For mike jacobs

[joeparr]

Mike could you explain the d plane so I could understand it. joeparr

[Michael Jacobs]

Mike could you explain the d plane so I could understand it. joeparr

Sure can Joe!

I am down at the PGA Show so I don't have my own computer to post up some pictures so I will just write you a description here from the good ole' I pad.

The concept of the D Plane is sweeping over the golf business. Frankly, that is a bit sad as it has been available since 1994 and measureable since 2004 with 3D motion measurement. It is a very complex subject to many and not easily understandable to the everyday golfer. So what I am going to do for you here now is give you a real world definition and take out all the techincal jargon.

We are going to put this into 2 parts the club face and the club path.

Part 1 lets tackle the more complex club path discussion:

Club Path in this scenario is much more complicated than just the way the club head moves through the hitting area. If you are thinking in only 2D -you see level moving club head on the ground, kind of like a club head moving over a golf mat either straight - right or left across the mat. For many years the club path was only thought of this way, with the head of the club moving over a flat surface... figuring the upward or downward part of the club head movement as not important to ball flight. 2D is not good!!! In your mind, extend a line through the mat straight up and down, a vertical line through the mat going into the ground and all the way up. Now you have more than just 2D, now you have the up and down travel of the clubhead along with the right or left movement of the head over the mat. All of these ingredinets - clubhead going up or down - right - left - or straight are the ingredients that mix together to give you the club path. To make it even more complex, the angle of the clubhead to the ground factors in as well... what is meant by that is how level or steep the club head approaches the ball is an ingredient as well. We are lucky on this, well if you have over $11,000 to spend on equipment you are lucky because this complex recipe is solved on every shot by Flightscope. We get a measurment that is called in Flightscope terms - club strike - or Path. The number we are getting is a mixture of all these factors. This is club path mixture of ingredients is NOT MEASUREABLE by video

OK - part 2 - The Club Face -- Easy one - picture a Tee Sticking out of the center of the club face just like the one I use in the Teeriffic Video Tip in the Video Tips section of the website here. Where that points in the contact area in relation to all the ingredients that are the Club path give you a way to describe the ball flight. That is what the D in D plane means, the "Describable Plane" For you as a recreational golfer all you really need to do is think of it this way...

The more that the face of the club matches the club path the straigher the shot, the more that the face and the path diverge away from each other the more curvature you will see on the ball. I think thats as simple and as useful a description for our everyday golfer. Hope that helps and let me know if you need further clarifications

[joeparr]

Thanks mike , when you have time pictures are good to get a better idear

[jak_bot]

Alex Morrison from the 1930's had the correct information of what the path and clubhead were actually doing ( as described by Mike). He was well ahead of the times; something happened that caused the "incorrect" ball flight laws to be taught for so long by teaching pros.

[jerry1967]

What are the old laws and what are the new laws?

[Michael Jacobs]

What are the old laws and what are the new laws?

Jerry,

Great question:

Although I didn't hear it 1st hand, I was told that Gary Wiren at last week's PGA Coaching summit was defending his original writings in the PGA Teaching Manual saying he had them correct by retro fitting the details.

The ideas on the angle of approach (currently called attack angle) and the relationship of the club face to the club path were different. I would try and study the new laws: Hope that helps!

The New Laws come from the information that I posted here

I am going to do for you here now is give you a real world definition and take out all the techincal jargon.

We are going to put this into 2 parts the club face and the club path.

Part 1 lets tackle the more complex club path discussion:

Club Path in this scenario is much more complicated than just the way the club head moves through the hitting area. If you are thinking in only 2D -you see level moving club head on the ground, kind of like a club head moving over a golf mat either straight - right or left across the mat. For many years the club path was only thought of this way, with the head of the club moving over a flat surface... figuring the upward or downward part of the club head movement as not important to ball flight. 2D is not good!!! In your mind, extend a line through the mat straight up and down, a vertical line through the mat going into the ground and all the way up. Now you have more than just 2D, now you have the up and down travel of the clubhead along with the right or left movement of the head over the mat. All of these ingredinets - clubhead going up or down - right - left - or straight are the ingredients that mix together to give you the club path. To make it even more complex, the angle of the clubhead to the ground factors in as well... what is meant by that is how level or steep the club head approaches the ball is an ingredient as well. We are lucky on this, well if you have over $11,000 to spend on equipment you are lucky because this complex recipe is solved on every shot by Flightscope. We get a measurment that is called in Flightscope terms - club strike - or Path. The number we are getting is a mixture of all these factors. This is club path mixture of ingredients is NOT MEASUREABLE by video

OK - part 2 - The Club Face -- Easy one - picture a Tee Sticking out of the center of the club face just like the one I use in the Teeriffic Video Tip in the Video Tips section of the website here. Where that points in the contact area in relation to all the ingredients that are the Club path give you a way to describe the ball flight. That is what the D in D plane means, the "Describable Plane" For you as a recreational golfer all you really need to do is think of it this way...

The more that the face of the club matches the club path the straigher the shot, the more that the face and the path diverge away from each other the more curvature you will see on the ball. I think thats as simple and as useful a description for our everyday golfer. Hope that helps and let me know if you need further clarifications

[jak_bot]

^^^^^^^ That info is easy to understand and to the point.

[Michael Jacobs]

^^^^^^^ That info is easy to understand and to the point.

Thanks Jak... welcome to the site by the way!!