new ball flight laws - question

[teamroper60]

Originally Posted by brettski01

Out to in with a slightly closed face that matches your out to in path i believe

I could be wrong but I thought that would produce a pull (start left and continue on a straight line left).........   The shots I am talking about start left but about 5yds out, the ball curved back to parallel with the target line and continued to run parallel for the rest of the flight.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by teamroper60

The shots I am talking about start left but about 5yds out, the ball curved back to parallel with the target line and continued to run parallel for the rest of the flight.

Outside of wind or a badly scuffed or otherwise damaged golf ball, such a shot is not possible. Balls don't just stop curving.

[Righty to Lefty]

Originally Posted by iacas

Outside of wind or a badly scuffed or otherwise damaged golf ball, such a shot is not possible. Balls don't just stop curving.

That was exactly what I was gonna say that there was a gash on the ball because range balls sometimes give some crazy ballflights when they get old !!

[teamroper60]

Originally Posted by iacas

Outside of wind or a badly scuffed or otherwise damaged golf ball, such a shot is not possible. Balls don't just stop curving.

If I hadn't seen it multiple times, I would agree that balls don't stop curving but in this case they did..........   My wife was watching and thought it was odd too.........   I guess it would have to have been the balls, because there was virtually no wind.   But it happened more than once so if it was the ball, it was more than one........  I think I have a pretty good handle on what conditions (face angle, club path) cause the normal ball flights so if it hadn't looked so weird, I would not have posted about it.........  I was hoping there was an explanation for it but I guess not.  At this point, I will just chalk it up to bad balls...

[brettski01]

Yep must have been bad balls. Its like tonight when i was at the range i was hitting some solid drives about 240m then 2 or 3 carried about 150m. Has to be the balls

[Righty to Lefty]

Originally Posted by teamroper60

If I hadn't seen it multiple times, I would agree that balls don't stop curving but in this case they did..........   My wife was watching and thought it was odd too.........   I guess it would have to have been the balls, because there was virtually no wind.   But it happened more than once so if it was the ball, it was more than one........  I think I have a pretty good handle on what conditions (face angle, club path) cause the normal ball flights so if it hadn't looked so weird, I would not have posted about it.........  I was hoping there was an explanation for it but I guess not.  At this point, I will just chalk it up to bad balls...

Range balls are range balls because they likely fail to meet the standards one of which likely is that it isn't perfectly round or the core is off center. If either of these happen then this will easily create some weird ballflight.  Range balls are not to be trusted !!

[nevets88]

Range balls, depending on the range, are usually dodgy - I don't put too much stock in the ball's flight and distance, especially if it has lost its luster or does something funky, like drop out of the sky like a rock.

As for names, how about

The real ball flight laws?

[celticstanger]

Originally Posted by Righty to Lefty

The  main problem with the old BFL's is point the clubhead to where you want he ball to end up because the shot will never stay on the target line.  Also the ball will in no way start where your stance is aligned.  That is the main rub why some will still say the old BFL's are correct because they will create the desired shot shape, but they will not stay on target.

Yep, that's the difference I'm reading.

Funny thing is, without knowing the science, when I actually had the temerity to start trying to shape shots deliberately, I noticed that (hooks in paricular - that I noticed, perhaps not true in practise) whenever I aimed "just enough" to get around the obstacle (read as : tree!) in front of me, I tended to hit it a lot.  I actually just assumed that the error was in my swing - which may well have been the case, but even with the perfect swing, chances are I was setting up to hit the tree!

Great, real-world applicable, data!

[filco123]

i was looking at the d plane video and noticed that the ball  flight angle on a straight drive was about 10 percent below the trajectory of the actual club face angle verticaly.now as we know the face is say 85 percent initial direction.If we open the face would  that mean that the flight would be just left of the open face due to the lower trajctory? you seem a bit clever erik what do you think?

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by filco123

i was looking at the d plane video and noticed that the ball  flight angle on a straight drive was about 10 percent below the trajectory of the actual club face angle verticaly.now as we know the face is say 85 percent initial direction.If we open the face would  that mean that the flight would be just left of the open face due to the lower trajctory? you seem a bit clever erik what do you think?

It depends...

a.) Are you talking center contact?

b.) Path will still play a factor.

c.) Spin Loft will determine how much the ball spins - spin helps curve the ball.

d.) Launch conditions will come into play.

[Todd777]

if the face is closed to the path it curves left, if the face is open to the path it curves right.  The only exception is when you use a lofted club, when the ball does not actually curve, because there is more backspin that sidespin on the ball.

Hope that helps,  Blessings,

Todd Howard

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Todd777

if the face is closed to the path it curves left, if the face is open to the path it curves right.  The only exception is when you use a lofted club, when the ball does not actually curve, because there is more backspin that sidespin on the ball.

Hope that helps,  Blessings,

Todd Howard

So the ball spins in two directions?

[Dave H]

As an inconsistent golfer constantly aspiring to improve, understanding the truth about ball flight has helped me greatly on the course. Understanding why the ball started right and kept going right has greatly increased my ability to self correct from shot to shot. I can't understand why anyone wouldn't find the knowledge beneficial as an aid, even if it's easier to think of shot shaping in the "old" way.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by filco123

i was looking at the d plane video and noticed that the ball  flight angle on a straight drive was about 10 percent below the trajectory of the actual club face angle verticaly.now as we know the face is say 85 percent initial direction.If we open the face would  that mean that the flight would be just left of the open face due to the lower trajctory? you seem a bit clever erik what do you think?

Short answer (sorry, missed your question a few weeks ago): yes and no.

The ball will start left of the face by a little bit because the path is well left of the face. The path is what affects it, though, not the "lower trajectory." The "lower trajectory" is caused by the path as well.

Let's say it's 80% face and 20% path just to have more rounded numbers. Let's say 10° dynamic loft with an AoA of 0°. Let's say we open the face 5°.

The ball will launch vertically at about 8° (80% between 0° and 10°) and horizontally at 4°.