Ball flight laws and misinformation - Page 4

in over simplified terms...path controls starting direction and face controls curve, right?  And yes, I know they each have a part in both facets but..like I said, simple.

shoot..I always get them backwards! 

Anyone catch this in the latest GD?  Foley on ball flight laws.  This is the first I have seen this presented to the masses.  He talks about forward hip slide as well in it.  Ha ha. 

 

Yeah good stuff.  A couple weeks ago during the golf telecast, Frank Nobilo gave a little ball flight laws tutorial saying face is major contributor to start line.  

 

Didn't he just go to a clinic with Grant and Joe? ;)

 

I think you just have to try to bring people along at the pace they'll comfortably come.

 

Yeah he's buddies with Grant and stopped in to see part of the presentation.  They've shared some knowledge with Frank.

Here's an easy way to help see that the face contributes to the start line:

You will need a pencil, pen, or marker, as well as a golf ball and a table.

 

Set the golf ball at one end of the table, and use a pencil to make "strokes" through the ball. You will notice that the ball will start in almost the exact direction that the pencil is facing, regardless of the "swingpath" used.

 

Alternatively, you can go to the practice green or your carpet, and try putting the golf ball with different face angles. A closed face gives you pulled putts, and an open face pushes them. Again, the line of the ball's roll will almost exactly mirror the angle of the clubface, regardless of swingpath.

 

However, this overlooks the slight effect of swingpath on the starting direction of the ball, but you can see that effect if you make the difference between clubface and swingpath extreme. If you have a dramatically different angle, it then becomes apparent that the swingpath has slight control over the starting direction of the ball, but not much when you have a fairly straight swingpath.

 

A massive breathe of fresh air....

I need to pick up this issue. Good graphic.

Sorry to rehash an old post, but the details in this thread make this all sound like it's rocket science... I agree with one of the earlier posts in that the "old" and "new" ball flight rules are very much the same. The error in the old rule was to tell the golfer the club face should be square to the end target at impact.

I am intrigued, though, when folks talk about swing path in relation to body alignment. Barring outside entities interfering with your swing (I.e. tree branches), wouldn't altering your swing path add another element for a golfer to mess up (purposely trying to have an outside to in swing, for example)?

If I can -wishful thinking - develop a repeatable swing in which a square club face at impact starts the ball on a consistent line, I wouldn't want to change anything about my stance or swing path. I would simply adjust my aim accordingly, pick a target somewhere between that aiming point and my end target to choose my club face angle at address, and then attempt to make a normal swing.

 

Here's the thing, the best players in the world don't have a square club face at impact.  Either aimed right or left of the target.  And they all have a particular swing path, a pattern.  Most guys hit out at the ball because they have a flat lead wrist, creates an outward swing path.  Most amateurs have a cupped left wrist, path is across the ball.  Aiming the club face at the target brings in a two way miss into play.

 

 

Hey!  That's what I have!!

 

lol yeah it's all about developing a pattern

That's really something i wish i could develop...sometimes i stand on the tee and have no idea where the ball is going to go...