What does smash factor mean in golf

In other words, is the 1. Could it be measurement errors? Measurements likey political polling results are useless without meaningful error bounds. Smash Factor is a very sensitive measure.

For a club speed of mph with a ball speed of mph, this will give a variation of the smash factor from 1. Note that the uncertainty of the clubspeed measurement is really an uncertainty on where on the club head the measurement is referenced to. If this is correct, how do maximum COR and head weight fit in for driver heads? The same club speed with heads weighing gm and gm, surely the gm will transfer more energy to the ball resulting in a higher ball speed?

And with CORs of 0,8 and 0,83, surely 0,83 will result in a higher ball speed? Engineers need to take that into consideration so that COR for that specific clubhead will not go over 0. You need to understand what COR is.

Coefficient of Restitution. So two different clubheads, weighing different amounts, but each with a COR of 0. Can I suggest that you go back and re-watch the video. The pro explained and demonstrated it with ultimate ease. Will it make me hit the ball straighter? By dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed for a given shot, you are left with a number that serves as the smash factor.

So, for example, a shot that leaves the club at mph and features a club head speed of would have a smash factor of 1. That all depends on which club you happen to be using at the moment. The smash factor you are able to achieve with a long club such as the driver is almost always going to be higher than what you manage with a lofted club like a pitching wedge. With your driver, keeping your smash factor around 1. If you can hit this mark—or even get close to it—you will be nicely translating your swing speed into ball speed.

That is exactly why I believe that for most players who are looking to add club distance you should be more concerned on where you are making contact with the ball on your clubface.

If you are someone who is already into fitness and working out, then yes adding clubhead speed could be a reasonable solution as well. Generally speaking though, I think all golfers are capable of increasing their smash factor by paying attention to where they are striking the face of their clubs, and then experimenting with ways to make changes.

Some of the resources I have listed in this article can certainly help with that. If you want to actually track your progress you could get a portable launch monitor like the SC from Voice Caddie read my full review here.

Good luck smashing the ball! Jon Sherman is the owner of Practical Golf, a website dedicated to being an honest resource for the everyday golfer who is looking to enjoy the game more, as well as improve.

He is the author of the bestselling book Mistakes All Golfers Make and how to fix them. You can find him on Twitter here - practicalgolf , where he is happy to chat about golf with anyone. You write that your tendency is to strike closer to the heel and that you experiment with setup and swing changes to get closer to the sweet stop.

I have a similar tendency, although really only with my driver. I can certainly miss the sweet spot with my other clubs, but, from practicing with face tape and foot spray and seeing the wear marks on my hybrids and woods , I am pretty confident my heel tendency is most prevalent with my driver. Michael — I would say the changes I make are a bit more minor. Most of the time I simply challenge myself to strike the toe of the club without any changes in my posture, swing plane, or setup.

I am not consciously thinking about anything in my body other than trying to strike the toe of the club. Interestingly enough, it will generally cause me to strike the center of the face. If this is the case, it sounds like the only option is to work on getting stronger, faster, fitter — correct? Ann — You are correct. Theoretically if you max out your smash factor which is incredibly difficult to do by the way , then you will have to add swing speed to make the ball go farther. As I stated in the article, I am not against anyone taking on a workout routine in order to do this.

Here are two: National clubfitting chain Club Champion studied average golfers who tried the latest equipment. The results: 78 percent benefited from using the latest drivers, gaining 11 yards. A Golf Digest robot test conducted by Golf Laboratories revealed that the latest models on average are six yards better and more on off-center hits than drivers from only four years ago. New study says not by a long shot.

Check out Golf Digest All Access to get over lessons on any of your devices, at any time. Sign up for Golf Digest All Access today.

Full Leaderboard. By Mike Stachura. June 20, Share this story Facebook Twitter LinkedIn. Trending Now.