Launch Angle: Is the angle the golf ball is leaving the club face. These launch parameters change with different club selection and club head speed. A player that has a high club head speed with a driver such as 100mph, will achieve maximum carry with a launch angle ranging from 12-14 degrees. A player that has a lower club head speed such as 85mph will have a slightly higher launch angle such as 13-15. Also a player with a very high club head speed will need a wider range from 10-15 degrees.
The launch angle can be altered in a couple of different ways.
- The attack angle can be altered making sure it is a positive attack thus allowing for the ball to launch higher.
- Tee position and height is important. Teeing it off the front foot and teeing it the proper height to achieve the ball reaching impact just above the club face equator.
- Driver loft will be an important factor in launch angle as well as back swing. With the proper attack angle and true testing driver lofts that range from 8.5 – 13.5 usually fit into the wide range of golfer. Having today’s technology makes it very easy and quick to snap a different driver loft into a different shaft to give you endless options.
Tip: See a fitting centre that has some type of system that can provide you with this data. This data is one of the more important ones when getting fitted. Major companies that provide these are: Callaway, TaylorMade and Nike.
Back Spin: Is exactly what is sounds like! It is how much backwards spin is created from the ball compressing and leaving the golf club. This controls the trajectory more then people think. It will control how long the ball staying in the air, how high the ball fly’s and how far the ball carry’s. Quick Note: The average golfer does not create enough back spin off the driver to allow for great carry and distance. On the same note the average golfer puts too much back spin on the golf ball which can result in lose of yardage. Tip: Getting a proper fitting can tell you exactly what loft of club you should and shouldn’t be using. Also what shaft works best with that specific loft. Combing the proper launch and back spin can gain you upwards of 10-30 yards carry. Misconception: No such thing as top spin! If you have achieved top spin on your golf ball you have literally toped the ball and most likely hit the ball 10 yards. The reason some golf balls roll farther then others are due to low back spin and low side spin.
Side Spin: Is how the ball rotates either clockwise or counter clockwise and this is measured in RPM. If you have a left to right ball flight then chances are you have a clockwise spinning golf ball. If your ball flight is moving right to left then your ball is spinning counterclockwise. The more side spin you put on a ball the more left or right
it will move. An ideal side spin is less then 600rpm’s if you are focusing on hitting it straight. This goes to prove it is very hard to hit a golf shot with zero side spin and therefore to hit a perfectly straight shot is a very hard achievement Tip: To create lower side spin and to hit straighter shots you need to work on creating a straighter path angle with a more square club face at impact. If you tend to have a large path angle from the inside or the outside, this movement across the golf ball combined with club head speed will be the determining factor on how much your golf ball turns in the air.
Ball Apex: Is the pinnacle the ball reaches in flight. Each club in normal conditions with a normal struck golf shot should have the same apex with each club. The main argument is that a wedge shot will go higher then a driver. The difference between a driver’s pinnacle and a wedge pinnacle is the wedge pinnacle is closer to you and you are looking up; where a driver’s pinnacle doesn’t reach its apex until a couple of hundred yards away.
Steve Courneyea
Associate Golf Professional



Jason Day









