The Name of the Game...

malemotives

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Puyallup, WA., Spring Hill, FL
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Clubhead SPEED and CONTACT

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Sure. How? Also, shows the importance of ball speed retention across the face.
 
It's relatively easy to hit a 7 iron in the same place every time. The driver is a much longer club. Your swing flaws show up with a driver much more than they do with a 7 iron.
 
I have about 100 things to say about that ideology, but I'll limit to the following;

1 - There is no baseline for a 15 handicap. I've met plenty of them who can hit the center of the face but can't scramble or putt.
2 - Amateur golfers aren't electively mediocre ball strikers, and it's hardly rocket science to suggest that improving contact will improve results, however even if contact improved, that doesn't reflect swing path or face angle that would be required to genuinely improve distance
3 - It's no news that there are a handful of heads that are wildly more forgiving than the TaylorMade pictured in the second photo which will retain ball speed in all shots but the tragic one off the toe.
 
Strike is king...after you rectify club path to face angle. No matter where you hit on the face, if your face is more than a few degrees divergent from your club path, you're in for a wildly inefficient ball flight. If you get the face angle and path rectified, but you have an angle of attack of more than a degree or two down, you're going to need a freakishly high club speed in order to get solid distance.

Yes, where you hit it on the face matters for maximizing efficiency, but it's the difference between a fairway finder and a legitimate long ball, unless your misses across the face are quite extreme.
 
The name of the game is ball speed, consistent high ball speed that much better.

Canadan is right on the toe miss though, nothing can save that. (I would know)


Seems like a good thread to put impact tape pictures though. This was end of last season when I was playing most days. 5 or 6 shots I think

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Strike is king...after you rectify club path to face angle. No matter where you hit on the face, if your face is more than a few degrees divergent from your club path, you're in for a wildly inefficient ball flight. If you get the face angle and path rectified, but you have an angle of attack of more than a degree or two down, you're going to need a freakishly high club speed in order to get solid distance.

Yes, where you hit it on the face matters for maximizing efficiency, but it's the difference between a fairway finder and a legitimate long ball, unless your misses across the face are quite extreme.

Going to disagree here. If your face to path is different by a lot you don't lose much assuming you can repeat the shot and know what it will do. You only lose like 2-3 yards carry if your face to path is 10 degrees open assuming the other conditions are good. 155 ball speed 15* launch and low 2k spin
 
Going to disagree here. If your face to path is different by a lot you don't lose much assuming you can repeat the shot and know what it will do. You only lose like 2-3 yards carry if your face to path is 10 degrees open assuming the other conditions are good. 155 ball speed 15* launch and low 2k spin
True, but if you're already rocking those numbers, and a decent spin axis, you'll get good distance. My statement was more in reference to people who have either wildly inconsistent numbers, or who hit the center but are way off in terms of path to face relationship, such as someone who cuts across the ball.

For me, strike is more often, "I hit a reasonably decent shape, a fade that sometimes slices, and I keep most things consistent except I strike the ball out of the heel with my driver." That guy can move his strike out more towards the toe and help reduce spin and increase distance. Strike location on the face comes after someone is comfortable with a shot shape and with their expectations. If you're OK with a fade, but your fade is sometimes short/too far and you hit it off the heel, then changing/improving strike matters for you. If you draw it but sometimes have a knuckle-duck-hook, or an off the toe pull is the only way you have to hit it left, then strike really does come into play. Otherwise it's still going to sit behind club path and face angle in terms of priority, if only for the sake of consistency.
 
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