D-Plane, D-Pane, Boss
I saw this too. The article states that JB's +3 degree angle of attack produces almost 1000 rpm less backspin than Tiger's -3 degree strike. It also states similar loft, swing speed, and initial ball speed for both players.
In terms of the D-plan this seems to make some sence to me. Borrowing from various earlier threads by folks far more talented then I, I'd written a blurb to myself on the subject of D-Plane and the creation of spin for shaping shots in both the horizontal and verticle directons.
Line 1 - Club Path:
- The travel direction of the sweet spot of the club head
- Since this path is curved, the club path direction at any instant is actually the tangent of the curved path
- For most shots the club path actually points somewhat into the ground (the driver can be an exception)
Line 2 - Clubface Direction:
- The line perpendicular to the clubface (direction is indicated by a rod attached to the club face)
Line-1 Relation To Line 2:
- The bigger the vertical angle between these two lines, the more backspin is generated and the higher the ball will fly*
- The bigger the horizontal angle between these two lines, the more side spin is generated and the more the ball will curve
* Backspin produces lift because air moving over the ball is quickly pulled over the ball (relatively low pressure) & air moving under the ball is slowed (relatively high pressure)
It just seems to me that the D-plane says Tiger creates significantly more backspin than JB due to the significant difference in each player's driver angle of attack. Tiger hits down 3 degrees and thus increases the verticle angle between the face and the ball gets greater backspin results and brings the ball out of the air quickly.
