Why do tour players do this?

[Chris Stewart]

Watching the tour players hit, it's almost like they appear to shank their shots because they come off the face so far left of right. Of course they're hitting that shot purposefully and I've wondered why. Is it to account for wind? Have a better roll up on the green, accounting for the slopes of the green, to get an easier putt? It's clear when they're shaping for a dogleg, or tree, or because they're in a tough situation trying to get out. But when they have a clear and direct shot to the pin, why do they shape the shot so often? What's the core benefit?

[jamo]

I'm pretty sure that's just the camera angle.

[LuciusWooding]

It's a push draw, plus the fact that the camera is rarely squared up, and their feet aren't always lined straight up with the target.

A push draw is a good shape power wise, since it requires an in to out swing. Most pros will use that as their stock shot because hitting it dead straight invites 2 misses, where having one miss helps them strategize around it.

[dhanson]

the camera angle often plays an important role in how far a ball looks pushed/pulled. from right behind the player, the balls aren't swooping as much as the cameras make them out to be:

edit: protracer/shot tracker also confirm this.

[Zeph]

Some players hit big curves, but what you see on TV is just a result of the camera angle. You see perhaps a 3-4 in front of the player. Even with a ball starting 10º right of the alignment, we are talking a bout a difference of a foot.

[Golfingdad]

Definitely just the camera distorting it.  If you watch when they put those "tracer" shots up, a vast majority of the time (Bubba excluded) most pros draws and fades are pretty darn subtle.

[Motley01]

Yes I agree.

But does anyone know why exactly how the camera does this? Is there any explination of how the camera works? I always wondered....

[pumaAttack]

When I first started watching golf like 15 years ago I always thought they shanked every shot, it sure looks like it.

Going to a tournament and watching them hit in person is awesome and you really get to see their ball flight.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Motley01

Yes I agree.

But does anyone know why exactly how the camera does this? Is there any explination of how the camera works? I always wondered....

I'm going to venture a guess that it's either a depth of field thing, or maybe something to do with the shape of the lens, or a combination of both.  The camera is pretty close to the players and the ball is traveling over 100 miles an hour away from the camera, if its not a dead straight low tiger stinger its going off the edge of that 2D screen pretty darn quick.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Players don't like cameras directly behind them.  The camera positioned behind them and to the side make the ball appear to jump right.  Occasionally a player will set up on a side of the tee box where the camera is directly behind them and you get to see the true flight of the ball on tv.  Cool when it happens.

[Chas]

Perhaps it's because, even though the camera shot is somewhat to the side, the mind interprets the data AS IF the shot was from directly behind the player - usually there isn't much visual information along the early flight path to allow for proper interpretation.  Ergo, the apparent track of the ball is to the right (a push) - because this would indeed be the case if the shot had in fact been from directly behind.

Anyone buying that?

At any rate I agree about the illusion, it's very common.

[Matthew Brett]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

It's a push draw, plus the fact that the camera is rarely squared up, and their feet aren't always lined straight up with the target.

A push draw is a good shape power wise, since it requires an in to out swing. Most pros will use that as their stock shot because hitting it dead straight invites 2 misses, where having one miss helps them strategize around it.

This is the correct reasoning.  Push draws also create topspin causing a nice bounce after the ball hits the ground.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by Matthew Astel

This is the correct reasoning.  Push draws also create topspin causing a nice bounce after the ball hits the ground.

This is a common misconception: topspin would cause negative lift, causing the ball to plummet into the ladie's tee. It's impossible to actually create topspin with a normal club, either a putter off a tee with a very positive AoA or a skulled driver is the only way to add topspin, unless you're playing a video game. Believe me it's not a desirable shot.

A draw is considered longer because swinging on an in to out swing path is the best, most efficient means of generating power. Look at a field goal kicker in football or a backhand throw in frisbee and you see them turn their hips and torsos and whip their arms (or kicking leg) out with extension. A fade, on the other hand, can't utilize all that power efficiently because you need to route the club back towards yourself after going off plane.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

This is a common misconception: topspin would cause negative lift, causing the ball to plummet into the ladie's tee.

Have you noticed the current titleist commercial that shows this?  There is a ball coming right at you in slow motion that a guy just hit of the tee and it looks like a beautiful ball flight except its got forward spin.  Cracks me up every time.

EDIT:  Draws tend to roll further than fades because they have less backspin due to less loft on the club at impact.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

EDIT:  Draws tend to roll further than fades because they have less backspin due to less loft on the club at impact.

Eh. A push-draw would be hit with more loft than a pull-fade.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by iacas

Eh. A push-draw would be hit with more loft than a pull-fade.

Oh.  I was not aware of that. (um, obviously.)  I guess that's what I get for trying to talk out of my behind.

[Zeph]

The "draw goes farther than fade, but fade lands softer" thing probably stems from people hitting pull-draws and push-fades. Hit with the same conditions, a fade flies just as far as a draw and a draw lands just as soft (or flies just as high). The ball doesn't care which angle the axis of rotation is, it only knows the laws of physics.

[B-Con]

I still struggle with this optical illusion. It's hard to gauge the line of a shot from the initial angle because so often it looks like it's headed way out into right field, only to later hear / see that they hit a pull draw or something.