Swing Numbers

[Mattmccain15]

I went to the PGA Superstore near my house and hit some balls with my driver on the practice simulators they have. I've always been skeptical about how accurate they are. I usually hit it farther than this during my rounds, but if these numbers are accurate, what should I do to get more distance with my driver. I feel like I should be able to hit it farther than this.

[RandallT]

http://flightscope.com/products/trajectory-optimizer/

I went here and plugged in your 167mph launch speed, because I was surprised they were only showing you 250-260yds with that kind of swing speed (127mph- yikes).

I found that with those general parameters of speed, launch angle and spin- that they were putting you at 280yds carry- so quite a discrepancy. Not sure if I'm just plugging in the numbers wrong.

But by tweaking the launch angle down and spin down, it appeared you could theoretically gain 15yds or so from that. 

Also, for that 127mph swing speed, it seems like a 167mph ball speed at launch might be a tad low. I think the long drivers shoot for a 1.5 smash factor, but yours calculates to quite a bit lower than that- in the 1.3 range.

Seems like their launch monitor might not be measuring either of those speeds correctly, as that 1.3 would be quite poor contact- from what I understand. Would you say you were hitting the balls center club face during this session?

Edit: Adding chart from http://blog.trackmangolf.com/smash-factor/

Something is not right, as your smash factor is off the chart low.

[bm85]

77 yards peak height sounds like a pop fly.

Could be you just aren't aiming/setting up correctly on the launch monitor. Regardless I wouldn't go about making changes based on an unsupervised session with a launch monitor.

If you are someone comfortable using lm's, and have someone knowledgeable assisting you, I think they are good tools to show people the positive/negative effects certain equipment have. Going beyond that enters the realm of instruction.

If you are serious about hitting the driver better/further, the answer is in practicing properly, and basically treating the content here like some sort of lost treasure on the art of a good golf swing.

TST Instructional Content

[Lihu]

5 hours ago, Mattmccain15 said:

I went to the PGA Superstore near my house and hit some balls with my driver on the practice simulators they have. I've always been skeptical about how accurate they are. I usually hit it farther than this during my rounds, but if these numbers are accurate, what should I do to get more distance with my driver. I feel like I should be able to hit it farther than this.

Seems like you're hitting too high on the face?

22.4 degree launch angle and 3141 rpm spin are kind of high too. Are you hitting down too much?

Try a lower tee, stiffer shaft, ascending AoA?

[Mattmccain15]

The tee was pretty low so I could have been hitting down on the ball and high on the club face. I've never gotten fit for a driver but I have a stiff shaft in my current one so maybe stiffer wouldn't be a bad thing to look into!

[Lagavulin62]

Not a techie but yeah the swing speed and distance caught my eye and if the numbers are correct my first guess was swing related. But the good news is you say you are hitting it further on the course and you probably are. If you had access to this technology on a grass range you would have more clues. 

[saevel25]

On 2/7/2017 at 1:54 PM, Mattmccain15 said:

The tee was pretty low so I could have been hitting down on the ball and high on the club face. I've never gotten fit for a driver but I have a stiff shaft in my current one so maybe stiffer wouldn't be a bad thing to look into!

I doubt it. A launch angle of 22 degree is abnormal for a driver. With your swing speed it should be down near 12-13. You would want to see around 2000-2200 rpm spin rates. 

To me these numbers speak of a bad ball flight monitor. They are just out of whack. At 22 degree launch, your spin loft should be high. 22 degrees of launch, is the launch angle for either a 9 iron or PW on the PGA Tour. 

I wouldn't trust that machine.

[p1n9183]

Or you hit a ballon with your driver or the machine is wrong. 

[1badbadger]

With a 127 mph swing speed, your ideal numbers should look like this:

Ball Speed = 189 mph

Backspin = 2000-2200 rpms

Launch Angle = 9.5-10.5*

Total Distance = 320-325 yds

It's hard to say if the launch monitor needs to be calibrated or maybe was on the wrong setting, or if it was a bad shot.  It's hard to launch a driver at 22* unless you hit it on the crown, which might have happened. That would explain why the spin rate is so high and the ball speed is so low, and of course the overall distance.  Keep in mind that launch monitors like this are calculating how far the ball would go, so it's using a formula.  This usually will be shorter than real-world golf shots because atmospheric conditions are not factored in, although there is still something up with this situation.

I quickly plugged your numbers into the Flight Scope trajectory optimizer and got different results than the LM you were on:

[Lihu]

19 minutes ago, 1badbadger said:

It's hard to say if the launch monitor needs to be calibrated or maybe was on the wrong setting, or if it was a bad shot.  It's hard to launch a driver at 22* unless you hit it on the crown, which might have happened.

That was my guess when I first glanced at the numbers. That's why I suggested a lower tee. It would also kind of explain the poor SF.

You really need something like a 5 shot average taking out the outlier shots.

[GolfLug]

11 minutes ago, 1badbadger said:

With a 127 mph swing speed, your ideal numbers should look like this:

Ball Speed = 189 mph

Backspin = 2000-2200 rpms

Launch Angle = 9.5-10.5*

Total Distance = 320-325 yds

It's hard to say if the launch monitor needs to be calibrated or maybe was on the wrong setting, or if it was a bad shot.  It's hard to launch a driver at 22* unless you hit it on the crown, which might have happened. That would explain why the spin rate is so high and the ball speed is so low, and of course the overall distance.  Keep in mind that launch monitors like this are calculating how far the ball would go, so it's using a formula.  This usually will be shorter than real-world golf shots because atmospheric conditions are not factored in, although there is still something up with this situation.

I quickly plugged your numbers into the Flight Scope trajectory optimizer and got different results than the LM you were on:

I had always suspected some of these LMs need to be 'calibrated' when you get kooky numbers, but how do you calibrate an algorithm?

Would these numbers make sense if it was on an 8 iron setting (assuming ball speed and launch angles are calculated for measured club-head speed)

[1badbadger]

4 hours ago, GolfLug said:

I had always suspected some of these LMs need to be 'calibrated' when you get kooky numbers, but how do you calibrate an algorithm?

Would these numbers make sense if it was on an 8 iron setting (assuming ball speed and launch angles are calculated for measured club-head speed)

Well, there are a couple of possibilities.  If it's a simulator, it probably has different settings for things like wind or altitude or other features to make it seem more realistic.  If it's a launch monitor, depending on what type it is, sometimes certain components may need to be re-aligned.  Some companies use radar technology to capture launch data and some use a high speed camera, and if something is out of adjustment it could cause a false reading.

My gut tells me it was a mishit.  Like @Lihu mentioned, a series of shots will give you a better idea of what your launch conditions really look like, and get rid of mishits because that will skew your averages.

[Mattmccain15]

Thanks everyone for the replies. This was my highest swing speed, but my range was anywhere from 123-127. I went to dicks and hit some shots with the new epic and m2 drivers. My swing speed was down averaging anywhere from 119-124 but the launch and spin rates were back in the normal range and the distance was substantially farther. I'll definitely look into my swing a bit more and try to see what I need to do in order to get some better results!

[Lihu]

50 minutes ago, Mattmccain15 said:

Thanks everyone for the replies. This was my highest swing speed, but my range was anywhere from 123-127. I went to dicks and hit some shots with the new epic and m2 drivers. My swing speed was down averaging anywhere from 119-124 but the launch and spin rates were back in the normal range and the distance was substantially farther. I'll definitely look into my swing a bit more and try to see what I need to do in order to get some better results!

Guessing not gross swing issues with those kinds of SS numbers!

[Lagavulin62]

What is your average smash factor with those swing speeds. 

[Mattmccain15]

The first simulator didn't tell me a smash factor and I honestly don't remember what the other on said. The ball speed ranges were in the upper 160's to low 170's.

[Lagavulin62]

1 hour ago, Mattmccain15 said:

The first simulator didn't tell me a smash factor and I honestly don't remember what the other on said. The ball speed ranges were in the upper 160's to low 170's.

Oh I thought maybe you had data from prior sessions to compare with this. Sorry. 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 2/7/2017 at 6:35 AM, RandallT said:

http://flightscope.com/products/trajectory-optimizer/

I went here and plugged in your 167mph launch speed, because I was surprised they were only showing you 250-260yds with that kind of swing speed (127mph- yikes).

I found that with those general parameters of speed, launch angle and spin- that they were putting you at 280yds carry- so quite a discrepancy. Not sure if I'm just plugging in the numbers wrong.

But by tweaking the launch angle down and spin down, it appeared you could theoretically gain 15yds or so from that. 

Also, for that 127mph swing speed, it seems like a 167mph ball speed at launch might be a tad low. I think the long drivers shoot for a 1.5 smash factor, but yours calculates to quite a bit lower than that- in the 1.3 range.

Seems like their launch monitor might not be measuring either of those speeds correctly, as that 1.3 would be quite poor contact- from what I understand. Would you say you were hitting the balls center club face during this session?

Edit: Adding chart from http://blog.trackmangolf.com/smash-factor/

Something is not right, as your smash factor is off the chart low.

That's kind of what I thought. His launch angle is quite high, and his RPM's are about 1K above what might be thought ideal. No doubt he has the clubhead speed to realize more distance. I also noticed that "Max Height" was listed at 77 yards! That's 231 feet! I know the pros hit their Drivers high, but not that high! Sounds like something is screwy with the equipment! Or he's hitting an 18 degree Driver!

I went to a place where the LM tried to tell me that I was hitting my 5 iron 195 yards! I know damn well that my Sunday best with that club is about 170! So I knew it was BS from the get go!