NCG’s Golf Glossary: What is trajectory?

Here at NCG we pride ourselves on being the publication for the everyday player, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to delve into the wonderful world of the golfing lexicon.

Sometimes the most obvious terms have the most interesting story, so you might find yourself an interesting conversation starter…

What is trajectory?

Trajectory is the height and angle the golf ball takes once it has made contact with the club head until it reaches the ground.

How would you use it in a sentence?

“Tiger Woods hit a 2 iron with a low trajectory”

What are the origins?

The importance of trajectory started when golf balls started to be produced using rubber sap, known as gutta percha balls and were moulded how people wanted them.

When dimples were added to the golf ball they were tested against cannon balls that were smooth and round. The tests showed that golf balls could now take advantage of the effects of their aerodynamics, the interaction

Unlike cannon balls, golf balls spin during flight and therefore they figured out that spin created lift and therefore balls were manufactured in different ways to create different trajectories.

The only problem with this was that when an imbalance of forces were placed on a ball it created a hook or a slice.

Any other business?

To be able to see a trajectory clearly the advancement in technology of pro tracers and shot tracers as been a big benefit to tour players.

Now, most, if not every hole at a major championship has a pro tracer on the tee boxes giving fans a better insight into how tour players hit the ball and what sort of trajectories they get.

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