With PGA Professional Michael Bolt, Trump International Golf Club, Dubai
The attack angle is a measurement of how steep or shallow your clubhead is moving through impact, and it has a direct effect on how much distance you are able to generate with the driver.
Often we find most amateurs will swing too steeply into the ball, between a -4 and -6 descending blow. Great drivers of the ball will present a shallower angle of attack, maximising the amount of loft presented to the ball. A shallower attack angle will launch the ball higher with a lower spin rate, both of which will help maximise distance.
The below diagram shows Trackman’s Driver Optimiser. This proves that changing the angle of attack from a negative to a positive can result in an increase of distance with the same swing speed and impact factors.
Below we hit two drivers with a very similar swing speed, aiming to manipulate the angle of attack. The Trackman statistics show the significantly shallower angle of attack (+2.5) resulted in a far higher launch angle and an increase in carry distance of nearly 30 yards. This allowed the club to operate more efficiently through impact presenting the full loft of the club utilising the swing speed created and keeping the ball in the air for longer.
The modern-day drivers, if struck properly, produce a much lower spin rate than drivers of yesteryear. As a result, it is crucial to achieve the high launch angle in order to keep the ball in the air for longer through achieving the optimum combination of launch and spin will be to maximise distance.
Drill
Here is a simple drill to help you practice hitting the ball on the upswing to increase your angle of attack.
Place a sleeve of golf balls roughly a grips length away from the ball and tee it slightly higher than normal.
From the address position aim to make a wider arc during your swing, aiming to swing up on the ball launching it over the box with a high flat trajectory.
This drill should help you encourage the club to work on an upward angle through impact. Experiment with exaggerating this feeling and watch your driving distances increase!
If you’d like to learn more about how to control you angle of attack and increase your distance, contact the Trump International Academy: [email protected].
