Instruction
What’s your smash factor?
One of the most egotistic terms that my Trackman monitor produces is undoubtedly SMASH FACTOR. Often varying between 0.8 and 1.5, smash factor, by nature, speaks to the egos of people wanting the see the highest number. But what really is smash factor?
In simple terms, smash factor is an “efficiency rating” on the quality of strike; it shows us how much ball speed we are achieving per 1 mph of club speed that we produce. For example, if your ball speed was 140 mph and your club speed was 100 mph, your smash factor would be 1.4, since 140/100 = 1.4.
Generally, top professionals would be aiming for a 1.5 smash factor with a driver and a 1.4 smash factor with mid irons. But it’s important to note that any level of golfer can achieve these numbers; a young child who has a good relationship between his club speed and ball speed could produce a 1.5 smash factor!
Why is smash factor important?
Primarily, smash factor is highly influential in terms of controlling the distance we hit the ball. From a distance perspective, it is important to understand the importance of ball speed, as it accompanies launch angle and spin rate to complete the three main components of distance. Despite this, I see a lot of players chasing club head speed, and while it is important, it is almost redundant if not accompanied by appropriate ball speed.
To match the desire for distance, as a general rule, we should be striving to create the HIGHEST smash factor with our longer clubs; however, this is not the case with shorter clubs and in wedge play. With those clubs, a smash factor of around 1.0 should be targeted as opposed to a 1.1 or 1.2 that I so often see.
This idea of lowering the smash factor is to help with distance control, as a ball that is flying off the club face too quickly can be difficult to control. James Ridyard, a PGA Professional from the UK, has done some great work on smash factor in wedges, discussing specifically the idea of controlling spin loft (explained below). In a recent presentation, James explained how a 4-degree error in spin loft with a club head speed of 60 mph can result in a 30-foot miss!
What affects smash factor?
The two most influential things that can affect smash factor are:
- Spin Loft
- Strike point
By definition, spin loft is most easily thought of as the difference between the angle of attack (is the club traveling downwards or upwards) and the dynamic loft (loft presented at impact). It is often referred to as a measure of how much energy is transferred into the ball.
The above picture shows an angle of attack of -4.6 and a dynamic loft of 22.2. The difference between these 2 numbers is 26.8, giving a spin loft of 26.8.
BUT in the above example, the difference between the angle of attack and dynamic loft is 27.7, however the spin loft reported is 28.0. This is because spin loft is by exact definition a 3-dimensional number and involves the face-to-path relationship.
If you think about spin loft as a measure of the amount of energy transferred into the ball and then think about punching a bag with a glancing blow (representing hitting a ball with a club face well open to club path), this should help you visualise how a poor face-to-path relationship could increase spin loft (reduce the energy transferred into the ball).
Striking the ball on the sweet spot of the club is also very important when looking at smash factor. As you know, off-center hits do not always result in long drives and controlling the strike point is pivotal when attempting to achieve a high smash factor. The below picture is a great example of how strike point is important. As you can see, a lower club head speed with a better strike point resulted in more distance.
In essence, it is a combination of strike point AND spin loft that will help you achieve a good smash factor!
How can we improve our smash factor?
Before identifying how we can improve smash factor, here is a fact from Trackman that may just motivate you:
[quote_box_center]Reducing Spin Loft from 30 degrees to 25 degrees with a 6 iron will raise Smash Factor by 0.06. For the average amateur, 0.06 equals 5 mph of ball speed or approximately 9 yards.[/quote_box_center]
As shown, reducing spin loft can often drastically help improve smash factor; however, without a ball flight monitor it is impossible to accurately measure spin loft. For this reason I would advise you to go and find your nearest instructor with a monitor and with his or her help you should then be able to gather some information on your current spin loft and discuss whether it actually needs improving.
If you’re not able to use a monitor, however, try this.
Strike point is an easier variable to measure yourself, and all you need is a little athlete’s foot spray. Simply spray a light coating on the club face and after hitting a shot or two, you will soon be able to get some accurate feedback on your strike point.
Remember, one (spin loft) without the other (strike point) is not what we want. So aim to combine the two! Happy smashing!
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Instruction
Clement: Laid-off or perfect fade? Across-the-line or perfect draw?
Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!
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Instruction
The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic
My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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Instruction
Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!
Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
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Pingback: Smash Factor Calculator (Chart for Each Club): 2023 Why Should You Care?
CNYNative
Nov 4, 2015 at 10:02 pm
1.55 lol alright, and im pretty sure smash factor is regulated for clubs anyway?
CNYNative
Nov 4, 2015 at 10:04 pm
http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02403.html
Funkaholic
Feb 16, 2020 at 12:58 pm
No, CoR is limited, smash factor is about efficiency of the stike
Philip
Nov 4, 2015 at 5:26 pm
It depends – whenever I high a high slice it is obviously the max as why would I ever hit a high slice in the same fairway as myself. However, for all other shots it is closer to 1.40 or less.
Christestrogen
Nov 4, 2015 at 2:23 pm
This is one of the best articles I’ve ever read on barstool.
Awesome!!!
-Christosterone
Christestrogen
Nov 4, 2015 at 2:41 pm
Golfwrx
Jack
Nov 4, 2015 at 8:32 am
How can you get your wedge smash down but still flight your wedges and have a spin loft that is too high? Thanks
Thomas Devine
Nov 4, 2015 at 10:20 am
Hi Jack…sorry I do not fully understand your question….however from my experience, when spin loft gets too high, the player does not launch the ball at their desired height and thus suffers with distance control
Jack
Nov 4, 2015 at 4:30 pm
Sorry my question wasn’t clear! I’ll try again. I have a smash of around 1.1 with my distance wedges (40-80 yards 58 degree) I have a low dynamic loft at impact (say 40 deg) is there a way to decrease smash with this club without increasing DL? I like my current wedge flight but would like my smash closer to 1. Thanks!
Thomas Devine
Nov 4, 2015 at 5:42 pm
ok great…the first question would be do you have difficulty controlling your yardages with the wedges….if not, I would not get hung up on aiming for a 1.0 smash factor. Like most things, this is desired/preferred by some coaches but not essential for everyone. Have you thought about using a lower lofted club, for e.g 52 degree. With this club, you could achieve the same launch with less downward hit….I have found this to help at times (a shallower attack with a lower lofted club) when trying to produce those low spinny ones!
Jack
Nov 4, 2015 at 5:53 pm
Thanks Thomas!
Daniel
Nov 3, 2015 at 5:32 pm
Maybe your smashfactor was low because you have a descending blow? I had a lesson on Trackman and the best I can get was 1.40 with a descending blow with the driver. We worked on swinging up and the smash factor increased to 1.48. Since I wasn’t used to the up swing, my swing speed decreased but carry distance signifcantly improved.
ph00ny
Nov 3, 2015 at 6:21 pm
Unless i misheard the TM rep, he said i had a nice long back swing along with a good AOA. He even joked in saying i should try long drive comp.
Ph00ny
Nov 3, 2015 at 10:02 am
Would type of golf ball used during the launch monitor session impact ball speed thus changing the smash factor? For an example, range ball is used opposed to regular golf balls
Mat
Nov 3, 2015 at 11:21 am
Ball speed is the dividend, so a cruddy ball would not travel as fast. So yes, it matters.
Lich King
Nov 3, 2015 at 2:05 pm
Yes, it will have a big impact. You should always use the balls you are playing with on the course in a TrackMan.
ph00ny
Nov 3, 2015 at 2:55 pm
Damn. My ball speed was very slow compared to the clubhead speed being shown at the TM demo session on flightscope. Is there a setting to add some sort of offset for using rangeballs?
I think my smash factor was in the low 1.4 but the total distance and carry numbers looked great.
Thomas Devine
Nov 4, 2015 at 10:17 am
The Trackman Monitor has a normalisation feature that allows you to translate what the range ball has done into what a premium golf ball would do….as long as the user has the ball type selected correctly, you should get some very reliable figures even when using the range balls 🙂