Golf tips, instruction, and commentary for any golfer looking to improve.

Tag: draw

Draws, Slices, Hooks, and Every Other Ball Flight But Straight Explained

Any golfer that’s stepped out on the tee before has likely hit a shot that didn’t travel straight. But how do you explain these less than ideal ball flights? After all, if you can’t hit the ball straight (join the club), you might as well sound intelligent talking about your struggles with the game, right? So let’s talk about the difference between a slice, a hook, and all the other ball flights people throw around on the golf course.

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The ball flight of a slice for a right-handed golfer.

Slices, Fades, and Pushes

The slice. Arguably the most common mechanical problem in golf, but what exactly is it? And how do all these other words relate to this age-old problem?

Put simply, the slice is a ball trajectory which results in the ball curving towards the direction your body was facing when you addressed the ball (which is right for a right-handed golfer). Similarly, a fade follows the same general path as a slice, however, it’s not as aggressive of a curve. A push, by contrast, doesn’t involve a curved trajectory at all. This trajectory does result in the ball landing in a similar place as a slice or fade but instead of the ball curving to get there, the ball travels straight to the target at an angle.

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The ball flight of a hook for a right-handed golfer.

Hooks, Draws, and Pulls

The next set of ball flights mimic the slice, fade, and push but are simply mirrored to the other side. For a right-handed golfer, these three shot trajectories all result in the ball traveling to the left, however, they do so in different ways and to different degrees. Similarly to slice, the hook is a dramatic curve to the left while a draw is a smaller curve with the same general flight path. The pull is closely related to the push and results in a straight ball flight but a landing area that is similar to a hook.

Similarly to the slice, the hook is a dramatic curve to the left. A draw travels in the same direction as a hook but curves significantly less to the side. The pull, which is closely related to the push, results in a straight ball flight at an angle but travels to the same side as the hook and draw.

So there you have it, you’re well versed in all of the different types of ball flights! But how could you possibly remember all of that? Well, luckily for you all of the above ball flights (as well as a couple extra ones) are represented in the graphic below!

 

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The nine different ball flights represented graphically.

 

Now, while none of this might help us hit shots straighter, being able to explain your ball flight at least lets you communicate your struggles with your playing partners, and that’s a start, right?

Why Do Shots Curve?

We’ve all hit a draw or a slice before in our lives, right? But if I had to guess, you were probably more worried about the result of your shot than taking a second to think about why your ball did what it did during its flight. However, this question of why is exactly the little piece of golfing science that I want to cover today.

So why do my shots curve in the air? Well, the simple answer is, spin.

Unfortunately, that’s sort of where the simplicity of it stops…

What comes after this is a whole slew of physics that explain when, why, and how much the ball curves but, for the sake of this brief article, I’ll do my best to condense it. Basically, the curvature of your shot is due to a physical principle that’s also used in commercial airplanes and baseball called, the Magnus Effect.

Let’s start with an example, the slice. As we mentioned in our article How to Cure Your Slice, fading the ball is a result of a misalignment between your swing path and the club head. This misalignment actually causes the root of our problem by producing side spin on the ball.

This is where the physics comes in. Using exactly the same fundamental principle as a pitcher in baseball does with a curve ball, the spin your club imparts on your ball actually creates a small

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Pitchers use the Magnus Effect every game in order to strike out batters with quick diving curveballs. 

discrepancy in the air pressure next to the ball. As you might be able to see by looking at the picture to the right, due to the spin on a curveball, the air pressure below the ball in lower than the pressure above the ball. This, in turn, causes the ball to dip and gives baseball pitchers their famous curve ball.

 

For our slice (assuming you’re right handed), as the ball spins clockwise off the club face a pocket of low pressure is established to the right of the ball which leads to a left to right ball trajectory.

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Our troubles don’t stop with slices. The Magnus Effect works on both sides of the ball so it turns out there’s no escaping your hook either. 

Not all slices are created equal, however. As you might have guessed, the amount of side spin that your swing imparts on the ball will also affect how far the ball will curve. The more side spin you put on your shot, the greater the change in pressure, the faster and (ultimately further) your ball will curve to the side. Simple as that!

 

So the next time you’re out on the links and you slash a ball off into the trees you can thank Gustav Magnus and his Magnus Effect for ultimately show us why nobody we know can keep our tee shots in the short grass. Thanks for joining us in class today and we’ll see you all next time!

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