NATIONAL GOLF ACADEMY OF INDIA

NGAI BALL FLIGHT LAWS

 Ball Flight Laws - NGAI
The NGAI ball flight laws are based on the "fact" that the ball's flight pattern is primarily dependent on
the clubface orientation at impact, and that approximately 85% of the ball's initial flight direction is
determined by the clubface orientation while only 15% of the initial flight direction is dependent on the
club head path at impact. It is presumed that the club head attack angle is always zero and that the
ball is always hit on the sweet spot.

Direction of initial ball flight

Launch Direction – Horizontal

ONLY two things influence the Launch Direction:

•Face Angle The orientation of the club face where the ball impacts

•Club Path The direction of the club head during collision with the ball
  HLA = Horizontal Launch Angle
 Face angle will have a greater influence than club path in determining the launch direction of
the ball.
 The initial launch direction of the ball always falls between the club path and face angle. It is
also always closer to the face angle
 For drivers, the face angle accounts for roughly 85% of the initial direction and for irons face
angle accounts for around 75% (club path accounts for the remaining 15% and 25%,
respectively). This is due to reduced friction at impact
 If a golfer wants to launch the ball in the direction of the target (zero launch direction), the
player could either have both club path and face angle be zero, or the player could balance
out the two so the net result is a zero launch direction (provided centre face contact)
 For example, a zero launch direction would result from a iron shot where the face angle is -2
degrees and the club path is +6 degrees (because: -2 * 75% plus +6 * 25% equals 0).
 This means that starting a shot perfectly on line not only can be accomplished if the club path
is 0° and the face angle is 0°, but also if there are various combinations of face angle and
path. For example, in a driver the club path is + 6.7° (inside-out) and the face angle is 1°
closed (relative to the target line)

Note – NGAI refers to open or closed club face ONLY in relation to path. When speaking about
the club face in relation to target line, NGAI uses ‘left’ and ‘right’ as the terminology

Launch Angle – Vertical

Dynamic loft will have a greater influence than attack angle in determining the launch angle of
a shot.

ONLY two things influence the Launch Angle:

•Dynamic Loft The orientation of the club face where the ball impacts (similar to face angle just
vertically)
•Attack Angle The direction of the club head during collision with the ball (similar to club path just
vertically)

 The initial launch angle of the ball always falls between the dynamic loft than attack angle at
impact.
  For drivers, that dynamic loft normally accounts for about 85% of the launch angle, while
attack angle accounts for the remaining 15%. For irons, the ratio is around 75% dynamic loft
and 25% attack angle.
 For example, a 10° launch angle would result from a iron shot where the attack angle is -5
degrees and the Dynamic Loft is +15 degrees (15 * 75% plus -5 * 25% equals 10).
 When friction between the club and ball is too low to get “grip on the ball,” the launch angle
will be even more weighted toward the dynamic loft. This explains why “fliers” carry more –
they come out at a higher launch angle and with lower spin

Gear Effect
If the ball is impacted on the club face away from the center of gravity on the club head in the heel-toe
direction: this is the so-called “horizontal gear effect”. If the ball is impacted on the toe, the club head
will rotate towards a more open club face. The counter reaction of the ball is to rotate the opposite
way (like a gear). This will have the effect of tilting the spin axis towards the left (because of toe
impact) – meaning a more negative spin axis compared to having no gear effect.

When impact is off-centre (CoG), the club head will twist slightly, forcing the ball to counteract.
TOE impact - Creates a DRAW spin axis
HEEL impact - Creates a FADE spin axis

The gear effect is huge effect for drivers, much less for irons due to the Moment of inertia (MOI) and
the location of centre of gravity

Spin Rate
Spin rate is generated primarily by spin loft and club speed; additionally, impact position and
friction between the club and the ball (subject to a threshold) affect the amount of spin.

 For iron shots, spin loft (the difference between angle of attack and dynamic loft; (SPIN
LOFT = DYNAMIC LOFT – ANGLE OF ATTACK) remains virtually constant for a particular
golfer, given club loft and club speed, no matter what the attack angle is. This means the
myth that “hitting down on the ball creates more spin” is not true.
 For example, moving the ball back in the stance generally creates a more negative attack
angle, but the dynamic loft will be offset by a similar amount, resulting in an unchanged spin
loft and thereby unchanged spin rate.
  When impact is below centre on the club face, more spin is generated, all else equal.
Conversely, when impact is above centre, less spin is generated, all else equal. This effect is
pronounced on clubs where the centre of gravity is significant behind the club face such as on
drivers, woods and hybrids.
 Reducing the friction below a certain threshold also reduces the spin rate. For example, if
there is grass and/or water between the ball and the club, friction will be reduced, and a low
spin “flier” is a likely result

Spin Axis
The curvature of a shot is directly related to the tilt of the ball´s spin axis. There is physically
no such thing as “side spin” – the golf ball rotates around one single spin axis. Ball spin axis
is tilted by a difference between face angle and club path. A horizontal off-centre impact (heel
or toe) location will also tilt the spin axis for driver shots, and to a lesser degree for iron shots.

 For every 5 degrees of tilt in spin axis the ball will curve approximately 3.5 yards to the side
per every 100 yards of carry.
 If club face is open relative to the club path, the spin axis tilts positively resulting in a fading
shot, while if the club face is closed relative to the club path, the spin axis tilts negatively
resulting in a drawing shot.
 The larger the difference between face angle and club path, the more the spin axis will tilt.
Furthermore, the smaller the spin loft (lower lofted clubs) the more the spin axis will tilt for a
given difference between face angle and club path. Regarding centeredness of impact for
driver shots: For right handed golfers, heel shots tilt the spin axis positively toward the right
resulting in a fading shot, while toe shots tilt the spin axis negatively toward the left resulting
in a drawing shot.
 For a centre impact, if face angle equals club path, but these do not equal zero, the result will
be a straight shot (zero spin axis tilt) off the target line (push or pull).

Club Path and Swing Direction

To create a zero club path, the appropriate swing direction will depend on the golfer’s attack
angle.

 If the golfer hits up on the ball (driver), the swing direction must be in-to-out to generate a
zero club path. If the golfer hits down (iron) on the ball, the swing direction must be out-to-in
to generate a zero club path.
 For example If a right handed golfer hits up on the ball, the swing (plane) direction must be
positive (to the right) to generate a zero club path. If the right handed golfer hits down on the
ball, the swing (plane) direction must be negative (to the left) to generate a zero club path.
 The magnitude of in-to-out/out-to-in needed to compensate for the attack angle depends on
the (vertical) steepness of the swing plane.
 Example For an iron shot with a swing plane of 60 deg (typical for 6-7 iron) and an attack
angle of -5 deg (close to PGA TOUR average for 7 iron), the swing direction needs to be -2.5
deg (outside-in) in order to zero the club path. For a driver shot with a swing plane of 45 deg
(typical for most golfers) and with a positive attack angle of +5.0 deg, the swing direction
needs to be +5.0 deg (inside-out) in order to zero the club path. So when you hit your irons
downwards as you should, and hit upwards with your driver to maximize distance you need
two different swing directions: outside-in for irons and inside-out for Driver.

Let’s now think about this in golf terms. Let’s assume we want the ball to fly dead straight. We want
the club direction to be straight and slightly downwards. In order to do this we know we need to adjust
the swing direction to the left a little when hitting an iron. When hitting a wood, if we hit up on the ball,
we need to adjust the swing direction a little to the right to accommodate the path going left as it
travels upward. Another area to consider is how much we move the swing plane left and right, which
is dependant on the club we use. If we swing a wedge we will need to move the plane less to the left
than a driver because the vertical swing plane is more upright. Therefore hitting down has less effect
on the path, so less need to adjust the swing direction. The opposite is true with the longer clubs as
they have a much flatter plane angle.

D Plane

‘D-Plane’ stands for the ‘Descriptive Plane’ as the model essentially gives us an accurate description
of the ball flight that we observe.

While the below model looks quite complicated, the concept is actually very simple. We need to
understand what 2 vectors are doing. A vector is simply a force with a directional component. These 2
vectors are:

Club Direction – made up from angle of attack and club path

Clubface orientation or Normal to the clubface – made up of dynamic loft and clubface alignment.

The D – Plane is the plane between these two vectors. Once we know where these are both pointing
we know 2 things for sure:

1. The ball will always start its flight on the D- Plane

2. The spin axis of the ball will always be perpendicular to the D-Plane

Smash Factor

Generally speaking, to maximize ball speed it is more important to improve centeredness of

impact than to increase club speed.

 An off-center impact is less efficient in transferring energy from the club to the ball, thus some
of the power of the club speed is lost, resulting in a lower initial ball speed and consequently
less carry distance.
  Smash factor describes the efficiency of impact and equals the ratio ball speed divided by
club speed. Note that in addition to impact, the spin loft and club and ball properties also
affect smash factor.
 This is important because it is common for amateurs to “over-swing”. While over-swinging
might increase club speed, it may negatively affect centeredness of impact, and net out in
decreased ball speed, resulting in reduced carry distance.
 As an example, assume someone with a club speed of 90 mph and smash factor of 1.45 can
drive a ball so it has a carry of 200 yards. Increasing the club speed to 92 mph but reducing
smash factor to 1.40 due to off center hit would result in a new carry of only 196 yards.
Instead of increasing the club speed, the golfer could lower the club speed to 88 mph in order
to swing under control and increase his or her impact, thereby increasing the smash factor to
1.50 resulting in a carry of 204 yards.
 Golfers should attempt to achieve a smash factor of 1.47 or higher for drivers

Maximizing Distance

The optimal combination of ball speed, launch angle, and spin rate needed to maximize driving distance
for a particular golfer are primarily dictated by the golfer’s club speed and attack angle.

 The reason has to do with a trade-off between ball speed, launch angle, and spin rate.
Distance is maximized with a high ball speed, high launch angle, and low spin rate.
 However, increasing launch angle by increasing the dynamic loft has the side-effect of
increasing spin rate and decreasing ball speed. So, a trade-off must be made, and the optimal
trade off depends on how an individual delivers the club to the ball.
 Maximizing ball speed also implies making center impact – or at least close to center impact
as well squaring up club path and face angle.
 As an example, someone with a club speed of 90 mph and an attack angle of -5 degrees
would maximize carry distance with a ball speed of 129 mph, launch angle of 11.1 degrees,
and spin rate of 3690 rpm. Meanwhile, someone else with the same club speed of 90 mph,
but an attack angle of +5 degrees would maximize carry distance with a ball speed of 132
mph, launch angle of 16.4 degrees, and spin rate of 2630 rpm. Note in this example, the
golfer who hit up on the ball would end up with more carry: 214 versus 191 yards.

Straight Shot

There are 3 ways to strike the ball such that it travels in a straight line to the target; however, a
shot with a zero degree club path, zero degree face angle, and center impact location is
definitively the most effective.

 The three ways to achieve an on-target straight shot are:

o Zero club path, zero face angle, center impact
o Inside-out club path, closed face angle, heel impact
o Outside-in club path, open face angle, toe impact
 In shot types 2 and 3, the player must exactly counterbalance club path and face angle to
make launch direction zero, while simultaneously hitting it in the exact right part of the
heel/toe, to counterbalance the spin axis tilt to level. This is tough to do intentionally.
 Type 1 – zero club path, zero face angle, center impact – generates the most ball speed
(smash factor) and carry, thus is the most efficient.