Spin & Curvature

[cwdlaw223]

Is there a relationship between spin to ballspeed, club path and face angle where if the spin is reduced with the same ballspeed, club path and face angle the ball goes straighter? At what point would increased spin help accentuate the curvature and if too much, help prevent curvature? Maybe my question is rigged because the ballspeed would go down with too much spin.

It's hard to put this question in words, but I've found that hitting up with my driver has straightened out my drives considerably and I have a lot lower spin.

When I hit up with another one of my drivers the ball curves a lot more and there's a lot more backspin with this shaft/head combination. I also found that my hybrid curves a lot more than my 4 iron.

 

[savydan]

The concept that is missing is spin axis tilt.

The ball spins around 1 axis. If the true face is directly above the true path (or Face Angle is the same as Club Path) the spin axis will be horizontal and the ball will fly without curvature. When they do not match, the spin axis will tilt, and the ball will curve.

The notion that...."He puts a lot of backspin on the ball so it doesn't curve much"....is basically an old wives' tale.

It's not the spin rate that is preventing curvature, it's the lack of axis tilt that gives the ball no reason to curve.

 

[cwdlaw223]

What would happen if the tilt is the same, the ball speed is the same but the spin rates are different?

Doesn't spin at some point get so high that the ball doesn't go as far and therefore, the player will believe it doesn't curve as much because the ball doesn't go that far?

 

[savydan]

If you keep the "geometry" the same...... True Path and True Face......i.e. you keep the alignment sticks the same in the Basic D-Plane video demos......the only way to increase spin is through clubhead speed.

But curvature is defined (by most and Tuxen) as relative to the length of the shot.

Increased spin rate (coming from increased speed) just changes the scale of the lateral and longitudinal distances so to speak, but in proportion.

There was a thread on this about a month or two ago.

 

[cwdlaw223]

savydan -

I searched and couldn't find a thread. Do you know who posted the thread?

Would a lower spinning driver curve less with all things the same (but spin)?

 

[savydan]

Don't remember who started it. Frankly, I can't make the search function work since the change-over.

We were talking about Tuxen's rule of thumb that says:

"The ball will curve 0.7% per degree of axis tilt."

No one presented anything that would greatly refute that.

This means that:

1. Curvature is relative to the (down range) distance.
2. Clubhead speed will increase the spin rate but not change the curvature. E.g. A 100 yard shot that curves 5 yards is the same curvature of a 200 yard shot that curves 10 yards.
3. What really matters for curvature is AXIS TILT.

So a lower spinning driver, so to speak, would not effect curvature unless it changes tilt.

Are my axis tilt references making sense?

 

[cwdlaw223]

Yes. Thanks.