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Fitting Golf
December 4, 2019
IT IS ALL A QUESTION OF DEGREES
January 26, 2021
Too often I see players on the Driving Range swinging their clubs without thinking of the path it should follow. I am pretty sure that all of them, when in the car heading for a destination pay close attention to the route to follow, carefully looking out for the right exit and checking with the sat nav for the correct itinerary. Is it not so?
The path the club takes returning to the ball is a fundamental one and the golfer who wants to steer his ball through the dangers of the golf course must learn to do this repetitively. Modern studies of the physics of ball flight (courses which I have attended and am qualified) have proved that the trajectory of the club head is what determines the curve of the golf ball. Therefore in order to avoid that annoying slice with the driver, we have to change the trajectory of the club, which is obviously travels excessively out-to-in. Conversely, if the ball bends too far to the left I must take care not to swing too much in- to- out. An effective way too improve and become a better player, increasing the variety of shots you can master, is to train for a more consistent return path to the ball.
Yes, it is indeed like this.
Have you ever found your line to the flag impaired by a tree, needing a nice draw to go round the obstacle allowing you to land on the green ? The answer always lies in knowing how to handle the club’s trajectory. Here I shall explain how: we need to align our body to the right of the target to invite an in- to- out trajectory, we should then move the ball slightly back in our stance and finally adopt a softer grip to ensure that the club face closes on the ball (but not excessively), always aiming to strike the ball with the centre of the club face. I will use numerical references to clarify: with a trajectory of 10* to the right of the target and with the club face a further 5*more to the right but more closed than the trajectory, this will generate a DRAW. You can understand how important it is to choose the right path to return your club correctly to the ball. You can join me on the Driving Range to discover how best to improve your game. Do you know what happens when the club head hits the ball ? Undoubtedly you do not know what happens if you finish with the wrong trajectory……. I will explain !!
Yes, it is indeed like this.
Have you ever found your line to the flag impaired by a tree, needing a nice draw to go round the obstacle allowing you to land on the green ? The answer always lies in knowing how to handle the club’s trajectory. Here I shall explain how: we need to align our body to the right of the target to invite an in- to- out trajectory, we should then move the ball slightly back in our stance and finally adopt a softer grip to ensure that the club face closes on the ball (but not excessively), always aiming to strike the ball with the centre of the club face. I will use numerical references to clarify: with a trajectory of 10* to the right of the target and with the club face a further 5*more to the right but more closed than the trajectory, this will generate a DRAW. You can understand how important it is to choose the right path to return your club correctly to the ball. You can join me on the Driving Range to discover how best to improve your game. Do you know what happens when the club head hits the ball ? Undoubtedly you do not know what happens if you finish with the wrong trajectory……. I will explain !!
Sometimes we wonder why our ball spins in a way we had not intended. The golf club travels on a horizontal trajectory, a vertical one and another in the direction of the target. The vertical and horizontal trajectory is called D-Plane.
Today we shall talk only about the horizontal direction. The effects (???) are caused by the club face when the line of the club’s trajectory deviates from the direction line of the club face at the moment of impact with the ball. The club’s trajectory can be in-to-out, in-to-in, out-to-in. If the club face strikes the ball in the same direction as the trajectory, the shot will not suffer side effects: this does not mean that the shot will reach the target, merely that it will not be affected by side spin such as the HOOK or the SLICE .
Today we shall talk only about the horizontal direction. The effects (???) are caused by the club face when the line of the club’s trajectory deviates from the direction line of the club face at the moment of impact with the ball. The club’s trajectory can be in-to-out, in-to-in, out-to-in. If the club face strikes the ball in the same direction as the trajectory, the shot will not suffer side effects: this does not mean that the shot will reach the target, merely that it will not be affected by side spin such as the HOOK or the SLICE .
What are the Hook and the Slice ?
The Hook is a shot that veers to the left and the Slice is a shot which curves to the right. We previously mentioned that the ball can have a straight flight but at the same time does not reach the target……why does this happen? You should know that the ball will fly towards the target only if , at the moment of impact, the club face is perfectly aligned to it. For example, if we had an out-to-in path and a club face perfectly aligned in the same direction of the club head (therefore pointing left of the target), the end result would be a perfectly straight shot with no lateral spin but not in the direction of the target as it aims left: this is referred to as a PULL. Let us now consider a shot with the same out-to-in club trajectory but, unlike the previous shot, with a club face aligned to the target, therefore pointing right in respect of the clubhead’s trajectory, we will see a shot travelling towards the target but with a left to right flight because the ball will travel left, ie on the same trajectory as the club head, but which will curve to the right towards the target with a SLICE effect. With the assistance of the photograph think about the ball paths and the various possible combinations .
The Hook is a shot that veers to the left and the Slice is a shot which curves to the right. We previously mentioned that the ball can have a straight flight but at the same time does not reach the target……why does this happen? You should know that the ball will fly towards the target only if , at the moment of impact, the club face is perfectly aligned to it. For example, if we had an out-to-in path and a club face perfectly aligned in the same direction of the club head (therefore pointing left of the target), the end result would be a perfectly straight shot with no lateral spin but not in the direction of the target as it aims left: this is referred to as a PULL. Let us now consider a shot with the same out-to-in club trajectory but, unlike the previous shot, with a club face aligned to the target, therefore pointing right in respect of the clubhead’s trajectory, we will see a shot travelling towards the target but with a left to right flight because the ball will travel left, ie on the same trajectory as the club head, but which will curve to the right towards the target with a SLICE effect. With the assistance of the photograph think about the ball paths and the various possible combinations .
