EXAMPLE 1 98-MPH CLUBHEAD SPEED First up is Gary Abbott, a 13-handi- cap with a 98-mile-per-hour clubhead speed with the driver. Of the 18 driver models he hit, six produced more distance with less than his fastest ball speed. With one driver, Abbott hit a shot with 7.5 mph less of ball speed that still yielded a total distance that was five metres longer than the shot that had the higher speed (see chart). How? Well, the longer shot featured a launch angle that was 7 degrees higher (13 degrees versus 6) and a spin rate that was more optimal, specifically in the low 2 000s in revolutions per minute (rpm) versus the low 1 000s. (Although we often think lower spin is ideal for distance, too little spin means the ball won’t stay in the air long enough.) EXAMPLE 2 86-MPH CLUBHEAD SPEED Next is Alejandra Bedoya, a former col- lege golfer who is now a 5-handicap with an 86-mph driver clubhead speed. Of the 15 driver models she tested, the 10 longest hits for each model came from shots with less than the fastest ball speeds. Like Abbott, Bedoya’s most efficient combinations of ball speed, launch angle and spin rate yielded the most distance. In one particular example, Bedoya gave up one mph of ball speed but combined it with an extra degree of launch and 250 rpm less spin. That combo led to nine more metres in total distance. EXAMPLE 3 110-MPH CLUBHEAD SPEED As we move to a player with a faster swing and more consistent centre-face contact, though, we saw that ball speed more often than not won the day. Of the 18 driver models hit by Jack Bingham, who swings 110 mph, only twice did he record the most distance with a ball speed that was not the fastest for that driver. But in one scenario, he gave up more than four mph of ball speed, but because his launch angle was 5 degrees lower and his spin rate was more than
Launch Angle
Total Distance
Ball Speed
Backspin
145
6.4
1106
223
Abbott
DRIVER A
137.5
13.4
2041
228
DRIVER B
132.2
13.7
2430
220.1
Bedoya
DRIVER A
131.7
14.5
2172
229.3
DRIVER B
160.7
7.4
2714
282.1
Bingham
DRIVER A
156
12.3
2297
285.6
DRIVER B
away with less optimised launch con- ditions (like a negative angle of attack and a lower launch angle) because of their higher swing speeds. Meanwhile, LPGA players are hitting up on the ball and launching their drives 2 degrees higher with the same spin rate as their male counterparts. It’s why some LPGA players use drivers with less loft more effectively than PGA Tour pros who swing 30 mph faster. To be clear, more ball speed is usu- ally going to yield more distance, as long as you’ve got the launch condi- tions dialled in optimally. That word “optimally” is important. It isn’t a fixed set of conditions. The optimal launch conditions are tied to how fast you move the club and the way your swing delivers the clubhead to the ball. If your swing is more of a downward strike on the ball, there is a different set of optimal conditions than if you create an upward strike. The numbers on a launch monitor are a critical part of fitting, but they are best when they are the most consis- tent. After all, total distance doesn’t lie; neither does accuracy. As Ping’s Chris Broadie, head of fitting science, writes in a recent post on the company’s Prov- ing Grounds blog, “Instead of trying to force all golfers into a positive angle of attack with high launch and low spin, we should customise our fitting meth- ods to identify each player’s optimal launch and spin – and keep unlocking distance.”
400 rpm higher, the shot with the lower ball speed still produced three metres more in total distance. When you look at these three exam- ples, it’s important to focus on the shots that have an ideal marriage of distance and tighter dispersion. If you think of PGA Tour players as having not only the most ability but the most dialled- in drivers, it’s telling that they miss the centre of the fairway by an average of Optimal launch conditions are tied to how fast you move the club and the way your swing delivers the clubhead to the ball. only 22 feet. Percentage-wise, in the past 15 years, they’ve improved that stat a lot more than they’ve improved their driving distance. (Driving distance has increased 4.6 percent since 2009; distance from the centre of the fairway has improved 13.3 percent.) Efficiency of launch conditions no doubt is part of that increase and, in many cases, more important than ball speed (and swing speed). Tradition- ally, the best LPGA players optimise distance for their swing speeds more than PGA Tour players, who can get
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