Launch angles and distance from net

[DotNetDude]

Hi Guys,

I'm just trying to estimate what is the max lofted club I can use, depending on how far I am from a net in my garden.

If I am standing 13 ft from an 8 ft net, then a bit of trig tells me the max launch angle is 31 degrees (before the ball would go over the net).



A recent club fitting showed me I was getting on average 18.4 degrees with my 7 iron, which had 30.5 degrees of loft. Can I use this to approximate that I can add on an extra 10 degrees of loft to my club, which would get me roughly to 28.4 degrees launch angle, before I would start hitting over the net? So if I want to hit higher lofted clubs than 40 degrees, I would need to stand closer to the net?

I know that the launch angle depends on several factors like shaft lean and AoA, etc, so is not just club loft, but can I use that as an approximation, or is it not accurate enough?

Thanks

[Shankz]

I believe the max distance for 40 degrees at an 8 ft height would be 9 feet back from the net. Not sure about the part about adding 10 degrees to the loft of the club. I failed trig in high school so I used this https://www.blocklayer.com/trig/angles.aspx website to figure it out

[codehead]

I think 10 degrees is an under estimate. The higher the loft on the club the more back it is played normally and the greater the downward aoa. I have a gc2 with hmt and see well stuck 56 degree wedges launching around 29 or 30 degrees. Flop shots of course change the situation entirely. Although I would also add 13 feet seems like a long way to the screen unless you have a radar unit that requires it. For instance I tend to hit from 7 to 8 feet from my screen.

[flightscoperick]

Launch my 54 deg between 33 and 36 degrees

[Jerome]

I find the ball cover material makes a HUGE difference in launch angle on full wedge shots. The softer the cover the lower the launch angle. I do not allow non-urethane cover balls to be hit in my sim.

[DotNetDude]

Thanks for the replies. Yes my original thoughts/estimates were wrong, once I had this all actually setup, adding 10 degrees of loft onto my club doesn't add 10 degrees onto my launch angle. I adjusted my distance from teh net to be 8ft instead of 13ft, as it was just unnecessary to be so far from the net, and with that I can comfortably hit all the way through my clubs up to my 58 degree wedge.

[DotNetDude]

... and with that I can comfortably hit all the way through my clubs up to my 58 degree wedge.

oops!

With that in mind, yesterday I hit my 54 degree wedge clean over the top of the net! It sailed through the trees behind my house, finding all the gaps as the leaves haven't quite come out. Hopefully it didn't actually reach the houses on the other side

[3on3putt]

I got a good chuckle out of this thread. All this complex math and diagrams and analyzing launch angles and the solution ended up being "Gee, why don't I just try standing closer to the net and see what happens" lol. Sometimes good old fashioned trial and error is the best recipe.

All kidding aside, if you're hitting into a net outside and worried about stray shots, there's really no reason to not just get as close to the net as possible without hitting it on your follow through (provided that the ball bounceback isnt taking your head off). It's not like the extra millisecond that the ball is in the air by hitting from another 2 feet back is adding to the experience or anything. Just get as close as you can without the toe of your driver hitting the net on the follow through.

You could also rig up an extension to your net. I bought a 10x5 net online for $25 or so and rigged it across the top of my screen (which is 10x10). So the net added an extra 5 feet of height to it which solved any issues of high wedges going over.

[sirish19]

I got a good chuckle out of this thread. All this complex math and diagrams and analyzing launch angles and the solution ended up being "Gee, why don't I just try standing closer to the net and see what happens" lol. Sometimes good old fashioned trial and error is the best recipe.

All kidding aside, if you're hitting into a net outside and worried about stray shots, there's really no reason to not just get as close to the net as possible without hitting it on your follow through (provided that the ball bounceback isnt taking your head off). It's not like the extra millisecond that the ball is in the air by hitting from another 2 feet back is adding to the experience or anything. Just get as close as you can without the toe of your driver hitting the net on the follow through.

You could also rig up an extension to your net. I bought a 10x5 net online for $25 or so and rigged it across the top of my screen (which is 10x10). So the net added an extra 5 feet of height to it which solved any issues of high wedges going over.

This is the right answer. If you are hitting into a net and not a projection screen, just get as close as you can so that you can hit a full driver without any impact on swingthrough (and without any adjustment to your swing, of course), then you should have no problem with your wedges. I am also hitting into a net and the direction that I am hitting is directed towards a Ricoh office building. I also must confess that I hit a skyball with my driver one time that cleared the net (that is exactly what prompted me to move forward). I still don't know what ever happened with that ball but I didn't hear glass break so I felt safe, haha.

Also, what Jerome mentioned above is exactly right, the type of ball makes a huge difference. With the SkyTrak, I was doing a comparison of balls and where I found the Titleist ProV1, ProV1x, and Callaway ChromeSoft were hitting about 1/2 to 3/4 up the net with my 60 degree wedge, there were a few other balls (I can't remember exactly what I was testing but something that had distance, trajectory, or something like that in it) that I was worried that they might actually clear the net. If you were just looking at total distance, they were coming out around the same, however, how they were getting there, i.e., carry, trajectory, spin, etc., were very different. I would recommend something very soft such as ProV1 or ChromeSoft for monitor use. While some people might say those are too expensive just for sim use, my argument would be that you never actually lose sim balls so you can play them until they get too worn (or eventually crack).

[bubbtubbs]

It's worth mentioning you can get 1doz 100% refinished 2017 ProV1 balls for around $20. Canadian Tire sells them up here so I'm sure there's an American equivalent.

They're probably not tournament legal (doubt they've been USGA tested) but on a monitor they perform the same with just a tiny difference in sound, probably because the urethane isn't the same thickness as the original coat.

I've used them for a couple years now recreationally but Rick Shiels did an on-course video comparing them against Quad data.

Something to consider.

[DotNetDude]

I still don't know what ever happened with that ball but I didn't hear glass break so I felt safe, haha.

That's exactly how I felt...in those few seconds of flight I was waiting for the sound of breaking glass.... I've got images of someone walking into their garden, finding a golf ball with a metallic dot on it and just wondering which of their neighbours hit it there, not at all suspecting it was in fact me, from through the trees

I guess what I didn't put in that original post is that I need the distance from tee to net so my launch monitor can work. 8ft is the minimum, so I can't really stand a lot closer, unless I stop using the LM.

I would recommend something very soft such as ProV1 or ChromeSoft for monitor use

I hadn't thought of that, that the ball flight would be different. I am using fairly soft Srixon balls, but might try some others and see how they are.