Trackman Q and A

I've received a few questions about the Trackman translations and I thought I'd add them here.

But again, let's post the sample Trackman data I had been using.

1. Clubhead speed = 87.3
2. Ball speed = 127.1
3. Attack angle = -3.4
4. Club Path = 5.7
5. Vert swing plane = 63.1
6. Horiz swing plane = 3.9
7. Dyn Loft = 11.3
8. Face angle = -3.6
9. Smash factor = 1.46
10. Vert. angle = 7.2
11. Horiz angle = -0.9
12. Spin rate = 6194
13. Spin axis = -17.9
14. Max Height = 15.5
15. Carry = 165.4
16. Side = 29.3L
17. Length = 178.5
18. Side yards = 34.1 L

1. How can I use these numbers to help my game?

With Trackman a golfer can get the true dynamics of their golf swing, their clubhead and clubface thru impact and make changes accordingly, often time simple changes, in order to greatly improve ballstriking.

In this case, the numbers that stand out are the very closed clubface angle (-3.4*) and the very inside-to-out swing path (HSP - 3.9*).

It can also be used to help better fit the golfer with proper equipment. When I got fitted with my Mizuno irons at the Golf Doctor, they noted that where Trackman equipment fitting really 'shows up' is with the driver. Here the golfer has a very normal spin rate with the 6-iron. The vertical launch angle and max height is low, but that's probably due to the closed clubface at impact. This is only one particular shot the golfer hit. If this was an average of 10 shots, the golfer might need a stiffer clubshaft that has a lower kick point.

2. What do the good players 'do' when it comes to Trackman

Speaking to some Trackman owners the good players are very consistent with the following:

Attack Angle
Vertical Swing Plane
Horizontal Swing Plane
'True' Path
Clubface Angle

For example, a good player may hit ten shots with a 7-iron with an attack angle in the range of -4.5 to -3.5*. The vertical swing plane may be in the 63 to 63.5* range and the horizontal swing plane may be at -1 to -2* range. That will create a consistent true path in the 0 to +1* range.

The golfer may also have a clubface angle in -1 to +1* range. Thus, combine that with the consistent true path the golfer will consistently hit the ball either straight or with a little draw.

The thing that seperates the all-time great ballstrikers is their level of clubface control. The other factors are somewhat easy for golfers to be very consistent with. But clubface control is something that varies quite a bit, even with very good golfers or even PGA Tour golfers.

But the all time great ballstrikers...Hogan, Moe, Knudson, Trevino, O'Grady, etc...were likely fantastic with controlling the clubface and it not varying much unless they wanted it to do as such.

3. How would you clubfit somebody for irons with this data?

Fitting the driver with Trackman should be pretty easy as this video shows.



To reduce spin rate, clubfitters primarily will find a lower lofted clubhead, a higher kick point clubshaft, a stiffer clubshaft, and a heavier clubshaft.

The same applies with irons as well. However with irons clubhead speed tends to play a bigger factor. The general rule I live by is that the more of a 'snap release' (aka a 'smaller pulley') the heavier, stiffer and higher kickpoint of a shaft the golfer should look to use. This is because it takes the golfer lesser handspeed to generate more clubhead speed. Two prototypical 'snap releases' are Hogan and Sergio Garcia, both of who have used heavy, stiff golf shafts.

OTOH, a more 'full sweep release' which creates a larger 'pulley' the golfer should look at more flexible and lighter shafts. Tom Watson is an example of using a full sweep release. Now, clubhead speed does play a factor.

But if say Hogan and Watson had the same clubhead speed, Watson should likely use a much lighter and more flexible shaft to allow him to generate that clubhead speed consistently.

Of course, many of today's irons manufacturers will make the irons fit to your desired swingweight regardless of the shaft you use.

I see many golfers use a popular brand of graphite shaft in their driver that weighs about 90 grams and struggle to hit the ball with distance because they don't generate enough clubhead speed and they don't have a snap release to generate power more easily.

Of course, I've been very impressed with the fitting that Mizuno's Shaft Optimizer gave me as I put the recommended KBS Tour Shaft in my 6-iron to experiment with.








3JACK

Trackman Translations - Part III

Click on the links to find PART I and PART II of the Trackman Translations. Here again is the sample Trackman data:

1. Clubhead speed = 87.3
2. Ball speed = 127.1
3. Attack angle = -3.4
4. Club Path = 5.7
5. Vert swing plane = 63.1
6. Horiz swing plane = 3.9
7. Dyn Loft = 11.3
8. Face angle = -3.6
9. Smash factor = 1.46
10. Vert. angle = 7.2
11. Horiz angle = -0.9
12. Spin rate = 6194
13. Spin axis = -17.9
14. Max Height = 15.5
15. Carry = 165.4

DYNAMIC LOFT

'Static Loft' is the loft of the club at address. This usually consists of the given loft of a club (say a 10* driver) and any loft added or subtracted by either closing or opening the clubface at address.

Trackman doesn't measure 'static loft.' But it does measure dynamic loft which is the loft of the club at impact. Typically the formula looks something like this.

Dynamic Loft = Static Loft + Attack Angle + adjusted for the
impact of the bended shaft (typical +2° for a driver)

As I stated in Part II, there really is no 'turning a 7-iron into a 5-iron loft' with the golf swing. The actual dynamic loft is quite a bit lower, regardless if the golfer has a flat or bent left wrist at impact.

In the sample we are dealing with, the golfer is hitting a 6-iron which has about 32* of loft. The golfer had a -3.4* attack angle which is about the Tour average and likely had some forward shaft lean.

The result? It took that 6-iron loft and turned it into a 11.3* loft at impact.

SPIN AXIS

Spin axis is the amount and direction of the side spin. A negative number means the axis is spinning to the left (hook spin) and a positive number means the axis is spinning to the right (slice spin).

The rule of thumb the ball will swerve 0.7 % off line per 1° spin axis.

In this case, the golfer has a spin axis of -17.9°. That's a hook spin on the ball. The ball also carried 165.4 yards.

So the formula is:

-17.9 x 0.7% = -0.1253

-0.1253 x 165.4 = -20.7 yards to the left

Of course that's not a definitive number because you have to account for things like margin of error and the wind.

Spin axis is usually caused by face angle, horizontal swing plane and attack angle. But also caused by the 'centerness' of the strike. If you catch it off the toe, you're likely to impart hook spin and if you catch it off the heel, you're likely to impart slice spin.

SPIN RATE

This is the backspin imparted on a ball right after impact. There's a misconception (and I had it as well) that one can create overspin on the ball with a hook. That's actually untrue, as the ball will have backspin regardless if they hit a roundhouse hook or not. The hook will have less backspin and that's why it tends to roll much more than a straight shot or a fade.

Furthermore:

More Clubhead Speed = usually higher spin rate

More Static Loft = higher spin rate

Steeper AoA = higher spin rate

Higher Spin Rate = higher ball flight

Higher Spin Rate = less roll

Normally spin rate is looked at with the driver as golfer's want to reduce the spin rate, preferably under 3,000 RPM's with the driver. The Tour average spin rate with a driver is 2,650 rpms.

Most Tour pros try and achieve this by hitting a lesser lofted driver with a shaft with a higher kick point (which launches the ball lower), then have a more upward angle of attack.

PGA Tour pro Kevin Streelman is a perfect example of this.

According to Trackman's July 2009 Newsletter, Streelman started off with the following when he first started working with Trackman:

10.5* Cleveland Driver
116 mph clubhead speed
1.43 smash factor
-5.6 AoA
2,887 Spin Rate
267 yards carry

Streelman noticed that his AoA was way too steep with the driver and started to shallow the AoA with his swing.

Streelman then shallowed out his AoA from -5.6* to -1.0* and had to change his driver from a 10.5* loft to an 8.5* loft. He also got a stiffer and slightly shorter clubshaft to adapt to his shallower AoA. His stats a year later looked like this.

114 mph clubhead speed
1.49 smash factor
2,399 Spin Rate
290 yards carry

So Streelman was able to increase his carry by 23 yards and reduce his spin rate by 478 rpm's by gradually shallowing out his AoA and thus being fitted for a driver that better matched the change in his AoA.

In the sample Trackman data above, the spin is at 6,194 rpm's which is about the average spin rate for a Tour pro with a 6-iron. If the spin rate was abnormally higher than that, I would probably check the golf ball being used, the shafts being used, the static loft of the iron, and the attack angle.

VERTICAL LAUNCH ANGLE

Vertical Launch angle is the initial launch of the ball right after impact in relation to the ground. I don't have tour averages with an iron, but with a driver the golfer wants a vertical launch angle in the 10-14* range. A golfer with too low or too high of a vertical launch angle may need to change the loft of the driver and/or the attack angle and their face angle. Trackman advises that golfers hit up with the driver if they can. So if the golfer hits up with the driver and has a vertical launch angle higher than 14*, then they need to get a lower lofted driver and/or a higher kick point shaft.

With that, in this example we see a vertical launch angle of only 7.2* with a 6-iron. Note though, the clubface was closed by -3.6* which help launch the ball lower than normal.

LANDING ANGLE

This is the angle of descent the ball lands at. The higher the number, the more vertical the angle the ball lands. The Tour average with a 5-iron is about 53*. Landing Angle is usually more important with the driver where the Tour average is 39* and usually golfers should look for a landing angle of 35-45*. Too high of a landing angle with the driver usually means the golfer needs a better fitted driver. Too low of a landing angle can mean the same thing or they could have an attack angle issue as well. This golfer didn't provide any landing angle data in his Trackman report.

Here's a video of how Ping fits their golfers with their drivers using Trackman.

HORIZONTAL ANGLE

Horizontal angle is the direction the ball initially takes right after impact. A negative number means left of the target, a positive number means right of the target. In the sample below the horizontal angle is -0.9* which means the ball started out initially 0.9* left of the target.

MAXIMUM HEIGHT

Maximum Height is the maximum height the ball reaches during flight. The tour average with a driver is 34 yards, with a 5-iron is 32 yards. Here the maximum height is only 15.5 yards which is a very low shot. But again, note that the golfer had a clubface that was closed by 3.9*. That along with the -3.4* AoA helps contribute to the very low ball trajectory.




3JACK

Trackman Translations - Part II

Just so we don't lose track, here are the sample Trackman numbers again.

1. Clubhead speed = 87.3
2. Ball speed = 127.1
3. Attack angle = -3.4
4. Club Path = 5.7
5. Vert swing plane = 63.1
6. Horiz swing plane = 3.9
7. Dyn Loft = 11.3
8. Face angle = -3.6
9. Smash factor = 1.46
10. Vert. angle = 7.2
11. Horiz angle = -0.9
12. Spin rate = 6194
13. Spin axis = -17.9
14. Max Height = 15.5
15. Carry = 165.4

And Part I of the translations can be found HERE.

HORIZONTAL SWING PLANE

Horizontal Swing Plane is often termed as 'clubhead path.' In typical golf terminology, clubhead path is usually described as 'inside-to-out' or 'outside-to-in' or 'square.' In Trackman terms horizontal swing plane is assigned a number. A positive number means the golfer is swinging 'inside-to-out.' A negative number means the golfer is swinging 'outside-to-in.' In the data above, the golfer has a Horizontal Swing Plane which means that they swung the club a bit 'inside-to-out.' This *normally* will produce a hook spin on the golf ball (conversely a negative number *can* impart a slice spin on the ball). Here's a diagram of what 'inside-to-out', 'square' and 'outside-to-in' looks like.

FACE ANGLE

Simply, the angle of the clubface at impact. Positive number means it's 'open' to the target, negative number means it's 'closed' to the target.

In the data above, the golfer has a -3.6* Clubface Angle. This golfer is right handed, so they have the clubface pointing 3.6* left of the target.

One thing that is greatly misconstrued by golfers is confusing the effect of a flat left wrist and forward shaft lean on the golf ball. There's a misconception that the pro golfers hit the ball further because the shaft lean at impact 'causes them to hit a 7-iron with a 5-iron degree loft.' That's actually very untrue. When a golfer has a FLW at impact and some forward shaft lean they are just helping optimize their clubhead speed and their ball speed. Their loft of the club at impact will actually be less than it was at address, regardless if they flip or not. So the club is de-lofted most of the time, regardless if the left wrist is flat or bent at impact.

I hear some very good golfers say that the way they rid themselves of the flip was to prevent the clubface from opening at impact. This can work for many golfers and makes sense. OTOH, many flippers (like my former self) would have a perverted sense of closing the clubface by flattening the right wrist at impact.

CLUB PATH (aka TRUE PATH OR DYNAMIC PATH)

Club Path is very different from Horizontal Swing Plane. Club Path is the clubhead path measured at impact. Club Path is a number determined by Horizontal Swing Plane, Angle of Attack and Vertical Swing Plane. That's why it's often called 'true path' or 'dynamic path' because there are other factors that determine this number.

Generally, in order to hit the ball straight, a golfer who has a downward (negative) attack angle needs to also have a negative horizontal swing plane. Often times, here's the formula to 'hit it straight.'

WITH IRONS

Horizontal Swing Plane = 1/2 of Attack Angle

WITH DRIVER

Horizontal Swing Plane = Attack Angle.

Below is a diagram from Trackman's latest newsletter showing what a golfer would have to do to hit it straight with an iron with a -5* angle of attack.


Now, this doesn't mean that the top part of the diagram cannot hit the ball well, but to hit it dead straight with no curvature, they must have a horizontal swing plane of about -2.5*.

In the data above, the attack angle is -3.4*. In order to hit the ball straight with no curvature and establish a 'true path' of 0*, here's the 'math.'

0* 'true path' = -3.4* AoA + -1.7* HSP

Instead, here's what happened in the Trackman Data above:

-3.4* AoA + 3.9* HSP

We know from the Trackman diagram that this will create a 'true path' that is very out to the right. So the final formula for the data above is.

-3.4* AoA + 3.9* HSP = 5.9* 'true path'

NEW BALL FLIGHT LAWS

What we know from Trackman and physicists who have studied golf is that:

Initial Ball Flight Direction = 85% due to Face Angle + 15% 'True Path'

Curvature of Ball Flight = 100% due to 'true path' in relation to the clubface angle.

The 'old ball flight' laws would state to the effect that you couldn't hit a draw with an open clubface. But the correct ball flight laws state the opposite. In fact, one can can a clubface that is open by 2* and still draw the ball if they can manage to get a true path that is more than 2*.

So, when looking at Trackman and trying to figure out how to hit the ball more accurately, three factors to look at are:

Attack Angle, Horizontal Swing Plane, Face Angle, True Path.

In this case we've got the following:

-3.4* Attack Angle
+3.9 HSP

With this we know that the 'true path' will be a pretty high positive number.

-3.6* Face Angle
+5.9 'True Path'

The 'true path' is very 'inside-to-out' to begin with. With the face angle pointing closed, this will mean that the true path is extremely inside-to-out in relation to the face angle. Remember:

Initial Ball Flight Direction = 85% due to Face Angle + 15% 'True Path'

Curvature of Ball Flight = 100% due to 'true path' in relation to the clubface angle.

So, with the face angle pointing very much left and the path very much inside-to-out, we should see a big pull hook or snap hook.

Looking at this the golfer needs to improve their clubface angle and the horizontal swing plane. Their clubface angle is too closed and they swing too much inside-to-out.

IMO, the golfer in the data above should work on the clubface angle first since I believe this game is about who can control the clubface angle the best. If the golfer could get the face angle closer to 0*, they could start missing their shots less drastically to the left. If they could get the face angle at say +2*, they would probably hit a big hook that can still find the target.

The closed clubface may be due to something as simple as the grip or aiming incorrectly at address or releasing the #3 Power Accumulator too soon. A good way to check this is with the video camera.

From the DTL view, you want the clubface at the same angle as the left forearm at the top of the golf swing. Here's a pic of Moe Norman back in 1955 executing a square clubface perfectly at the top of the swing.


Golfers who have a clubface that is closed at the top of the swing have the face pointing more towards the sky. An open face at the top has the toe of the club pointing more straight down.

You can also check this from the Face On view to a degree. Take a look at Ben Hogan in this pic.


Mr. Hogan had a square clubface as you can see the grooves of his iron clearly here. With closed clubfaces, the clubface is not visible at the top of the swing from the face on view.

More importantly, checking the club at P6 is even a better indicator of what the face angle will be at impact.


Here the clubface is square as the toe is pointing straight up at the sky. If the face was closed, it would be facing more towards the ground. If it was open, the face would be facing more towards the sky.






3JACK

Trackman Translations - Part I

In the past I've been asked to do some Trackman translations in regards to what all of the numbers mean. I have been putting them off, but with the help of people like Kevin Shields, John Graham and some others who wish to not be named, here's what I've come up with.

First, we'll take a look at some sample Trackman Data of a shot hit with an iron (IIRC, a 6-iron):

1. Clubhead speed = 87.3
2. Ball speed = 127.1
3. Attack angle = -3.4
4. Club Path = 5.7
5. Vert swing plane = 63.1
6. Horiz swing plane = 3.9
7. Dyn Loft = 11.3
8. Face angle = -3.6
9. Smash factor = 1.46
10. Vert. angle = 7.2
11. Horiz angle = -0.9
12. Spin rate = 6194
13. Spin axis = -17.9
14. Max Height = 15.5
15. Carry = 165.4

Clubhead speed and ball speed are pretty self explanatory. They are the two biggest factors that correlate to distance. Usually, clubhead correlates to ball speed, meaning usually the higher the clubhead speed the higher the ball speed. The times when you have higher clubhead speed but a lower ball speed usually means that you mis-hit the ball. However this is usually determined by 'smash factor.'

Smash Factor

Smash Factor is the result of Ball Speed / Clubhead Speed. In the case above, 127.1 mph / 87.3 = 1.46 smash factor.

The higher the smash factor the more 'pure' the golf ball was struck (in most cases). The longer the club, the more *potential* there is for a high smash factor. Due to golf club technology regulations, the max smash factor is about 1.53 and that's with a driver.

The PGA Tour average smash factor with a driver is about 1.48. With a 5-iron it's about 1.44. In the example above of 1.46, the golfer struck this shot very well. A golfer can hit a driver right in the middle of the sweetspot and have a low smash factor if they have a steep angle of attack with a driver as steep angle of attacks with the driver reduces ball speed.

Attack Angle (aka Angle of Attack)

Attack Angle is the angle at which the clubhead is coming towards the ball at impact. This is measured in relation of the clubhead to the ground.

The PGA Tour averages are approximated, but with a PW it's a little steeper than than -5*. With a 7-iron it's about -4*. With a 3-iron it's about -3*. And with a driver it's about -1*. So as you can see, the longer the club the more shallow the attack angle should be.

With irons, you should always strive for a downward angle of attack so you can consistently compress the golf ball properly. Now, one *can* have a very slightly upward angle of attack with an iron, but they probably will not compress the ball consistently.

With a driver, an upward angle of attack optimizes distance. There *can* be a tradeoff in accuracy with an upward AoA (angle of attack) with a driver, but there are ways to get around that. Almost the entire LPGA Tour has an upward AoA with the driver so they can optimize their distance with the relatively lower clubhead and ball speed.

AoA also is a major factor in the height of a shot. Contrary to popular golf instruction theory, the steeper the AoA, the more likely the ball will go lower. The shallower the AoA, the more likely the ball will go higher. Here the golfer has an AoA of -3.4* with what we believe is a 6-iron. That's right around the Tour average and that is excellent. AoA is very important IMO because the reason why I believe many golfers 'flip' thru the ball is that they simply do not hit 'down' enough with their irons.

Vertical Swing Plane

Vertical Swing Plane is more or less the 'inclined' plane the golfer swings on in the downswing. Here's a pic from Jeff Mann's site showing 3 of the more popular swing planes golfers use.


Again, for Trackman the Vertical Swing Plane is what plane the golfer uses on the downswing. In this case, Aaron Baddeley uses the elbow plane. In the Trackman Data above, the higher the number, the steeper the swing plane uses. The lower the number, the flatter the swing plane used.

Take a look at the pic below:


In this case, Mr. Nicklaus' downswing was down the steeper 'turned shoulder plane' while Mr. Nelson's downswing was on the flatter 'elbow plane.' Therefore, if they were to be on Trackman, Mr. Nicklaus would have a higher number in the vertical swing plane.

There is no correct swing plane number that one can use, the key is to consistently use about the same number. The PGA Tour average with a driver is about 48*. That's because *most* PGA Tour pros use the elbow plane on the downswing. In the Trackman data above the main question is whether or not the golfer can consistenty produce a vertical swing plane of 63*.







3JACK

Straight Left Arm

Playing with mid-to-high handicappers each week, one question that usually arises is 'keeping the left arm straight.' Here's a nice video by Jeff Evans discussing the straight left arm and how to keep it from being bent.



IMO, I pretty much agreen with everything Jeff says, although I think it should be noted that the left arm does not have to be straight in the backswing or at P4 and often times it's got a little bit of curve to it, and is not perfectly straight.



I think Strange is more of an extreme example of a bent left arm at P4, but that is something common of Jimmy Ballard's teaching philosophy. Although I think if want a more perfectly straight left arm, then I would suggest the Stack and Tilt method. I think the 'curved' left arms of O'Grady and Palmer are more than fine and Evans' tips can help you achieve that.






3JACK

3Jack's Translation of TGM: Part 13

Part 13 will finish up the TGM translation. This will be brief as it covers Parts 9-2, 9-3, and 12-3.

I've already gone over 9-2 and 9-3, which can be found HERE.

In my Part 11 Translation Post went over the 24 component checklist for basic drive loading, basic drag loading and hopefully my future swing.

12-3 is a 'mechanical' checklist (vs. component checklist) of your swing.

It breaks down the checklist into 12 sections.

1. Preliminary Address
2. Impact Fix
3. Adjusted Address
4. Backstroke
5. Backstroke (part of 4&5)
6. The Top
7. Start Down
8. Downstroke
9/10/11. Impact
12. Finish

In reality what TGM tends to be all about is getting the golfer to develop their own 'stroke.' The book goes in depth on the geometry and physics of the swing, then gets more specific with the different ways a golfer can achieve the quality alignments, then develops a way a golfer can develop the components of their swing.

In the end, I firmly believe that somebody who understands TGM should know how to really practice, particularly with today's high-end camcorders, 3-D Motion Analysis Technology and the Trackman Launch Monitor. All Homer Kelley had was his eyes and a mirror.

And in the end the golfer who understands TGM should be able to come up with their own component checklist and then go thru the mechanical checklist to make sure their mechanics are in tact.

I find TGM hardly infallible, but the work done by Homer was nonetheless brilliant and without it, my mind would not be educated to some of the fundamental elements of the golf swing and would not be open enough to new scientific and technological theories and philosphies.

'After all, complexity is far more acceptable and workable than mystery is.' - Homer Kelley








3JACK

Wednesday Golf Swing Update 12.2.09

I'll try to make updates on my swing every Wednesday. For now, I'm trying to get the clubshaft parallel to the target line with a pretty square clubface. Something like this:


The big thing I'm focusing on is getting some 'space' between my right elbow and right side at the top of the swing. In some of my latest swings the right elbow was right up against my right side.


So, here are a couple of swings from a round I played on Tuesday.



Here's some pics.


Obviously, the driver swing was better than the 7-iron swing. I hit the driver down the left side of the fairway and probably had a 1-yard fade. The 7-iron was a small push that hit the right fringe and bounced towards the pin. But there is some 'space' between the elbow and the side at P4 which is what I'm working towards. I'll keep working on this until I feel rather comfortable with it and then move onto the next adjustment which will likely be getting a straight, but not locked right leg at P4.





3JACK