154 ball speed, 18 degree launch angle, 268 carry

[whatever]

I got on a simulator after a bit of a hiatus (8 months or so) and my driver numbers were 268 carry, 154 ball speed, and 18 degree launch angle. No info on spin or swing speed. Driver is a ping g400 lst 10 degree (set to 9ish) with hzrdus 6.0 shaft ball is prov1. Ball flight on course looks high and spinny. I get very little roll. 
 

Given the limited info above, what kind of improvement could reasonably be possible with a driver change only (swing will be worked on someday…)? What are some basic #s I should aim for? Any suggestions are appreciated. 

 

 

[Cwebb]

You would most likely see more distance with a lower actual loft.  You might assume that "9" is low enough, but keep in mind that not every head that is stated to be a certain loft, really is that actual loft.  Many are 1 to even 2* more than what is stated

[Stuart_G]

5 hours ago, whatever said:

I got on a simulator after a bit of a hiatus (8 months or so) and my driver numbers were 268 carry, 154 ball speed, and 18 degree launch angle. No info on spin or swing speed. Driver is a ping g400 lst 10 degree (set to 9ish) with hzrdus 6.0 shaft ball is prov1. Ball flight on course looks high and spinny. I get very little roll. 
 

Given the limited info above, what kind of improvement could reasonably be possible with a driver change only (swing will be worked on someday…)? What are some basic #s I should aim for? Any suggestions are appreciated. 

 

 

 

Any time you want to evaluate driver numbers - ALWAYS start off by using foot powder spray to check the impact location and consistency.   And no, doing that be feel is not even close to being sufficient way to check face impact.   Sometimes you can accomplish way more with a small shift in impact location than you can with an equipment change (all thanks to gear effect).

 

with this

https://trajectory.flightscope.com/

 

we can estimate spin from the carry - assuming the carry numbers are accurate.  

 

BUT if you used an LM to get those numbers and that LM doesn't actually measure and give you spin - than I wouldn't trust the carry numbers all that much.   In which case we dont' have enough information to see where or if there might be room for improvement.

 

However, assuming sea level conditions - we can see that you'd need really low spin to get close to that distance with that launch angle and ball speed.   Even 1000 rpm only gets you to 263 carry.   So not much room for improvement if we could believe the distance - except for maybe one thing.

 

High launch and low spin could be an indication of impact too high on the face.  High enough that you might be loosing ball speed because of it.   But we'd need club head speed and the results of the foot powder spray test to properly judge that.

 

[BraxtonFullerton]

Everything that Stuart said. Your swing speed, impact location, ball speed, and spin numbers are the 4 most critical parts to measure what gains can be made. Path, face angle, launch angle and dynamic loft, are all secondary until you have those first 4 categories accurately calculated.

[ALIF]

268 carry with 154 BS doesn’t sound right unless you’re in Leadville, CO.

[shaolingolfer]

154mph ball speed,  18 launch and low spin on Foresight that's normal.

[hammergolf]

5 hours ago, shaolingolfer said:

154mph ball speed,  18 launch and low spin on Foresight that's normal.

It’s just a guess without knowing club head speed, club path, angle of attack, and stroke location…..

[whatever]

IJust got some new numbers on a different monitor that have a bit more info. Average ball speed was 148, average carry 251, spin~2700, LA 17.5. I didn’t get the impact info but I’ve got impact tape on the way in the next few days. 
 

This was after a back workout, so I’m probably leaving some speed on the table. 

[hammergolf]

10 minutes ago, whatever said:

IJust got some new numbers on a different monitor that have a bit more info. Average ball speed was 148, average carry 251, spin~2700, LA 17.5. I didn’t get the impact info but I’ve got impact tape on the way in the next few days. 
 

This was after a back workout, so I’m probably leaving some speed on the table. 

Just a guess without club data, path data, and strike location. Save your money on impact tape. Just buy a can of athletes foot spray. 

Edited Saturday at 06:16 PM by hammergolf

[Stuart_G]

1 hour ago, hammergolf said:

Just a guess without club data, path data, and strike location. Save your money on impact tape. Just buy a can of athletes foot spray. 

 

Or foot odor spray.  Dr Scholl's seems to work the best from the few I've tried.  Just make sure it's the powder spray and not the liquid spray.

 

Edited Saturday at 08:02 PM by Stuart_G

[ode]

This is a bit off topic but are people not able to tell where they hit it on the face with a driver without spray or tape?  I can understand with irons/fwy/hybrid indoor as there is no grass/dirt/debris and wear on the face, but driver?  Wipe face and repeat!

[noodle3872]

3 hours ago, ode said:

This is a bit off topic but are people not able to tell where they hit it on the face with a driver without spray or tape?  I can understand with irons/fwy/hybrid indoor as there is no grass/dirt/debris and wear on the face, but driver?  Wipe face and repeat!

You’d be surprised how many people have no idea where on the face they strike the ball. In some cases, if the off center strike point repeats swing after swing and achieve reasonably good results , some golfers come to believe their off center strike is actually the middle of the club face. Using GC Quad in fittings sometimes blows people’s minds. One guy repeatedly was living low toe. He thought he was buttoning it until he saw the strike pattern diagram on the screen. 

[Stuart_G]

11 hours ago, ode said:

This is a bit off topic but are people not able to tell where they hit it on the face with a driver without spray or tape?  I can understand with irons/fwy/hybrid indoor as there is no grass/dirt/debris and wear on the face, but driver?  Wipe face and repeat!

 

Some can certainly feel the more extreme off center misses (particularly heel and toe - not as easy for the high and low miss).  For me it takes the impact of around 1" off center toward heel or toe before I start to feel it.   I can guess at high and low impact based on the ball flight - but I can't really feel it.   

 

But the main point - when it comes to gear effect and it's impact on the numbers - even as little as 1/4" or 1/5" off center can make a significant difference - especially to the spin.   And no one is going to feel that with the big, large faced modern drivers.

 

Edited Sunday at 08:55 AM by Stuart_G

[Howard_Jones]

14 hours ago, ode said:

This is a bit off topic but are people not able to tell where they hit it on the face with a driver without spray or tape?  I can understand with irons/fwy/hybrid indoor as there is no grass/dirt/debris and wear on the face, but driver?  Wipe face and repeat!

Most players BELIEVE, they simply never checked it out, before someone here tells them to do it. 
We know that from the many treads with "too high spin", who is due to impact below the center line.
The player him-selves, is "convinced" he is on the center on both axises, but they never is.

We might ask how can that be?
- Tip flex and TQ can cover up a lot here, so it has to be "bad" before most will notice a difference, but also because they hardly ever pure it, so they simply dont know how a pured shot feels ...they have become used to the feedback from what ever impact pattern they have, and believe thats how it should be. (a pure impact with the driver, should feel like a soft wet kiss, not like a "high five")

Edited Sunday at 11:21 AM by Howard_Jones

[Ger21]

15 hours ago, ode said:

This is a bit off topic but are people not able to tell where they hit it on the face with a driver without spray or tape?

It's why 20hcp'ers need to get blades, so they can feel where their misses are.

[ode]

@Howard_Jones

@noodle3872

@Stuart_G

@Ger21

What I mean is the dimple pattern/mark that is left on th face of the driver!  I can usually tell where contact has been made just by the feel (sometimes sound if it's high on face = louder) but at times it is harder when it's a slight mishit and feel is similar to on center.  I look most times to corroborate what my feel tells me.  I wipe the mark off/clean after every shot.  👈This is a must, otherwise it won't work!  A habit I've gotten into with every club.  Cleaned/wipes after every shot!

[Stuart_G]

If it works for you that's fine.  But 99.99% of players aren't that OCD about getting their face clean after every shot so it's not common that that would really work for most.   The powder is easier and way more time efficient.  Then I can spend the time between shots thinking about what I need to do with the mechanics.

[ode]

14 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

OCD

And here I thought it made good practical sense to keep clubs clean🙃

[Howard_Jones]

13 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

If it works for you that's fine.  But 99.99% of players aren't that OCD about getting their face clean after every shot so it's not common that that would really work for most.   The powder is easier and way more time efficient.  Then I can spend the time between shots thinking about what I need to do with the mechanics.

.....ball position or tee height....to extend your text. 

[nsxguy]

2 hours ago, ode said:

And here I thought it made good practical sense to keep clubs clean🙃

 

Irons I understand but how often does the driver get dirt on it ?

[Ger21]

9 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

Irons I understand but how often does the driver get dirt on it ?

Play early mornings when everything is wet, and pretty much every swing.

Edited Sunday at 03:55 PM by Ger21

[nsxguy]

4 minutes ago, Ger21 said:

Play early mornings when everything is wet, and pretty much every swing.

 

Fair enough I guess.

 

I don't play in wet weather and if I did I'd probably rely on my (yarn) headcover to remove enough of the water that I wouldn't worry/think about it for the next drive. 👍

[Stuart_G]

48 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

 

Irons I understand but how often does the driver get dirt on it ?

 

I won't speak for anyone else, but it's not a problem for me either.  But then I stopped hitting fat shots with my driver a long time ago 🙂

 

 

39 minutes ago, Ger21 said:

Play early mornings when everything is wet, and pretty much every swing.

 

Maybe if you stopped slamming your club head against the ground after a bad shot it wouldn't get dirty 😆

 

Sorry - I couldn't resist.   But seriously, I really am curious, how does wet conditions equate to dirt on the driver face for you?     No dirt gets on my driver even in the pouring down rain.   Water sure, but not dirt and certainly not ball marks.  

 

In fact it's only dirty range balls (not the ball that I use when I actually play) that leave any marks on the driver face at all.   And I usually start my warm up with the crappy balls and save the clean ones for the driver anyway. 

 

Maybe that's just one of the hidden bonuses of having such a slow swing speed. 😉

 

Edited Sunday at 04:35 PM by Stuart_G

[Shilgy]

2 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

I won't speak for anyone else, but it's not a problem for me either.  But then I stopped hitting fat shots with my driver a long time ago 🙂

 

 

 

Maybe if you stopped slamming your club head against the ground after a bad shot it wouldn't get dirty 😆

 

Sorry - I couldn't resist.   But seriously, I really am curious, how does wet equate to dirt for you?     No dirt gets on my driver even in the pouring down rain.   Water sure, but not dirt and certainly not ball marks.  

 

In fact it's only dirty range balls (not the ball that I use when I actually play) that leave any marks on the driver face at all.   And I usually start my warm up with the crappy balls and save the clean ones for the driver anyway. 

 

Maybe that's just one of the hidden bonuses of having such a slow swing speed. 😉

 

I’m topping out just under 100 and can see the mark from most shots with driver.  That’s with a clean face and clean ball every time.  I try to clean tee marks on the sole as well…..that also helps and yes…most of mine are a titch towards the heel.

[Stuart_G]

11 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

I’m topping out just under 100 and can see the mark from most shots with driver.  That’s with a clean face and clean ball every time.  I try to clean tee marks on the sole as well…..that also helps and yes…most of mine are a titch towards the heel.

 

I have nothing against people who put any amount of effort over the appearance of their clubs - at either extremes.  I've just never been one of the ones that puts much effort into things that wont have any effect on the performance - such as the marks left by a clean ball or even the tee for that matter. 

 

Edited Sunday at 04:50 PM by Stuart_G

[ode]

48 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

 

Irons I understand but how often does the driver get dirt on it ?

a number of factors-

 

I don't hover, am steep and tee it a bit lower, play in a.m. dew, in NE Wisconsin it's soft and another gusher last night with local flooding will lead to even softer conditions which it has been most of this season, and cough cough - playing courses that are not pristine/carpet like and debris will undoubtedly get on the club.....dirt included.  This is off topic (sorry OP) and not my original point as there is transfer of cover to driver face leaving a mark that can be seen and wiped off (I find this info valuable) NOT a ball mark that is permanent due to debris getting between face and ball.  Carry on 🙃

[Shilgy]

41 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

I have nothing against people who put any amount of effort over the appearance of their clubs - at either extremes.  I've just never been one of the ones that puts much effort into things that wont have any effect on the performance - such as the marks left by a clean ball or even the tee for that matter. 

 

I don’t clean the driver for performance…but rather for what this topic is to be able to properly see most impact locations.

[eddiebigeddie]

4 hours ago, ode said:

@Howard_Jones

@noodle3872

@Stuart_G

@Ger21

What I mean is the dimple pattern/mark that is left on th face of the driver!  I can usually tell where contact has been made just by the feel (sometimes sound if it's high on face = louder) but at times it is harder when it's a slight mishit and feel is similar to on center.  I look most times to corroborate what my feel tells me.  I wipe the mark off/clean after every shot.  👈This is a must, otherwise it won't work!  A habit I've gotten into with every club.  Cleaned/wipes after every shot!

Same for me, clean my clubs almost every shot and I can always tell by sound/feel where I’ve hit the ball with driver (especially) or most clubs overall. 99.9% of my swings leave a mark on the club face to confirm my feels/hearing. 
 

But I am OCD and keep my weapons clean after every use, after all I paid for them and they’re not cheap 

[Ger21]

8 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

But seriously, I really am curious, how does wet conditions equate to dirt on the driver face for you?    

I'm apparently not playing on the same pristine tee boxes you are. 😆 I've seen tee boxes in shaded areas that are 40% dirt.

Just resting it on the ground can get dirt on it.

[Stuart_G]

7 hours ago, Ger21 said:

I'm apparently not playing on the same pristine tee boxes you are. 😆 I've seen tee boxes in shaded areas that are 40% dirt.

Just resting it on the ground can get dirt on it.

 

OK, I see the disconnect.  The conversation was about the driver face, not any other part of the head.    Doesn't matter how nice or nasty the tee boxes are, my driver face doesn't come close to touching it or getting dirt on it.  And it's not even something that takes any effort or care to keep the face off the ground.   Now the sole might get dirty, but never the face.

 

Edited Monday at 08:35 AM by Stuart_G