Paramaters Affecting Distance

[BC MIST]

It is written that the perfectly fit golf club may contribute as much as 10% to the overall distance a golfer can hit the ball. It is more likely to be in the 4% to 8% range. The fitting parameters listed in the poll all have some influence on the distance hit, but some have a greater influence than others.

Select the two parameters that you feel are the most important in distance hit.

[covanant]

Im by no means a club builder or anything but,
stab in the dark.
Club length and moi would be my quess.

[Started2k3]

Isn't MOI affected by at least 6 of the other items in the list?

[stone_bone]

I think theses parameters will differ from golfer to golfer in terms of parameters that affect their ability to make a good swing. But when it comes down to a robot swinging and testing clubs. A robot would not notice the differences in the weighting of the club such as swing weight, grip weight, etc...

I would think the parameters affecting distance the most under a controlled environment, like a robot, would be those that will affect the flight of the ball the most. Such as loft, shaft flex, C.G. Shaft flex would depend on the flex and bend point can promot higher ball flight.

MOI: " A measure of the resistance of a body to angular acceleration". So I would think clubs with higher MOI have the ability to transfer more energy to the ball by lossing less engery due to twisting.

Length of the club would make a bit of a difference since the club head speed is proportional to the angular velocity times the length. Just like a wheel turning the outside is spinning faster than the middle.

Vertical roll would depend where you hit the ball on the face. Generally higher on the face more loft, lower less loft.

There are so many parameters its hard to put the finger on just two. What about other parameters such as COR., head size, materials, etc...?

[little brit]

Length and loft for me. I think you can go into all of the other aspects but I will guess that it comes down to these more obvious criteria. Total weight is a big factor too though so I want to say that as well.

["Richard"]

well they say the shaft is the most important part of the driver... I heads being equal I would have to say 1. would have to be loft because at a lower swing speed, more loft means more distance. It means less side spin and more of a straight shot... 2. I would say has to be shaft length. I'm sure you can gain tons of yardage by adjusting your shaft length instead of adjusting anything else on that list other than loft... but I could be wrong about both. How long do we have to wait for the answer?

[jvincent]

I picked loft and total weight.

Loft is clearly one of the two. Given that clubhead speed is the other I tried to figure out which of the remaining ones had the strongest correlation to that.

[Started2k3]

Loft and MOI.


When I look at the percentages on the side of the results, the numbers are greater than 100%. I realize that this is because each number is divided by the number of participants, and not the sum of the votes.

Dan is there any way to change this?

Note this only affects polls when you are allowed more than one vote.

[Kilroy]

Loft and MOI.

Dan is there any way to change this?

Note this only affects polls when you are allowed more than one vote.

Nope. Nothing I can do, but I'll report it to VB, perhaps they'll address it, but ya never know.

[Started2k3]

Nope. Nothing I can do, but I'll report it to VB, perhaps they'll address it, but ya never know.

Thanks.

[Thimble]

maybe this poll should specify whether it's max distance or average distance...

eg. longer length shaft = longer max, but probably less average.

MOI has no affect on max distance, but has a ton of affect on average distance.

[Chieflongtee]

It is written that the perfectly fit golf club may contribute as much as 10% to the overall distance a golfer can hit the ball. It is more likely to be in the 4% to 8% range. The fitting parameters listed in the poll all have some influence on the distance hit, but some have a greater influence than others.

Select the two parameters that you feel are the most important in distance hit.

Wind, Mud, cartpaths

[Started2k3]

So what is the answer?

[BC MIST]

So what is the answer?

OK From Tom Wishon's "Practical Clubmaking," the following paramaters are a

MAJOR factor in distance:
-loft
-length
-centre of gravity
-shaft weight
-total weight

In "Search..." he indicates that club length may have less influence than previously indicated and that a change to a lighter shaft means that the golfer can swing it faster.

MEDIUM factors in distance:
-swingweight
-shaft flex
-vertical roll
-balance point
-grip weight.
Tom also writes that the reason shaft flex in here is that many golfers previously played with shafts that were TOO STIFF, resulting in a slight loss of distance. To me this means that shaft flex is really a MINOR factor in distance, and yet everyone is so concerned about getting just the right frequency. It is not that a flexible shaft will help a lot, but that a stiff one will hurt. A softer flex shaft vreates better feel than a stiffer one and that gives the perception of the ball going farther. My 3W has a very soft overall profile and feels wonderful, whereas my Evolution driver has a very stiff tipped shaft, feels "boardy," but still yields good distance ands better accuracy.

MINOR factors in distance:
-torque
Again torque is only a factor if you have the wrong torque. 110 + mph, 3* or less, under about 80 mph, greater than 5*, or so. A huge number of Tour pros have driver shaft torques between 3* and 4*, just like we do.