Ball flight is essential in your golf game as it gives you a better understanding and hence clearer assessment of what you want to get from your hits. Here are some of the terms that might help you get started.
Launch Angle
The launch angle of the ball makes a huge difference to the highest point of the shot you made. It shows how high the ball has been launched vertically. This is important because a specific ball speed, it will then affect the ball’s stopping power as well as its angle before landing. In most cases, the type of Irons you use will give you a certain distance and while Ball Speed is also a huge determinant of the distance that the ball gets, the Launch Angle plays a vital role here too. This must take into consideration the ball speed and the spin rate of the ball after hitting.
Spin Rate
Together with Ball Speed and the Launch Angle, the Spin Rate helps to get you the distance in your shots. The Spin Rate generally refers to how many spins you get out of the ball after you hit it. With a good spin, you can make the ball float the way you want it to. If you get the wrong spin, it might not elevate as much but instead will dive quite unexpectedly. This means that you will not get the right distance you are after.
Ball Speed
This generally answers the question of how fast the ball is after it leaves the clubface. The ball speed is the most influential factor that determines the distance you get out of the ball. For long drives, you would want a higher ball speed. Your ball speed and distance come with the territory of which level of a game are you.
Naturally, to get the right ball speed, your pre-shot routine would be essential. If you are an amateur, a perfect strike could get you well up to 120mph but for a pro, it could well be above 180mph. The main difference between the level of players is usually their swing speed which you need to work on to transfer that onto the ball for better distance.
Launch Direction
Launch Direction shows which side did your ball started. You could be on the right or left side of the target line. Golfers usually have their own preferred launch direction which is not an offline shot. Anyone who starts the ball on the right could curve it to the left using the draw shot technique. The trick here is to get good control when you start so that the ball reaches the target that you desire. This is a common play among pro golfers. They would have any launch direction in order to hit that curve on the ball. Controlling the start direction requires skill and experience where the clubface orientation at impact plays a crucial role.
Spin Axis
Fundamentally, the golf ball only has one axis. You might have heard of terms like sidespin or backspin which basically refers to the tilt of the ball on its axis. In other words, backspins and sidespins don’t really exist. A backspin is just the spin axis being tilted more to one side. The more tilted this is, the ball will curve offline more.
Spin Loft
This refers to the 3-dimensional angle that you get before hitting the golf ball. It is between the direction that your clubface is pointing at and the direction that the clubhead is moving towards.
Angle of Attack
The Angle of Attack helps to get you the spin you need when you hit the ball. It is the vertical angle when the club head is moving towards the contact point. Here, the terms positive and negative angles of attack are used. The former refers to hitting up on the ball while hitting down on the ball is the latter. When you have a negative angle, you will be hitting an in-to-out club path. So, if you want to launch the ball straight, you need to get into an out-to-in swing direction.
Dynamic Loft
This refers to how much loft you get on the clubface at the point of impact. It is usually affected by factors like the angle of attack, the timing of clubhead release and the contact point between the clubface and the ball.