Mythbuster: Hitting more down on the ball = More Spin?


Good video, and there's no denying that dynamic loft and good contact are the biggest determiners of spin. It's amazing how much TrackMan and other launch monitors have been used to break through some of the myths out there. What's frustrating is how many of those myths are still casually thrown out by golf commentators.

There are some things about this video I find interesting; he hits two shots very differently but trying to get the same distance. If you pause it at 1:40 it shows the side by side of the two shots. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of club head data to compare, particularly head speed. If I'm trying to hit down on the ball because I have to for whatever reason -- I'm in the rough, I feel like I need to flight it lower, whatever -- but I'm trying to get it to a certain distance, I'm going to either scrub off some head speed, or I'm expecting some head speed to be reduced, which will also reduce spin regardless of other factors. The video also shows that the steeper shot produced a higher launch angle, possibly due to higher face contact, and rolled 10% of its carry distance...just like the one with more spin but a lower launch and descent angle.

So from this video, I will agree that higher dynamic loft equals more spin...but so does more club head speed and impact location on the face. Also, spin impacts roll out, but so does launch angle, descent angle, and ball speed.

It's a short video, it proves its point, but I don't feel like it plays into the bigger picture of how to hit shots.
 
So from this video, I will agree that higher dynamic loft equals more spin...but so does more club head speed and impact location on the face. Also, spin impacts roll out, but so does launch angle, descent angle, and ball speed.

It's a short video, it proves its point, but I don't feel like it plays into the bigger picture of how to hit shots.

Well, spin loft, but otherwise I agree. There are more factors to hitting the shot you want than any one number.

http://blog.trackmangolf.com/spin-loft/
 
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