I just returned from a week's stay in Austin (sorry Tom ;->) and one of the
seminars had to do with loft vs. carry. In a nutshell, the math
apparently says that a 16* launch angle and spin in the 2,000's gives max
carry for 100 mph head speed. Don't hold me to the exact numbers but they
are reasonably close and the principle is the same. We proved it, more or
less, with various individuals and a launch monitor.
Tom W, one of the first to advocate higher face heights, was dead
on. First of all you can maximize the COR more easily that way. Secondly,
a higher face, with more roll, and a higher loft, can give you the correct
launch angle with enough gear effect to reduce the spin, giving you a
relatively high knuckle ball, to "normal" launches. Teeing it high and
hitting the ball just above the center of the roll, on the face, seems to
be optimal.
Using the words High Launch vs. the actual degrees may be one way of
overcoming the macho need for a 9* Driver.
I do not know what the GD article said, but this is what we were talking
about in Austin.
Al
