right.

The 9 Ball Flights

With what you now know, you can understand and diagnose the 9 different ball flights. In the examples below, I used the negative terms “Slice” and “Hook,” but you can substitute “Fade” or “Draw,” if you’d prefer.

Now What?

With your new understanding of start direction and curvature, you can build an even deeper understanding of your swing and your ball flight.

Head to the range, pick a target, and set up your practice station. Hit a few shots keeping track of where the ball starts and how it curves. With those two pieces of information, you should be able to get a pretty solid idea of where your club face is pointed at impact and where your club path tends to be.

Once you know where you’re at, you can work on getting to where you want to be!

In future lessons, I’ll address how to change your club path and club face. If there are specific topics or shots you’d like to see addressed, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Understanding Ball Flight

Part 2: Curve

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Ball Flight Laws #1 – Start Direction

Matt Saternus — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 13:00:09 +0000

Ball Flight 101

A popular debate among golf instructors is whether or not students need to understand the facts about ball flight. I am firmly in the camp that believes golfers will be better off if they have a practical understanding of what makes the ball do what it does. Do they need to understand every bit of minutia down to the fifth decimal? Of course not. What they need is some functional knowledge.

With that in mind, I bring you the first in a 5-part series on ball flight. Today’s lesson: Start Direction

Face or Path?

One of the biggest misconceptions about ball flight is that the ball starts where the path is pointing. This is inaccurate. Speaking generally:

The ball starts where the club face is pointed at impact

For those who want to be perfectly accurate, the ball starts somewhere between the club face and the path, but it’s primarily controlled by the club face, especially for lower-lofted clubs.

Try It For Yourself

Rather than take my word for it, try this:

Get your putter, a golf ball, and a 2X4 (or anything with a long, straight edge). Lay the 2X4 down and put the heel of the putter against it. Make a stroke keeping the heel on the 2X4 so that your club path is perfectly straight. Now, with that stroke, hit the ball with a dramatically open club face.

Where did the ball go? It went where the face was pointing.

Don’t Forget Loft

Let’s not forget that the club face has loft, too. Just as your swing can bring the club into impact with a face that is pointed left or right of the target, you can add or subtract loft. If you find that your shots are starting too high or too low, that’s primarily a result of the club face.

So What?

You now have a very simple, but very powerful, tool for understanding your ball flight.

Go to the range and set up your practice station. Hit some shots and observe where the ball starts relative to your target (it’s even better if a friend can stand behind you to watch this because it can be hard to perceive accurately). Once a pattern emerges, you will know whether you need to work on getting the club face more open or closed at impact.

In future lessons, I’ll address the techniques that will help you improve your impact conditions. If there are specific topics or shots you’d like to see addressed, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Understanding Ball Flight

Part 1: Start Direction