Ball Flight Laws

For decades, the PGA Teaching Manual has contained some incorrect information pertaining to a golf ball’s flight. That information can be summed up as follows: “The golf ball starts on the direction of the swing path and curves back to where the clubface was aimed at impact.”

Put another way, the Manual has stated that the swing path is the primary, over-riding determinant in the golf ball’s initial starting direction. This information is wrong. It’s been updated (slightly) within recent years, yet many golfers – famous or otherwise – and instructors – famous or otherwise – still believe it.

Just shoot me. Initial ball flight is determined by the club face angle relative to the target line.

I’ve spent 5 years, more or less, trying to learn to swing the golf club, only to learn today that I’ve been correcting my ball flight based on faulty knowledge that the initial direction of the ball is determined by the swing path. I’m having difficulty getting my head around all this, so I had to figure out how to explain it to myself. Here’s what I came up with as an explanation. Warning, there’s a little simple math involved here.

So, as we all know, a square clubface with a inside-to-square-to-inside swing path produces a straight shot. A push is produced by a swing that is inside-to-outside with the clubface square to the swing path at impact. A pull is produced by a swing that is outside-to-inside with a clubface that is square to the swing path at impact. Nothing has changed here.

Draw spin is produced when the clubface angle is closed with respect to the swing path. Fade spin is produced when the clubface is open with respect to the swing path. Nothing has changed here.

A draw is a golf shot that starts straight but curves left (for a right handed golfer). A fade is a golf shot that starts straight but curves right (again, for a right handed golfer — I’ll assume a right-handed golfer from here on out). A push fade is a shot that starts right and also curves right; a push draw is a shot that starts right but curves left. Equivalently, a pull fade is a shot that starts left but curves right, and a pull draw is a shot that starts left and curves left. The way these shots are produced is different than I was taught, and probably how you’ve been taught as well. Let’s delve deeper.

Let’s call the clubface angle relative to the target line alpha ɑ. If the clubface is square to the target line at impact, then ɑ = 90°. Because we now know that the initial path of the ball is determined the the angle of the clubface at impact, the ball goes straight when ɑ = 90°. When ɑ > 90°, the ball starts left (pulls) and when ɑ < 90°, the ball starts right (pushes).

Let’s call the clubface angle relative to the swing path beta β. If the ball goes straight, then there is no draw or fade spin, so the clubface is square, or β = 90°. If the ball draws, the clubface is closed relative to the swing path, and β < 90°; conversely, if the ball fades, then the clubface is open relative to the swing path and β > 90°.

The next diagram shows how the ball reacts when the clubface is square at the point of impact. The ball’s initial ball flight will be straight. If the swing path angle is less than 90°, then this produces draw spin and the ball draws away from the target line. Conversely, if the swing path is greater than 90°, then the ball has a fade spin and the ball fades away from the target line.

The diagram below shows the effect of a closed clubface at impact. The initial ball flight is a pull. If the swing path angle is less than 90°, then the shot becomes a pull draw; if the swing path angle is aligned with the clubface, the shot is a pull, and if the swing path angle is greater than 90°, then the shot is a pull fade.

The last diagram shows the effect of an open clubface at impact. The initial ball flight is a push. If the swing path angle is less than 90°, then the shot is a push draw. If the swing path angle is aligned with the clubface, the shot is a push, and if the swing path angle is greater than 90°, then the shot is a push fade.

Now, we can build a little table to determine why your ball flew the way it did. This will also guide us in figuring out how to hit the shot we want. And this time, have it actually work, because what I was doing before based on multiple golf instruction manuals, was wrong.

Here’s the table.

OK, that’s the table. How do we use it? That’s a topic for another post (coming soon).

My TWGT 919THI driver I’ve been using for a while had gotten beat up and ugly from some bad swings, so I built a new one to match with the 959OL driver I use for recreational rounds (same shaft, swingweight, length and loft). I used the TWGT S2S Black 65 shaft and Golf Pride Dual Duometer midsize grip. I built it to a length of 44.5″ and a swingweight of D-1.

A few weeks back, I lost my sand wedge, so I took the opportunity to build new wedges as well. The CX Micro wedges are discontinued, but I bought several sets as it is the best wedge I’ve played and see no reason to switch to anything else. I used the TWGT CX Micro wedge heads, Rifle Spinner shafts and Golf Pride New Decade Multicompound midsize grips. I built them to match the 870Ti AW, 36.5″ length and D-7.5 swingweight.

I’ve practiced with the clubs, and they all work as expected, as long as I put a good swing on the clubs. There’s the rub… Anyway, I’m playing 18 with the clubs for the first time today.

Yani Tseng overtakes Michelle Wie to win Arkansas tournament – Tours & News – Golf.com.

Yani Tseng was as amazed as anyone during Michelle Wie’s torrid stretch early in the weekend, when Wie shot a 28 for nine holes to take command at the Northwest Arkansas Championship.

Just over 24 hours later, Tseng was the tournament’s champion – after rallying to beat Wie by a stroke.

"She’s just so good," Tseng said. "I just really play, one shot at a time, but if I don’t make lots of birdies today, I couldn’t win."

Tseng made four birdies in a crucial five-hole stretch on the back nine en route to a 6-under 65 on Sunday that gave her a third LPGA Tour victory of the year. Tseng, from Taiwan, held off Wie when both players made birdies on No. 18.

Michelle Wie shoots 28 for first 9 holes, takes lead in Arkansas

It’s a story line the LPGA Tour has to love.

Michelle Wie, the 20-year-old former prodigy finally playing to her potential, versus Juli Inkster, the 50-year-old Hall of Famer hoping to become the oldest player to win on the tour.

"It’s going to be like Beauty and the Beast out there," Inkster said. "I don’t have the pretty swing or whatever. I just try to get the ball in the hole."

The stage is set for a fantastic finish Sunday at the Northwest Arkansas Championship. Wie shot a 7-under 64 on Saturday — playing her first nine holes in 7-under 28 — to take a three-stroke lead over Inkster (66), Yani Tseng (68) and Na Yeon Choi (68). Tseng, a two-time major winner this year, also will be in the final group.

This club has a 0.90 coefficient of restitution, thus does not meet USGA regulations. I’ll only use this club for recreational rounds; it won’t be in my bag for tournaments. As you can see in the photo below, this clubhead is designed for swing speeds that don’t exceed 100 mph.

I’m playing Cowboys Golf Club tomorrow with my usual golf buddies. A full report to follow. I’ve not yet stuck golf balls with the club.

In other news, I completely stunk up Grapevine Golf Club today. AAIIRRGGGG!!!!