Learn to Control the Parameters that Determine Ball-Fight

Background Information:
The spin axis is the axis around which a golf ball spins. The value is plus or minus relative to the horizon. A positive value means the ball is going right and a negative value means the ball is going left.

The spin axis tilt is calculated as 2 times the difference between the true club path (CP) orientation at impact and the clubface (CF) orientation at impact. A golf ball will spin sideways 0.7 percent for every one degree of spin axis tilt.

The true CP orientation at impact is calculated as follows: True CP = HSP [AA x tan (90 VSP)]

Vertical Swing Plane (or Swing Plane) is a measure of how vertical the swing is, where a high value represents a very up and down (steep) swing plane and a low value is a relatively flat (to the ground) arc. More technically, it is the angle made between the ground and the plane of club head trajectory at the bottom of the swing arc. The higher your VSP (the steeper your swing plane) the less effect the AA has on your true CP and vice versa.

Horizontal Swing Plane (or Swing Direction) is the orientation of the swing arc, relative to the target line, where positive means to the right, negative means to the left. More technically, it is the horizontal direction the club head is traveling in the bottom of the swing arc.

Angle of Attack (or Attack Angle) is the vertical (up-down) angle at which the club head is moving at impact. Positive means hitting up on the ball, while negative means hitting down on the ball. If your AA is zero (you swing dead level) then your true CP will simply be your HSP. With shots off the ground, you want to have a negative AA. With a driver, you want to have a positive AA or a slight negative AA (which ever works best for you). Off Center Hits:

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There are two contributions to tilting the spin axis. The first is the tilting when the true CP orientation at impact does not equal the CF orientation at impact. The second contribution is the horizontal gear effect that occurs when the ball is impacted anywhere but the center of gravity of the clubhead in the heel-toe direction. If the ball is hit toward the toe, the clubhead will twist clockwise and the gear effect causes the ball spin axis to tilt left (counter-clockwise, draw spin). If the ball is hit toward the heel you get the opposite effect, or fade spin axis tilt. A one dimple (0.14 inches) off center hit creates a 6-degree tilting of the spin axis. For every 10 degrees of spin axis tilt, the ball spins sideways by 7 percent. Initial Ball Flight Direction: The initial ball -flight direction will be approximately 75 to 35 percent in the direction of the CF orientation at impact relative to the true CP orientation at impact. A driver will be closer to the 75 percent and a wedge closer to the 35percent. The ball will then curve away from the true CP orientation.

Learning to Control the Parameters that Determine Ball-Flight:

It is much harder to learn to control the CF orientation at impact than it is to learn to control the true CP orientation at impact. The True CP Orientation at Impact: Golfer should first learn to control their true CP orientation at impact prior to learning to control their CF orientation at impact. The true CP orientation at impact is mainly determined by the HSP (or swing direction). The AA and the VSP (or swing plane) are modifying factors to the HSP as shown in the equation that determines the true CP at impact. True CP = HSP [AA x tan (90 VSP)]

It is harder to learn to control the AA at impact that it is to learn to control the VSP at impact. As stated previously, if your AA is zero (you swing dead level) then your true CP at impact will simply be your HSP at impact. Also, as stated previously, the higher your VSP (the steeper your swing plane) at impact the less effect the AA has on your true CP orientation at impact and visa versa.

The CF Orientation at Impact: As stated earlier, learn to control the CF orientation at impact after you have learned to control the true CP orientation at impact. Page 2 of 4

You lean to control the true CP and CF orientation at impact by learning golf swing biomechanics and then developing feels that help you with the biomechanics. The golf swing biomechanics relate to the movement and positions of the body, arms/hands, and golf club prior to and during the golf swing. The biomechanics of the golf swing can be placed into the following four categories: Address Position Backswing Downswing Impact and Follow-Through There are biomechanics in your address position, backswing, downswing, impact/follow-through that 1. 2. 3. 4. Contribute to your HSP being positive (in-to-out) or negative (out-to-in). Contribute to your AA being too negative or too steep. Contribute to your VSP being too steep or flat. Contribute to the orientation of your CF at impact.

Since we all have different strength, flexibility, and other factors in our bodies, the biomechanics that work for one golfer might not work for another golfer.

Study your Ball-Flight: When analyzing a golf swing, its best to start with the understanding of the impact parameters and their effect on ball-flight. Understanding divots (direction, size, depth, etc) and the sound of shots can also help. To hit the ball straight, you need to zero out the true CP and orientation at impact with the CF orientation at impact.

If you like playing a slight fade, you would want your true CP orientation at impact inside of -3 degrees (out-to-in path) with a CF orientation near zero at impact. Tour players that have a sizable fade swing out-to-in with a true CP orientation of -6 degrees. You do not want to have the CF orientation at impact too open relative to the true CP orientation at impact because this will cause the ball to curve too much left-to-right.

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If you like to play a slight draw, you would want your true CP orientation at impact inside of +3 degrees (in-to-out path) with a CF orientation near zero at impact. Tour players that have a sizable draw swing in-to-out with a true CP orientation at impact of approximately +6 degrees. You do not want do have the CF orientation at impact too closed relative to the true CP orientation at impact because this will cause the ball to curve too much right-to-left.

Once you understand what the impact parameters are and how they affect ball flight, then you can start to analyze the effects that various biomechanical elements of the swing (at address, during the backswing, during the downswing, during impact/follow-through) have on the impact parameters.

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