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Ball Flight / Height preferences


Eeryck
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The thread about Tiger's ball flight got me thinking about this, I have read several posts recently that seem overly concerned about hitting the ball too high.

Taking out the shot off the tee that I hang back on the right side and the ball is clearly an in-field pop fly that could be caught by the pitcher, I don't think I have ever hit the ball too high.

Furthermore, recently my irons have come together and I have gotten more height and distance out of the 'nearer center of face' hit. Also, Nicklaus wrote that one of his greatest advantages is he could hit a 5-iron as high as some players could hit a 9-iron. Then he revised it to say that really his advantage was he could hit a 2-iron as high as other players could hit a 5-iron.

So with the exception of windy conditions where you may want to keep the ball lower depending on wind direction, why are some people concerned about height of flight if the distance is good?

Also, my limited experience has demonstrated to me that as my distance has increased so has my ball flight height. Is this different than others?

Thanks,
-E

In my Grom bag:

Driver........... Burner 9.5* S-Flex
3-Wood......... Burner 15* S-Flex
5-Wood......... Ovation 18* S-FlexIrons............. Pro Combos 3,5-PW Rifle 6.0Wedges......... CG12 52.10, 56.14, 60.10Putter............ 33" VP1 Milled PutterBall................ e6+ or B330-SRangefinder.....

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I hit ridicuously high with all of my clubs, but I still get the distance out of them. My 3 iron is just as high as some of my playing partners 7 irons. I don't mind the higher ball flight with my irons, but off the driver is a little frustration because it feels like I'm losing distance, especially when there is wind.
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I hit the ball high with good distance. I like it, my coach apparently likes it a lot (or he's blowing smoke up my bung). I used to think it was a problem but got over it. It's a bit of a pill on a nice windy day but I've learned to club up and move the ball back in my stance and bring it down some in those situations.

It's great on that downwind short par 4.. feels like the ball isn't ever going to come down

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I have a pretty high ball flight with my irons, and I like it that way as long as (as others have said) I don't loos distance. I feel it's an advantage to come into the green (let's just assume I could hit one...lol) at a steeper angle to minimize roll. Then again, some better players than myself can do that with more piercing trajectories....so what do I know...lol.

Driver: Cleveland HiBore XLS 9.5*, Fit-On Red Shaft
3 Wood: Callaway Big Bertha 16*
Hybrid: HiBore 22*
Irons: Mizuno MX-25 4-PW, 2* Flat
Wedges: CG11 50* (2*Flat),54*(1*Flat),58*(1*Flat) Low Bounce AllPutter: Yes! DiannaBall of Choice: Srixon AD333, Wilson ZIP, TF Gamer

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Generally, I feel that the better I control my trajectory, the better I control my distance.

In other words, it's much easier for me to judge exactly how far the ball will carry with a more boring trajectory than it is to judge the same shot with a very high, arcing ball flight.

It's for that reason that I play a lot of knockdown shots, even when it's not windy. A knock-down 9-iron will carry (and sit) in the 145-150 range far more reliably than a full PW.

I don't think hitting a driver high is a disadvantage, especially not with the results that many people are finding using launch monitors to optimize distance. My driver, 3-wood, and 2 hybrid have virtually the same trajectory... the biggest thing that separates them distance wise is the length of the club, and therefore the amount of clubhead speed generated.

I think the posts you read about concerns of hitting the ball "too high" are in reference to mid/short irons and wedges, not necessarily the longer clubs. As long as you have the knowledge/skill to hit the ball low reliably when you need to, I think most players would rather have the habit of naturally hitting the ball high and having to compensate to keep it lower than the other way around.
Penta TP Ball || Nakashima Golf HTEC Tour Driver - w/ Mitsubishi Rayon Bassara 83g || Izett Golf 15* Deep Face 3-Wood - w/ Royal Precision Rifle Steel || MD 18* Hybrid - w/ Aerotech SteelFiber 110g || MP-58 3, 4 Irons... MP-60 5, 6 Irons... MP-32 7-PW - w/ Dynamic Gold || MP-T 53-08...
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  • 2 years later...

I've recently put a TaylorMade R9 SuperDeep TP 9.5* (adjusted down between 9.0* to 8.5*, depending on how windy the conditions are) with a UST V2 X-Stiff shaft. The ball flight I'm getting is mid to mostly low. I'm satisfied with the low ball flight that the shaft produces. If I'm really "in-synch" I can get about 330 yards on my drives with 50 yards of it being roll. My drives may not be as impressive as a golfer hitting a high launching drive, but I'm definitely more accurate with more fairways hit. The public is sort of brain-washed that in order to have an effective drive it has to be high and long. IMHO, this adds a factor of hitting a hook or slice more often.

Golf marketeers are clever in that they know that the high launching drives seen on tv attracts golfers in hopes that they can "hit it" like the pros and the other aspect is that most golfers don't have the time or patience to hone their swing that will produce a consistent low launching ball flight.

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Hitting the ball high is a great thing as long as it doesnt balloon too much in the wind and cost you distance.

Whats in my :sunmountain: C-130 cart bag?

Woods: :mizuno: JPX 850 9.5*, :mizuno: JPX 850 15*, :mizuno: JPX-850 19*, :mizuno: JPX Fli-Hi #4, :mizuno: JPX 800 Pro 5-PW, :mizuno: MP T-4 50-06, 54-09 58-10, :cleveland: Smart Square Blade and :bridgestone: B330-S

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I hit the ball too high at times, and I prefer a lower shot. It's a matter of control; even if the distance is the same, sometimes height control is more important than left/right accuracy. A low shot, for me, means I can see the ball flight. If I hit it high, I often lose sight of it and I can hardly tell where it will land, especially with regards to distance. If I'm playing in wind, forget it; the hangtime will make distance control even worse and it requires essentially guesswork.

Having a higher shot in the bag is great, but I'm going to switch to some more honest irons soon since SGIs with a soft shaft really force everything to be thrown up high. I like to be able to visualize the shot and be able to see the ball tracking towards its target, not sit around for 5 seconds and watch it drop from the cosmos hopefully near the target. If my shot is off line, I get a great head start on my swearing compared to waiting for it to land.

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In My Bag:

Adams Super LS 9.5˚ driver, Aldila Phenom NL 65TX
Adams Super LS 15˚ fairway, Kusala black 72x
Adams Super LS 18˚ fairway, Aldila Rip'd NV 75TX
Adams Idea pro VST hybrid, 21˚, RIP Alpha 105x
Adams DHY 24˚, RIP Alpha 89x
5-PW Maltby TE irons, KBS C taper X, soft stepped once 130g
Mizuno T4, 54.9 KBS Wedge X
Mizuno R12 60.5, black nickel, KBS Wedge X
Odyssey Metal X #1 putter 
Bridgestone E5, Adidas samba bag, True Linkswear Stealth
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I'm exactly opposite of most that have posted.  I would like for my ball flight to be higher here lately.  I get good distance with the lower ball flight, but when you're going for a green from 160 yards out, a nice high 7 iron that will stop beats my 8 iron that may or may not stay on the green.  It's something I'm working on through swing changes and a shaft change.

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Note: This thread is 4414 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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