What Happens When Contact Goes Bad?
Shot
Dispersal on Mis-Hits with Irons:
WHAT WE DID:
Our tests involved hitting a series of shots on 12 iron
models introduced recently. Golf Digest Chief Technical Adviser Frank Thomas
designed the test.
Golf Digest Equipment Panelist Gene Parente and his staff
used their swing robot at Golf Laboratories Inc. to perform the test and during
the test each 6-iron was hit 8 times on each of 13 different points on the
clubface. The points included 5 vertical rows centered on the center line of
the scored area of the clubface and 3 horizontal rows separated by 1/4 inch
with the first row beginning 1/2 inch above the sole. A total of 104 shots were
hit with each 6-iron, and the totals were combined to produce a composite
result. The data was analyzed by Professor Mark Broadle of
WHAT WE FOUND:
The concentric ellipses on the iron face (above) represent a composite image of 2, 4, and 6
yard loses in carry distance from the typical iron’s hot spot (point of maximum
carry as well as the center of ellipses).
Of the 13 points, the average for point No. 1 produced the
maximum carry distance, and the remaining point’s carry distance fell off by
varying degrees. For example; point No. 2 produced a shot that landed about 5
feet to the right of the target and 9 feet short, and point No. 11 landed about
13 feet right and 36 feet short.
Mis-hits to the right of point No. 1 produced better results
than those up or down from point No. 1.
OUR RESULTS:
© Golf Digest
