Best resource for understanding GC2 numbers

[ks-man]

I've taken some lessons at golftec where my instructor is able to use the launch monitor numbers along with the shot shape to get a really good idea what my club path is likely doing. He says it is mainly just being familiar with the numbers and then you realize you have all the information you need. I'll be getting my own GC2 in two weeks and was wondering if anybody had some good links for understanding exactly what numbers are important and which aren't on the GC2 to getting a better understanding of what your swing is doing.

I will obviously not be using an HMT. Thanks.

[mthunt]

IMO, ball direction is a direct indication of swing path. Others will argue gear effect but a ball starting 3 degrees left has a club path out to in on a RH player. Back spin is an indication of Angle of Attack. Side spin is an indication of club face angle to swing path.

I can hit a ball and tell by its flight what my club did. I get that's not everyone. The GC2 tells you what your ball did in the air. An HMT is ideal, but a GC2 is an amazing device for practice.

[mayassa]

mthunt is spot on after a while you can see what you did on your swing by looking at the numbers, you can get the app for your ipad if you need to visualize it a bit more.

[goatbarn]

Club face angle has much more impact on ball Stat direction than club path.

Lookup trackman newsletter to understand the physics involved in a golf ball/club collision.

[mthunt]

Goat, I just took 3 shots. The 162 shot was straight path closed club face. The 146 shot was outside in path with club close to square to target line (pull fade). The 152 shot was straight. I know these to be true by my ability level. Is this different that what you are saying? Are you saying the 162 shot should show a pull?

[onehandicap]

Go to trackman's website and read through their newsletters. Very, very informative. You will hear people talk about the "new" ball flight laws, but it is just that we now have better data and understand things like D-plane, etc. As a general rule, face angle controls about 80% of where the ball flight starts, assuming the ball is struck in the center of the face.

Mthunt, let's take your 162 shot. Ball started slightly right and hand left spin. That means your club face was actually open to the target line (maybe a 1/2 degree or slightly less) and your swing path was probably a little more than 1/2 degree into out. Again assuming ball was struck center face. In other words your face was slightly closed to the your path.

The trackman newsletters do an amazing job of explaining. I can't find them on their site anymore, but here is a video on their site explains it very well.

[goatbarn]

Yes, mthunt, the way you understand the ball flight laws is the old pre-trackman understanding. Obviously you can think you do one thing, but in actuality it's another. Very easy to do. Hell, Jack and Arnold and all those guys all thought the path equalled the ball direction. They just didn't know that what they thought they were doing at impact wasn't exactly right. We now know what happens.

The post above will show you a good video on the subject.

[Dax]

For TM Newsletter go to support and the FAQ section. Scroll to the bottom and you should find the newsletters there. If you are registered for MyTrackman.com, then they are avail there as well.

[onehandicap]

The stuff that has been learned over the last 5 years with trackman is really pretty game changing, especially if you have a good ability to make minor adjustments in your swing and a measuring device. Ideally we would all have devices that measure the head, but if you don't and understand the effects of a face and path and have a device that measures the ball then you can still fix ball flight issues. It is pretty important to understand that it becomes much more difficult to interpret the numbers if you don't hit it on the screws.

An example of how understanding the laws changes the approach is in Mthunt's 162 yard example above...and all good players have been there. What would we all do in that example in the past (or understand the new laws)? Swing more to the right...but guess what? If you swing more to the right and the face angle stays the same amount open to the target, then the ball may start very slightly more to the right, but you will miss it even farther to left.

It took a bit of learning and a lot of trust, but i now know when I am hitting balls that start straight or slightly right and turn to far left, it is because i am too far in to out relative to face angle.

Generally speaking, a perfect draw, as an example, would have face open two degrees to target and the path four degrees in to out.

Finally, all the above is a little bit of a simplification because it also has something to do with angle of attack...which gets you into needing to understand the d-plane. Trackman's site has info on that as does Brian Manzella's forum. Anybody who is a single digit can really benefit from this knowledge.

Scratchgolfer (on TGC)
Onehandicap (on this forum)

[mayassa]

Trackman videos sure do explain the numbers, I learned something today.

[mthunt]

Mayassa, do you have the HMT? If yes, worth it?

[mayassa]

No, but I'm thinking of getting it. The data would be nice to improve my swing.

[TorchRedRob]

The stuff that has been learned over the last 5 years with trackman is really pretty game changing, especially if you have a good ability to make minor adjustments in your swing and a measuring device. Ideally we would all have devices that measure the head, but if you don't and understand the effects of a face and path and have a device that measures the ball then you can still fix ball flight issues. It is pretty important to understand that it becomes much more difficult to interpret the numbers if you don't hit it on the screws.

For me, add in a little Dr. Scholl's foot spray = poor man's HMT

[mayassa]

For me, add in a little Dr. Scholl's foot spray = poor man's HMT

They talk about that in the videos even if you mis hit you will get an equiptment effect from the head putting a spin on the ball to correct it. The HMT gives you more head information than guessing would do.

[TorchRedRob]

They talk about that in the videos even if you mis hit you will get an equiptment effect from the head putting a spin on the ball to correct it. The HMT gives you more head information than guessing would do.

Not arguing that point if you're referring to gear effect. I'm just saying that I like the foot spray to help determine if I hit it in the middle. If not, then I don't bother to try to guess what I did with the club head based on ball flight alone. If it is in the middle, though, then I have a pretty good idea about what I did with the club based on the ball data.