Gear effect and driver face curvature.

Just a question that has been bugging me for a while, obviously the driver has a slight curve (my old cheapo Wilson 3W and 5W don't seem to, think my G25 3W does, that I've only just bought), but I've now started to question why?

Now I think know what gear effect is the reason it's effectively closed near the heel to start the ball left (new ball flight laws) as to correct a gear effect which is going to make the ball slice? ie attempt to correct what would be a straight starting heel hit that would be gear effected into slice that ends in the trees, into a pull slice that ends in the right rough (hopefully).

The reason I ask is I hit a lot out of the heel with my driver (not figured out why yet, it's on my list to sort out) so would like to know what is actually happening at impact.

I'm assuming I also hit my 3W and 5W out of the heel a bit too but these don't slice anywhere near as much (they don't look to have a curved face at all), including factoring in for D-Plane and they will naturally curve less etc.

From Gamegolf, about 10 rounds, off the tee:

D: 42% Hit (70% RH side of FW), 42% right, 16% left

3W: 65% Hit (pretty central), 19% left, 16% right

5W: 88% Hit, 13% left

Those numbers would suggest to me I would be better off with a straight face?

EDIT: Video added by @mvmac 8-30-15

Because the driver can produce a bigger gear effect than any other club. So when you hit it on the toe, since the ball is away from the center of gravity, the strike will help cause the ball curve the ball back towards the left.

So lets say the driver face is flat. We all know the ball starts were the face is pointing. So lets take the neutral case, lets say you hit a straight ball. Clubface pointing were the face path is going. If you toe it a bit, the ball would start pretty much straight then draw off line. So how do you counter act this, roll the face. This will allow the ball to start more right, allowing the club to be more accurate.

Also I think he helps counter act some of the gear effect as well.

I am in your camp, but drivers with flatter faces are harder to find. Its hard to believe the design was propagated by a struggling pro who drug his wooden driver on the pavement while driving. He went on a tear for the next year. Then the boys all came back from WW2 and he was done. I get the impression his tweak was made in the talent vacuum pro golf suffered during the war, and that is a little unsettling. I spend a lot of effort on shafts that counter the gear effect of the driver face. I wish they would quit sometimes, but like the difference between a blade and a cavity backed iron, I would probably find my sweet spot somewhere in the middle. Everybody needs a little forgiveness now and then.

To be honest I've never hit a Driver with a stiff shaft, this could be something to look at. I'm using the standard Ping G20 regular at the minute. To be honest I do feel a bit scared to swing at full speed as it does "feel" (as much is it can feel to me with limited experience) more open if I do this, which compounds the problem.

Saying that my old Wilson 3W and 5W do feel an awful lot heavier and stiffer and I feel I can swing these harder and I find fairways more often. My G25 3W is regular also, this slices more than the Wilson.

My pro told me to stick with regular so I took his word for it, but I suppose he's not seen me swing the driver at the speed I can (as I know what will happen), and it looks like a banana .

I don't slice hits off the centre, but can push the odd one.

Yeah that's what I thought

Yeah I did realise that all clubs have the gear effect but assume it's corrected less with face curvature the more you head towards your irons?  But with the driver being larger will it twist more than say an iron (much narrower head), I would expect it to. I imagine chunky irons are built to keep the face square more with the design of the cavity and COG of the club?

Say a 5i with the same size head as a PW will this have the same amount of gear effect? I would guess it would theoretically but it's counteracted by the loft?

Just shot off your bran. Seriously, you can't control the clubhead to the nth degree that would be required to even try to adjust the clubhead due to the face roll.

Also it is basically built in to the club. Meaning the club manufacturers have designed the roll to match the COG. I think this is why Taylormade's SLDR has a lot of face roll, the COG is low and forward. Which makes sense.

Just stop worrying about it, it is their to help you.

No doubt.

@trickyputt , please don't discard them.  Send them to me...

yes

yes. As I understand it, measured against a flat standard, though I can't tell you the z axis, (I believe its 1 inch) which is pulled from either a 10 or 14 inch x and y width and height, thus effecting the radius. It doesnt matter to me as a consumer since I have few choices, I tend to get the larger radius as they are flatter. And dont act like I know that much about bulge and roll...its hearsay from the back of yet another proshop somewhere in Alabama. I would say that as far as my hybrids go, I really really want a iron face. I absolutey want the least correction on my trouble shots, which are left or right off the tee, and I have to bend the next shot to straighten up. OR if is a sidehill, where I am bending the shot to counter the natural effect the lie has on the shot to one side or the other. Those Adams seem fairly flat, though I am hitting TM resues now and they are bulgy. I tried some X2hot hybrids but took them back for some wedges. They werent better than what I have now.