Importance of Start Lines and Curve!

[iacas]

The better a player gets, the more important it is to accurately describe the ball flight in two ways (I'm leaving vertical launch from this discussion for now for reasons that will become somewhat obvious, I hope):

• Start line
• Curve

This matches up with what we've always said about the "ball flight laws": "The ball starts generally where the face is pointing at impact and curves away from the path."

I bolded two words there, because when it comes to what the clubhead is doing, we care about those two things with regards to ball flight:

• Face
• Path

These, naturally, line up: the "start line" is governed primarily by the face and the curve by the path (relative to the face, of course). (I'm leaving off-center hits out of the discussion.)

One of the more frustrating things as an instructor is when a student texts you to say "I keep missing to the left," you give them some advice based on their answers to a few questions, and then you see them and realize their answers didn't match with reality at all.

For example, I'll ask about the shape of their shots, and the possible answers for a left miss include:

• starts right, curves left
• starts straight, curves left
• starts left, curves left
• starts left, straight
• starts left, curves right

Each of those can result in a ball that misses left to varying degrees. If a ball starts straight at the target and curves 10 yards left of the target, the fix might be as simple as gripping the club a bit more open, allowing the ball to start to the right a bit more and curve a bit less. But if the ball starts ten yards right and misses left 30 yards, then that's not a problem solved by opening the face up a bit more!

Each of those descriptions includes the two key pieces of info: the start line and the curve. Get these wrong, especially the start line — and the fix can be very different than what you need.

The start line is the ball's initial direction. On a launch monitor like a FlightScope X3 or Mevo+, it's called "horizontal launch angle." Positive numbers are to the right, negative to the left. I don't need to know what the horizontal launch angle is to the tenth of a degree, but for a ball that finishes in the left rough there's a big difference between the type of swing you made if it starts at the left edge of the fairway or the right edge.

Pay attention to your start lines. Have a buddy stand behind you on the range and tell him what you think the start line was, and then have him confirm it. Put sticks ten yards out in front of your mat at the range and learn what a right, left, and straight start line look like. Yeah, there's a little parallax there since the ball is to the side of us, but learn to see what the ball is doing.

You — and your instructor — will be better for it.

[ncates00]

53 minutes ago, iacas said:

The better a player gets, the more important it is to accurately describe the ball flight in two ways (I'm leaving vertical launch from this discussion for now for reasons that will become somewhat obvious, I hope):

• Start line
• Curve

This matches up with what we've always said about the "ball flight laws": "The ball starts generally where the face is pointing at impact and curves away from the path."

I bolded two words there, because when it comes to what the clubhead is doing, we care about those two things with regards to ball flight:

• Face
• Path

These, naturally, line up: the "start line" is governed primarily by the face and the curve by the path (relative to the face, of course). (I'm leaving off-center hits out of the discussion.)

One of the more frustrating things as an instructor is when a student texts you to say "I keep missing to the left," you give them some advice based on their answers to a few questions, and then you see them and realize their answers didn't match with reality at all.

For example, I'll ask about the shape of their shots, and the possible answers for a left miss include:

• starts right, curves left
• starts straight, curves left
• starts left, curves left
• starts left, straight
• starts left, curves right

Each of those can result in a ball that misses left to varying degrees. If a ball starts straight at the target and curves 10 yards left of the target, the fix might be as simple as gripping the club a bit more open, allowing the ball to start to the right a bit more and curve a bit less. But if the ball starts ten yards right and misses left 30 yards, then that's not a problem solved by opening the face up a bit more!

Each of those descriptions includes the two key pieces of info: the start line and the curve. Get these wrong, especially the start line — and the fix can be very different than what you need.

The start line is the ball's initial direction. On a launch monitor like a FlightScope X3 or Mevo+, it's called "horizontal launch angle." Positive numbers are to the right, negative to the left. I don't need to know what the horizontal launch angle is to the tenth of a degree, but for a ball that finishes in the left rough there's a big difference between the type of swing you made if it starts at the left edge of the fairway or the right edge.

Pay attention to your start lines. Have a buddy stand behind you on the range and tell him what you think the start line was, and then have him confirm it. Put sticks ten yards out in front of your mat at the range and learn what a right, left, and straight start line look like. Yeah, there's a little parallax there since the ball is to the side of us, but learn to see what the ball is doing.

You — and your instructor — will be better for it.

Great post.

I pay special attention to my start line with respect to ballstriking and putting. My miss, both with putting and striking, tends to be a bit of a push, so I try to start the ball as close to 0* as I can. I hit a lot of FIR, GIR, and good putts when I control my start line. With putting, I try to “pop” the ball on 0* and feel it hold that line (like the ruler drill). With striking, I try to feel my “hula hoop” downswing down and around at 0*. 

[dennyjones]

+1  Great topic. 

We've had the discussion about aim points.  I used to use a point in the distance but have recently decided to find an aim point about 6-12" in front of my ball and focus there to help with the start line.   I believe it has helped me.   

I realize that this is slightly off topic but it sort of helps me with the start line. 

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by dennyjones