Compression

[Svenster]

Hi all,

I just read Brian's blog post about "Compression not being what it used to be" and want to be sure that what I think he said about it was what he actually said.

As a self-professed hacker (and for the most part a sweeper of the ball) I was always in awe of some of my playing partners who could really mash their irons (long or short) to create high and very long shots. I (and they) attributed their great strikes to really compressing the ball, but compression to me meant they were hitting very down on the ball, mashing it into the ground and taking a big divot.

So for me compression meant the ball basically being squashed between the club/iron and the ground. If I've read Brian's take correctly he's saying that you can get as much or more compression by sweeping the ball (albeit with a slightly downward impact) and taking a shallow or nonexistant divot.

I have playing partners who are "divot-centric", a la S&T, who think that the holy grail of ball striking with their irons is to 'dig to China' if need be trying to create the "perfect divot" which in turn means they've compressed the ball as well as they can.

So, my question is, am I on the right track? Is hitting the sweetspot with a slightly downward impact leaving little or no divot just as good a goal as striving to get maximum compression by focussing on swings and impact that result in straight divots that begin after the ball (i.e. on the target side of the ball)? Opinions appreciated.

Svenster

 

[softconsult]

Plenty of great players who take little or no divot. What popped into my mind when I saw where you lived was this. I'm originally from the Pacific Northwest. When I moved from Salem, Oregon to Eastern North Carolina in 1978, I immediately knew I had a golf problem. My irons with sharp leading edges just dug into the immovable sandy soil, sending shock waves through my hands. They told me I needed irons that were cambered and rolled. That solved the problem. The soil was hard and so the club needed to bounce off and not dig.

So the taking of humongous divots by your friends is somewhat because in your soil you can do it, and hardly feel it. The ball isn't compressing against that soft soil.

 

[Svenster]

Steve,

Good insight on the difference in playing on soft vs. hard turf. I didn't even think of that angle, proving once again how much I have to learn about all the nuances of the game.

It should be interesting when my "divot-centric" buddy and I are in Scottsdale in May. Two hackers, one trying to sweep and the other trying to dig.

 

[Todd Dugan]

When the ball lies tight to the turf, and especially as the clubfaces become "pitched-back" with more loft, it becomes mandatory to attack with a descending blow, to allow the leading edge of the clubface to get below the ball and allow the ball to impact the center or sweetspot of the clubface. An impact on the sweetspot produces more ball compression, and thus ball speed, all else the same.

BUT, the angle at which the clubhead collides with the ball, relative to the ground (Attack Angle), does not, by itself, change the basic nature of the collision. For two otherwise identical collisions, a more descending Attack Angle will lower the Launch Angle, but the other Initial Launch Conditions, like Ball Speed, and thus, Smash Factor, and thus compression, will remain unchanged.

Even the best instructors routinely make the mistake of assuming that more "forward shaft lean" automatically means a collision with reduced loft. While increased forward shaft lean does mean reduced Dynamic Loft, the loft that the ball "feels" is known as Spinloft, which is the difference between the Dynamic Loft and the Attack Angle. Therefore, you must know the Attack Angle, in conjunction with the Dynamic Loft, to determine the Spinloft.

This information applies just as easily to putting and thus, putter fitting. Piqued your interest? Then you may enjoy this video