Are PGA Tour Pros Hitting Driver Lower Lately?

[308 Ragin Cajun]

are the pros hitting the ball lower off the tee these days? The reason I'm asking is that, the last time I saw an event in person,. the local Web.com event about 10 year ago. i noticed that guys like John

Cook and Larry Mize were using more loft and hitting it waaaay up in the air off the tee. Watching the PGA tour on tv these days, it seems to me they are using less loft and going back more  to the rising line drive type of flight that was prevalent in the days of persimmon woods and wound balata balls

[iacas]

No, I don’t think so. If anything they’re hitting flatter drives with less spin.

Tiger hit one 130 feet in the air yesterday.

What made you ask this question?

[colin007]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

 

What made you ask this question?

Maybe because of the protracer? Sometimes the line on the screen combined with the framing of the shot makes it look lower?

Tiger also hit a driver the other week that only went 80 feet high

[308 Ragin Cajun]

I t just seemed to me that they were hitting the ball lower for some reason. i know some guys are hiting it very high. Maybe i was mistken. As colin007 said, Maybe the the protracer is making it look lower.

[Vinsk]

8 minutes ago, 308 Ragin Cajun said:

I t just seemed to me that they were hitting the ball lower for some reason. i know some guys are hiting it very high. Maybe i was mistken. As colin007 said, Maybe the the protracer is making it look lower.

I’ve seen them play live recently and I think they hit the ball pretty damn high. At least in person it seems high to me. 

[BallStriker]

18 hours ago, iacas said:

No, I don’t think so. If anything they’re hitting flatter drives with less spin.

 

 

Ummm...I am no physics major, but doesn't "flatter" mean "lower" overall????

Unless, of course, you mean they are just hitting it miles farther and the top point is similar, but just pounded on a flatter trajec....

Edited September 23, 2018 by BallStriker

[colin007]

8 hours ago, BallStriker said:

 

Ummm...I am no physics major, but doesn't "flatter" mean "lower" overall????

Unless, of course, you mean they are just hitting it miles farther and the top point is similar, but just pounded on a flatter trajec....

Flatter doesn't mean lower overall. It means that they launch it higher, but the low spin means it doesn't continue to rise. It list flattens out and then carries for miles.

Have you seen how they used to hit it, it would be a low bullet at first but then it would climb quickly due to the high spin, looked like a plane taking off? This is the opposite.

[nevets88]

You have your your low ball hitters like Ollie Schniederjans and occasionally pros elect for a lower trajectory off the tee sometimes but having witnessed players like Jason Day, Luke List, etc... a lot of these guys get some major elevation.

[iacas]

9 hours ago, BallStriker said:

Ummm...I am no physics major, but doesn't "flatter" mean "lower" overall????

@colin007 answered - it's launched higher but has less backspin so it doesn't balloon ever so slightly. And it's hit a little harder, too, so it doesn't begin dropping as soon. Hence, flatter.

@308 Ragin Cajun - here you go.

• https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02404.html - Launch Angle
• https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02406.html - Distance to Apex
• https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02407.html - Apex Height

They all go back to 2007. Knock yourself out.

[BallStriker]

9 hours ago, colin007 said:

Flatter doesn't mean lower overall. It means that they launch it higher, but the low spin means it doesn't continue to rise. It list flattens out and then carries for miles.

Have you seen how they used to hit it, it would be a low bullet at first but then it would climb quickly due to the high spin, looked like a plane taking off? This is the opposite.

 

Thanks Colin..really good explanation....shit like this just makes me realize how little I really know about the really fine points of mechanics/spin/ball flight stuff......

[poolman88]

Those guys use trackman and everything to get their trajectory and spin to the ideal numbers they want maybe it just seems its a more penetrating flight maybe that u notice. Watching it on tv its hard to get the sense of how high they actually hit it too. 

[3jacker]

Short answer is that shot tracer looks lower than real life.  The camera is back, the TV screen is small (yes, even an 80") and the perspective makes 130 feet high still look low because the ball is way out there when it reaches that height.  On TV it looks lower than in real life.