As indoor simulators and TrackMan-powered ranges spread across the UK, golfers are spending just as much time analysing numbers as they are hitting shots.
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This throws up phrases like ‘club path’ and ‘attack angle’ – things many golfers may find difficult to understand.
While golf simulators can be fun to use the numbers can also be difficult to understand. But working on the wrong metrics could make your swing worse not better.
So how do you know you aren’t misinterpreting the data and are working on the right things?
Speaking on the Your Golf Podcast by NCG, host Tom Irwin and PGA qualified golf coach Jack Backhouse broke down the Trackman metrics that actually matter…
Club Path
The club path refers to the direction in which the clubhead is travelling at impact relative to the target line.
The angle of your club path will decide the direction in which your golf ball will travel. A negative path generally produces slices and fades, while a positive path tends to result in draws.
It is important to note that golfers don’t need a perfect path to play good golf. Many players can still score well with an exaggerated path.
Club Face Angle
This is where your club face is pointing at impact in relation to the target. People would associate a shut face with a hook, but that’s not necessarily the case.
Backhouse made it clear that the face angle isn’t the only thing that will cause a certain shot shape. A face can be open and still produce a hook.
Face-to-path
The relationship between clubface angle and the club path. It is a more interesting number than just face angle.
Golfers can swing the club considerably left or right and still be able to hit good shots if the face matches the path. You could have a minus-10 path, a minus-five club face and the ball finishes near the target all the time. So why would you fix it?
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Attack Angle
Whether the club is travelling up or down at impact. But this is something golfers shouldn’t focus to much time on as it can be a really dangerous thing to focus on.
If you’re already a slicer, hitting up on the ball in isolation just makes you a bigger slicer.
Ball Speed
How fast the ball leaves the club face. If you have a golf coach, you’ll know this something they obsess over.
All they’re interested in is ball speed, because that’s obviously the thing that’s relevant to the distance the ball’s going.
Club Head Speed
This is how fast the club is moving at impact. Although it is considered to be less important than ball speed it is still holds value for practicing.
TrackMan has a really good feature where it measures swings where you’re not even hitting a ball.
Smash Factor
This refers to the efficiency of the strike. Are you hitting the ball out of the middle of the cub face?
Dynamic Loft
Dynamic loft refers to the loft that is presented at impact. More loft at impact will mean less distance.
In practice this translates to, a seven iron might have 32 degrees of loft, but you’re really trying to launch it around 18 to 20 degrees.
Spin Loft
It is the difference between the dynamic loft and the attack angle. Irwin and Backhouse view this as a coach-led metric above anything else.
Low Point
This is where the bottom of the swing arc occurs relative to the golf ball.
Your low point should be three or four inches ahead of where the ball is. Low point control can underpin solid ball striking.
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Do you use a trackman or any other golf simulator during your practice sessions? Are range sessions more common than rounds out on the course for you during winter? Does using a simulator or launch monitor make price more fun? Let us know by leaving a comment or get in touch with us on X!
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