RE: ShopTalk: 15 Deg Driver Interest

[Tom Wishon]

Guys: When it comes to launch angle as a means to achieve greater carry distance, keep in mind that loft alone is not at all the final indicator of what that launch angle is going to be.� A HUGELY important part of the trajectory and ball flight modeling software that my chief engineer developed for me is the input for the golfer’s angle of attack into the ball.� Angle of attack being the angle the clubhead takes right into the impact moment.� Those golfers who happen to play the ball back too far or keep the hands in front of the clubhead such that the clubhead is taking a negative or downward angle will always generate a lower launch angle for the same loft head as will the golfers who deliver the clubhead level to impact.� And the ones who learned how to hit the ball more on the upswing, either by intent or through an early release that causes the clubhead to pass the hands prior to impact will always have a higher launch angle for any given loft than the golfers with the descending blow.� This is how the long drive competitors are able to max out so well with carry distance with their 5 and 6 degree loft drivers – they know how to tee it high and deliver the head on an upward angle of attack to the ball so they not only get a launch angle that is far greater than the real loft on the head, but with the lower loft they are then able to keep ball velocity up high with it.� When you see a launch monitor result for launch angle that is less than the real loft of the head you know that this golfer has either a 0 angle of attack or a negative angle of attack, and it is for this golfer that the MUCH higher loft driver is going to be the ticket for more carry distance.� And conversely if you run into a golfer where you note the launch angle is high, yet they are using a low loft angle driver, then you know that they have to be doing something in the swing that causes the clubhead to reach impact on a positive angle of attack, or hitting the ball on the upswing as most refer to it.� And with this the shaft too plays a big role in determining the final launch angle as well.�   Another very big one that has a giant effect on the final launch angle is the weather – so much that if you live in the deep south for example, and want to come to my neck of the woods in Colorado for a golf outing, you would definitely want to have a different driver for both places to be able to carry the ball your max distance. �For example, when I selfishly run my own parameters for swing speed, ball velocity, etc., on our ball flight modeling software, it tells me that I need to generate a 19 degree launch angle for max distance up here at 6500 feet with 15% humidity and our typical summer temperature and barometer reading.� But if I head to Austin to play, at their 1000 feet elevation with 80% humidity and higher temps, I need to be using a driver that generates a 14 degree launch angle for my swing parameters.�   I hear clubmakers ask me sometimes if I agree that a 14 degree launch angle is the best for all golfers and I always try to explain that the optimum launch angle is NOT a single number for all golfers – you have to be able to determine the relationships between everything at play from the golfer’s swing and swing speed to the club’s headweight and loft and COR and shaft bending action under the effect of their swing, to the weather and for sure the type of ball being used before you can make that determination.� Launch angle is VERY MUCH a fitting parameter that has to take all these things into account to really be able to optimize carry for the golfer, and that is the main reason why my chief engineer and I have been working so hard to finish this modeling software so we could learn more about these relationships.�   TOM W   -----Original Message----- From: Bernie Baymiller [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 11:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: ShopTalk: 15 Deg Driver Interest   Rich,   In my usual non-conforming state-of-mind...   Dave can run through the numbers, but sometimes when you get out on the range and really have little old ladies hitting balls, you find the numbers aren't the whole story. I would agree with Dave and you if we were talking about persimmon heads (11� was my dad's preference for pros from research he did at Spalding in the days of the solid head), but I don't find that to be true with the newer metalwood heads, except some of the monsters...or even true of many of the older metals. Depends on the CG location and length of the club. I have 65 year-old ladies hitting a 250cc Chicago 966 9.5� plenty high enough and a few who do fine with an 8� version at 46".  Yet, a lot of the new trampoline, low spin heads, like a Bang SRV II, require at least a 12� loft just to get a normal trajectory. From the same manufacturer, a Bang SF360, or Mellow Yellow, seems to require only a 10� to 12� loft, even at a slow swing speed. And, my 10� Integra S450 absolutely skies the ball at 48" club length with an A-flex PE...great carry, not much roll. As you are probably aware, a longer driver will hit the ball higher than a shorter one with the same loft and shaft flex, so club length does become a factor to consider.   Many seniors, especially the senior women, have no problem adapting to a long driver at all. They swing the club without a great deal of hand action anyway, so they have a swing that works right from the start. I had a somewhat late release and it was harder for me to learn to hit a long club than most of my customers. Move a senior lady up to 46" clublength, and she seems to get a 10� loft about as high as she hit a 43" club at 12�...so if John is going to go with a 43" club, and a larger head shaped something like the SF360 without an extremely tall face, 13� would seem plenty, IMO.   I also have seen that seniors, including me, like to practice as much as the younger players.  I don't think age has much to do with that...you are willing to practice or you're not. We're out there swinging on the range during the day while the younger crowd is working, weather permitting. In the golfing and boating retirement community where I play, on a nice day the range is often so crowded that I have to wait for a spot to open. I don't see that happening at the local munis where all the younger guys play.   Bernie Writeto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]  ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 11:59 AM Subject: Re: ShopTalk: 15 Deg Driver Interest   In a message dated 2/17/2003 5:40:23 PM Hawaiian Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Most of the seniors I know either will not practice enough to master a long club, or never had and never will have the clubhead speed with any length to get away with a 12* loft.) Very true! For that market the 15 to 17 degree would work very well. Rich "Mac" McHattie Mac's Golf