Driver Swing

[TPG]

Hi Mike,

During my lesson last fall, you recommended a stiffer shaft and indicating I was hitting down on my driver, so I have been working on hitting up on the driver with a new club with a stiff shaft.

First time out I was really letting go with it and hitting it great, but for three weeks after, I was fighting a hook and hitting most of the shots off of the toe.

So I have taken a more deliberate swing and focused more on flat left wrist, bent right wrist into the ball. I am hitting straighter shots, but am somewhat challenged to get "some air under the ball".

I have some driver trackman numbers attached and some golf swings - what do you think? Thanks and looking forward to your new literature !










Tom

[Michael Jacobs]

Tom,

Good to see your post and glad to see some Trackman numbers and some improved golf swings. Looks like you have come a long way!

The measurements from Trackman look very desirable. You say that you are having trouble 'getting air' under the ball?? I am seeing trackman data of a VERTICAL LAUNCH OF 16.2 degrees as average and a max height of 31.6 yards. You are also registering a dynamic loft calculation of 18.1 degree average.

Club numbers look good - angle of attack is up, path is within a degree of 0, Vertical swing plane is very standard, Smash Factor is right up there indicating a solid hit, the face angle calculation looks like it could be a little more consistent. I would definitely zero in on the club face control! If these trackman numbers are accurate, I would work on orientating the club face better when hooks and funny shots creep in -

With a 140 mph ball speed it is recommended by many that the VERTICAL LAUNCH be closer to 12 degrees.

WHat is the driver loft? SHaft? Length of club?

[TPG]

Mike, thanks for the feedback.

I am using TaylorMade Men's Burner SuperFast 2.0 Driver, 10.5 degrees, Shaft - Matrix Xcon-4.8 - Stiff flex, its an inch longer than my Callaway driver.

using a simulator, I hit 4 clubs with the combos of regular/stiff flex and 9.5/10.5 degrees and hit this one the best.

How can I have a dynamic loft of 18 degrees when my angle of attack is 2 degrees with a 10.5 degree clubhead loft?

How would you recommend reducing the dynamic loft ?

Thanks.

[Michael Jacobs]

Mike, thanks for the feedback.

I am using TaylorMade Men's Burner SuperFast 2.0 Driver, 10.5 degrees, Shaft - Matrix Xcon-4.8 - Stiff flex, its an inch longer than my Callaway driver.

using a simulator, I hit 4 clubs with the combos of regular/stiff flex and 9.5/10.5 degrees and hit this one the best.

How can I have a dynamic loft of 18 degrees when my angle of attack is 2 degrees with a 10.5 degree clubhead loft?

How would you recommend reducing the dynamic loft ?

Thanks.

Tom,

The golf club experiences a heavy load upon it, especially with the driver, so the golf club will be experiencing a dynamic situation, the loft of the club that is says on the bottom of the club head is a measured loft when the club is stationary. The golf club will undergo quite a bending mode at contact, here are some pictures:

The first one here is an X ray of an impact:



The bending mode of the shaft adds loft and a 'closing' of the golf club at contact. {FYI, The full literature on this will appear in my book Examination of a Golf Swing}

The dynamic loft reading your are getting during your trackman session is a CALCULATED number and is not being measured. The other parameters of the initial ball launch allow the machine to calculate a dynamic loft number. Form what I can see from the information you provided, lowering the ball's initial vertical launch will help. Was this fitting indoors or outdoors? Super high tee?

Here is an extreme version of a shaft bend mode of a long drive camera. Not sure if there is a camera parallax here but it gives an extreme example

[Phana24JG]

Damn, I was pretty certain the shaft was the answer, but I was afraid to make an idiot of myself. I am not sure about the XCon 4.8, but as I recall from my fitting session the Matrix Series 4 is a high launch shaft. Mike, what would you think about TP trying a mid-launch shaft?

I have a Fubuki Alpha 70S that has a mid launch that I love. The standard drive is a penetrating flight. I never realized how much difference a shaft makes until I experimented.

[TPG]

Mike - the trackman numbers were measured inside, I hit off of a tee about 2 inches high.

The shaft is the standard off the shelf shaft, i did not give any thought to the launch characteristics of the shaft...

Phana - thanks for the info - perhaps a different shaft would work. I would think I still want to hit up on the ball slightly. The carry on the 9.5 degree club was less than on the 10.5 (at least on the simulator - I did not get a chance to try 9.5 vs 10.5 on the trackman).

[TPG]

Mike, I took video at 1000fps of driver contact through the ball, looks like I am very slightly delofting the clubface as it comes thru the ball. Another clubface issue I need to work on.. Video of my 5 Iron swing indicates I am slightly flipping it , so need to work on getting my hands a little forward .

Thanks.

[Michael Jacobs]

Mike, I took video at 1000fps of driver contact through the ball, looks like I am very slightly delofting the clubface as it comes thru the ball. Another clubface issue I need to work on.. Video of my 5 Iron swing indicates I am slightly flipping it , so need to work on getting my hands a little forward .

Thanks.

Tom,

Can you post up that high speed video of the driver shot and the 5 iron?.. I would like to see what's going on

[TPG]

Mike,

here is the driver contact:



here is the 5 iron swing - here I am hitting the ball off a slanted mat to make sure I am hitting down on it - but it seems I still have a slight flip.



As always, thanks for the feedback.

[Michael Jacobs]

Tom,

I am really not seeing a flip or a deloft. Here are some screen shots:





















What are your thoughts?????