Optimal Strike Point for Longer Drives
July 30th, 2012 | 
Author: We’ve all heard the saying ‘high launch and low spin‘. With the help of TrackMan I have been able to learn which part of the clubface to strike the ball with in order the get the ball to launch higher, spin less and ultimately travel further.
Watch the following video…
The Optimal Strike Point
Here are the factors that make a slightly high and toe sided hit optimal:
Launch Angle
- Due to the roll/curvature of the face there is more loft above the center line than below. The static loft of the club is measured in the center of the face, so if a club has 9.5 degrees of loft that is only in the one central location. Half an inch above the center line the loft increases by around 2 degrees and vice versa for below the center line.
- A strike above the center line will always lead to a higher launch angle and can often be achieved quite easily by teeing the ball higher.
Spin Rate
- Due to vertical gear effect a strike that occurs below the center line will have a substantially higher spin rate than one higher on the face.
- I have seen increases of almost 1400 rpm with low strike points – in addition to distance sapping lower launch angles.
Gear Effect
- Most of the golfers that I teach need to hit draws. A golf ball that is struck on the toe side of the clubface will tend to have a greater inclination to draw than one struck towards the heel of the club.
Clubhead Speed
- If a shot is hit out of the center of the face with a swing speed of 100mph a spot on the face 3/4″ out side of that will be travelling at almost 103mph and a spot the same distance inside that will only be travelling at 97mph.
- The ball will travel faster and most often further with higher club speed.
If you’d like to get a feel for where you are striking the ball on the face try dry erase marker or Dr. Scholl’s Odor X – they both work like a charm and give instant feedback.
Posted in Swing Philosophy | 
Tags: center of the face, center strike, centered strike, centeredness of contact, centre strike, clubface, high launch and low spin, high launch low spin, higher club speed, higher launch, higher launch angle, impact on face, launch angles, longer drives, low spin, middle of the clubface, middle of the face, point of contact, spin less, static loft, swing speed, trackman, vertical gear effect, where to hit ball on face
Hi Andrew. Any thoughts on how to promote toe-side impacts in practice? Can it be as simple as just addressing the ball more out to that side? Thanks.
Tee it higher and find out what your strike tendencies seem to be – dry erase or powder are the best. My experience has been that when a golfer knows where they need to hit it on the face they greatly increase their ability to strike the ball with that spot.
Andrew – what does this imply for driving directly into the wind? I’ve heard many say that a lower tee height is better for that shot as you have more ‘control’ over ballflight. The scenario I’m considering would have to take into account the variability of many shots rather than a single optimal drive.
If true, does the optimal point for a shot into wind still favour a lower spin rate (i.e. greater tee height and contact higher on face) or does it change to account for better shot dispersion (i.e. lower tee height and contact)?
PJ,
I see a tremendous number of drives that launch low and actually reach a higher altitude than a much higher launching, lower spinning drive. This is due to high spin causing too much lift and making the ball climb – no good in the wind. You’re looking for a low spin tee shot into the wind and the same ideas apply. There is nothing in physics to support the fact that a low tee height shot flies straighter….
Thanks for reading and I hope this answers your questions.
AR