Launch angle, carry, distance

[leftylucas]

Which is the most advantageous for maximising distance, more carry, more roll? I just switched drivers and the loft on the new driver is 10.5 vs my old driver which was 9.5 as well as the different shafts.

The new driver has the RE*AX 75TP with a torque of 2.5°, mid kick point promoting a mid to high ball flight.

The REAX 65 shaft has a torque 3.1 with a low to mid kick point

The expected difference was the higher launch angle and high ball flight. There seemed to be little roll and my distance was all carry.

I have not yet measured the distance to see if this switch will actually be longer but it will be interesting to see. On the range it sure seeemd to go along way.

What would you say is the best formula for distance.

My second question is the new driver promotes a mid to high spin so shouls I use a low spin ball so that my ball spin rate stays in the ideal range?

[Golfer_Gofer]

I dont have a real answer for your question, the other guys im sure he can help you out on the other stuff. But really can you expect much roll this time of year? everythings so saturated I assume my drives will just be my carry distance.

[ironmaster15213]

IMO you want a high launch angle and low spin if you have a high swing speed, but no matter what I would take a longer carry and give up a little roll just to carry fairway bunkers.

[pvs1313]

if you get ato a place that has a 200 yard carry of a pond, well doesn't much matter on the roll you get, you have to get over first.

carry in my opinion is better.

[Txxxxxxx]

IMO you want a high launch angle and low spin if you have a high swing speed, but no matter what I would take a longer carry and give up a little roll just to carry fairway bunkers.

Agreed. I went from 9.5 to 10.5 this year and so far I've been carrying the ball furthur than I had before. I know this because we golfed with a couple from Montreal while I was in Arizona and he had the top Bushnell Laser Range finder and would stand on the tee and tell me how far I had hit, then check it from the spot of the ball. I'm going to pick one up myself because I find them to be very useful. It's also nice to have a forecaddy. He would stand down the fairway and tell us exactly how much carry we had.

[jvincent]

Which is the most advantageous for maximising distance, more carry, more roll? I just switched drivers and the loft on the new driver is 10.5 vs my old driver which was 9.5 as well as the different shafts.

The answer is very dependant on course conditions.

Hard and fast courses will get more distance from a low trajectory shot and soft will generally favour carry.

For any given ballspeed/spin there is an ideal launch angle which will give you the best combination of carry and roll. The trick is to find it.

[ironmaster15213]

Agreed. I went from 9.5 to 10.5 this year and so far I've been carrying the ball furthur than I had before. I know this because we golfed with a couple from Montreal while I was in Arizona and he had the top Bushnell Laser Range finder and would stand on the tee and tell me how far I had hit, then check it from the spot of the ball. I'm going to pick one up myself because I find them to be very useful. It's also nice to have a forecaddy. He would stand down the fairway and tell us exactly how much carry we had.

......On a side note did you find your yardages a little longer in Arizona and did you get in any trouble because of the extra length?

[Txxxxxxx]

......On a side note did you find your yardages a little longer in Arizona and did you get in any trouble because of the extra length?

To tell you the truth, I only noticed it one day. I was hitting my 58 degree over the green at Troon when it should have carried to the front below the pin. It sure left me with a pretty impossible chip.

I'll be able to answer that more accurately once I go golfing here in Edmonton. I'll have my Bushnell with me by then and I noted my yardages with the help of the gentelman with the range finder and the forecaddy from Arizona. It'll be easier to tell once I have something to compare it to since all of my clubs are new to me this year.

[Txxxxxxx]

The answer is very dependant on course conditions.

Hard and fast courses will get more distance from a low trajectory shot and soft will generally favour carry.

For any given ballspeed/spin there is an ideal launch angle which will give you the best combination of carry and roll. The trick is to find it.

Agreed, although the experts are saying anywhere between 13 and 15 degrees is optimal launch angle in general. Funny we're talking about this because I just watched a story on launch angles on The Golf Channel. They were down in Texas at Nike working with their robot.

[leftylucas]

Thanks guys for the input. Here is what I will do. 1) Go to a launch monitor which should help me out with getting all the specs straight; 2) Prior to that I will try out the lower spin balls to see how they fair seeing that the higher I go the more spin will affect the ball.

[grunner]

Here's a chart from Cleveland Golf for optimal launch conditions for the HiBore driver. From the chart, launch conditions vary depending on ball speed post impact.

[BC MIST]

There is no doubt that launch angle, club head path, ball speed, angle of attack, spin rate, etc., are all important in achieving maximum carry, but a couple of other things should be considered.

If a golfer is good enough that the above factors need be used when buying a driver, the golfer should also have the ability to vary the trajectory of his shots, at will. If he goes along with the trend of getting a high launch angle and has more loft on the driver, then there is not doubt that a longer carry will result. BUT, what happens when he wants to hit a very low, controlled shot into a head wind, or even a cross wind? The high lofted driver allows for a high or medium trajectory, but not a low trajectory.

Now, put a lower lofted head in his hands and he will be able to hit the ball at all trajectories, AND, get a lot more roll when conditions are conducive to this. Is this not more advantageous? I have graduated from a 7* 455 Deep Bore to an 8*, can still hit it wedge height when needed, but can also whizz it by your ear when necessary too. My own experiments with varying lofts is that my greatest total distance comes from a low lofted head. The assumption is that one can hit the ball straight.

[leftylucas]

Good points Lyle, last night I went to the range and my normal swing definitely had excellent. There was a pretty hefty breeze so I experimented to see if I could hit it lower into the wind and suceeded. I am anxious to see how this translates into my game.

[Txxxxxxx]

There is no doubt that launch angle, club head path, ball speed, angle of attack, spin rate, etc., are all important in achieving maximum carry, but a couple of other things should be considered.

If a golfer is good enough that the above factors need be used when buying a driver, the golfer should also have the ability to vary the trajectory of his shots, at will. If he goes along with the trend of getting a high launch angle and has more loft on the driver, then there is not doubt that a longer carry will result. BUT, what happens when he wants to hit a very low, controlled shot into a head wind, or even a cross wind? The high lofted driver allows for a high or medium trajectory, but not a low trajectory.

Now, put a lower lofted head in his hands and he will be able to hit the ball at all trajectories, AND, get a lot more roll when conditions are conducive to this. Is this not more advantageous? I have graduated from a 7* 455 Deep Bore to an 8*, can still hit it wedge height when needed, but can also whizz it by your ear when necessary too. My own experiments with varying lofts is that my greatest total distance comes from a low lofted head. The assumption is that one can hit the ball straight.

Very good post.