Compressing the ball

[Gerald]

A bit theoretical and scientific, but I am trying to understand what compressing a ball effect is on distance.

I understand a ball compresses when you hit it with a driver coming in on the ball at let's 95-120 mph and it kinda pops back to its original form on the way.

Sometimes when I feel it is important to ease off my swing speed, to focus on having the ball dead center of the fairway, the ball comes off like a rocket and I have had drives that actually went further with a "slower" swing than with a real WHACK.

How come ?

[Zeph]

I would guess you hit the sweetspot when it comes off like a rocket.

Smash factor is a key point here. It tells us the raito between club head speed and ball speed. Example:
Club head speed is 100mph, ball speed is 140 mph. Smash factor is: 140/100 = 1.40.

If you swing and get a smash factor of 1.48, this means you can swing the club slower, and get the same ball speed and distance. 140/1.48 =~ 94.5mph.

The smash factor tell us the solidity of a shot, where point of contact on the club face plays a huge role. Club, ball type, forward lean on shaft, angle of attack etc. are also factors that play a role here. This explains why we often hit the ball better with a slower swing, because of better contact on the face and better smash factor. Of course, if you are able to combine the high smash factor with a high swing speed, you will get a lot of distance.

There is a lot of info on this here: http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/g...sh-factor.html

[Gerald]

Yepp interesting !

Now to find a way to improve the smashfactor without a Trackman .....

[Shanks A Million]

A bit theoretical and scientific, but I am trying to understand what compressing a ball effect is on distance.

Most people are amazed to find that when they swing easier, they actually swing faster, and often with more control. When you do that, your chances of hitting the center of the face increase. With a driver, you're compressing the ball and flexing the face, and when both of those are achieved, you can get some amazing smash factor.

That's why most people who claim to average 300 yards even though they are a 15 handicap are absolutely full of it. Their swing speeds may be high, but they don't have the ability to consistently hit the center of the face. They can hit some drives 300 yards, of course (anyone can hit one drive here and there a mile), but they will not average that. A 15 handicap can't regularly compress the ball, and therefore cannot put his clubhead speed to use. Swinging hard and distance related are not in golf. If they were, every muscular idiot on the range would be out there driving the ball a mile. Compression is as much a part of the puzzle as swing speed. The old addage " swing easy, hit hard" is as true now as it ever was.

[Zeph]

I'd recommend getting some impact tape. A roll of masking tape also works. Put some on your driver, or any other club, and hit it.

I haven't tried the driver, but if you bounce the ball on the face of an iron, you can feel it when you hit the sweetspot. The ball comes off the club much softer and bounces higher.

I can swing out of my shoes and hit the driver as far as with a smoother swing, gripping down the club.

[TourSpoon]

When you swing "easier" you probably have more lag and don't "cast" or "flip" the club...another way is to say that your clubhead speed is through impact, not from the top...and what Shanks said.

[FenderStrat62]

As far as why compressing the golf ball has the effect that it does (and I thought this was the original question), I have a few thoughts off the top of my head.

I imagine the biggest thing is that compressing the ball will add a "spring" sort of effect, effectively transferring the momentum of the clubhead to the ball. The more elastic of an impact you can have, the better. I would imagine if a ball was rock hard and had no compression whatsoever, you'd lose a lot of energy to heat and sound.

Just my ramblings, though.

[Shanks A Million]

As far as

That's true, when you compress it, you utilize the COR.

Just off topic, but why is the 62 strat so great? Mine's a 63.

[iacas]

I imagine the biggest thing is that compressing the ball will add a "spring" sort of effect, effectively transferring the momentum of the clubhead to the ball. The more elastic of an impact you can have, the better. I would imagine if a ball was rock hard and had no compression whatsoever, you'd lose a lot of energy to heat and sound.

That's backwards.

A firmer ball will always have more speed off the clubface. Energy is LOST when a golf ball deforms. A perfectly elastic collision (no loss of kinetic energy, i.e. no deformation) would result in the highest ball speed.

[FenderStrat62]

That's true, when you compress it, you utilize the COR.

I wouldn't know. I don't own one.

My modern production American strats are getting it done, for the time being, though.

That's backwards.

You're absolutely right. This is what happens when an Electrical Engineer goes into unresearched ramblings about kinetics.

[Shanks A Million]

Iacas, you say compression causes the loss of energy, but doesn't it stand to reason that without any compression, that the maximum smash factor would be 1? I mean, it's a trade off, right?

[iacas]

Iacas, you say compression causes the loss of energy, but doesn't it stand to reason that without any compression, that the maximum smash factor would be 1? I mean, it's a trade off, right?

No. That's backwards.

If energy was conserved more, the maximum smash factor would be much higher. Smash factor is in fact only roughly a maximum of 1.5 because golf ball makers are at the maximum for initial ball speed as part of the Overall Distance Standard (ODS) (and the COR ratings for drivers) per the USGA's rules.