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jamesFrain · 05-08-2007, 05:11 AM

This no doubt has been bandied about but I'm looking for peoples opinion on this slant I've taken. I'm about to have my 45" shaft trimmed down to 43" as I believe this will give me more control and I grip down most of the time anyways. But what I've been trying to prove to myself is that the biggest factor affecting the distance a ball goes is how near to the sweet spot you make contact. ie I've always maintained that a 95mph impact speed out of the sweet spot will go further than 110mph with an off centre hit (Even by just 1cm)
The latter is what I used to swing like and could crush it more than 300 yrds but more often than not I was looking at a 230 yrd power fade. Now with my more relaxed 95 mph I'm hitting he square and getting 200 yrds carry with 50 - 60 yrds roll.
Also is it my imagination but I notice that when I really go at the ball and nail it the extra back spin carries the ball a lot further but I seem to be getting almost no roll while when I look like an old man with a lot slower swing speed I get a lot less carry but a lot more roll. Has any of you folks noticed this? Club is a Jack Nick CD2 with 64g Graffalloy Stiff.

Do you think I would be advised to shorten the shaft?

BrianMcG · 05-08-2007, 08:36 AM

Like you said, centeredness of contact is more of a determinant of how far the ball will travel than a slight increase in swing speed. So if you have a slightly shorter club you hit more solid you will probably have a much longer average.

As far as roll is concerned, that is dependant on having a properly fitted driver, i.e. with the correct shaft flex and loft. Having a driver that is set up properly will allow you to get the best launch angle and spin rate of the golf ball giving you the longest total distance. There are a lot of hitting machines out there that can measure this for you. Also the type of ball you play makes a difference also.

jamesFrain · 05-08-2007, 09:31 AM

thanks for that Brian, would you reccomend I shorten my club as most advice on the net seems to point towards.?

BrianMcG · 05-08-2007, 09:54 AM

I usually do not suggest that anyone shorten their own driver, but that they play with a shorter driver. The reason being that when you shorten a driver you will effectively change the lie angle (drivers are almost impossible to adjust) and the swingweight of the club. This will make the club feel a lot different.

The flatter effective lie you have with the driver may make you push the ball to the right more. But since you said you choked up on it a lot anyway, this may not effect you.

After you shorten it you can add a few pieces of lead tape to the bottom of the clubhead in order to get the same feel you now have.

cbwheeler · 05-08-2007, 03:22 PM

Brian touched on this a little but I'll elaborate. The reason you get a good amount of roll when you swing like "an old man" is directly related to what is known as your "angle of descent" on your ball, caused by launch conditions. It's easy to understand, but not widely known.

Basically, this is the angle in which your ball falls to the ground. If it is more than 45 degrees, you're not going to get much roll, if it is less, your ball is going to roll significantly more. As Brian said, the key to maximizing distance here is your launch conditions. You could actually probably make some relatively small changes and gain 30 yards with your faster swing. They don't even have to be swing changes. They could be equipment changes.

I'm like you. I usually hit a 300 yard drive that gets about 5 feet of roll, but every now and then I'll get a really good looking boring shot trajectory that still has a good amount of speed when its falling so it catches the ground and rolls 40 yards. I'm working on lowering my launch angle and recently switched to a ball that will spin less off the driver. It is my hope to be able to carry about 285 and have 40 or so yards of roll, adding 15 yards to my drive with some very small changes.

The plus to this is I can accomplish more distance with a smoother, more controllable swing.