New Commercial of Cobra-Puma Golf: What is your Fly?

New commercial for the AMP Cell Driver with Rickie Fowler, Jesper Parnevik and Ian Poulter.

What's in the bag: Tiger Woods Farmers Open 2013

This is the setup of Tiger Woods for his 75th PGA Tour win at the Farmers Insurance Open

Driver:Nike VR Tour 8.5 (Graphite Design DI 6X)

Fairway Wood : Nike VR Pro Ltd Edition 3 Wood/ 15degrees & Nike SQII 5Wood/19degrees

Irons: Nike VR Pro Blade (3~PW)

Wedges: Nike VR Pro 56 degree and 60 degree

Putter: Nike Method 001

Ball: Nike ONE Tour D

Apparel: Nike Golf TW Collection

Footwear: Nike TW'13

Via Sandbox 8

Smash Factor

What is Smash factor?

The Smash factor is the ratio between ball speed and club head speed. 

Technically smash factor give us how centered and solid of our shot. this parameter is important to take into consideration, especially amateurs that try to swing to hard at the ball, but they lose control and can not get a solid or centered impact, hence obtaining a low smash factor.

Example: 

A club speed of 100mph and smash factor of 1,40 = ball speed of 140mph

However increasing the smash factor with a more controlled swing, lowering the club speed the result can turn into more ball speed therefore increase the distance.

Example:

A smash factor of 1,48 with lower club speed of 98mph generates a ball speed of 145mph.

Since 1mph ball speed gives 2 more yards of carry, 5mph of difference means 10 more yards to the shot.

There are a maximum obtainable smash factor assuming a dead-centered hit determined by 3 factors:

• Coefficient of restitution between club and ball (COR of 2 colliding objects is value representing the ratio of speed after and before the impact. USGA have limited this ratio for clubs and balls to a maximum of 0,83)
• Spin loft (angle between club face orientation and club head direction)
• Mass ratio between ball weight and club height

Here it is the equation for the maximum obtainable smash factor.So depending of the maximum ratios permuted by regulations (COR=0,83; Spin Loft= 8deg; mass ratio= ball mass 45g / driver head 212g) the maximum smash factor would be 1,494

What is a good smash factor?

Depends on the club and the ball type. For a driver with premium ball, an amateur would obtain 1,42. Tour pros should aim not less than 1,48 as minimum.

Here are some tables with data and observations with professional players.

All this information was extracted from Trackman. 

Swing trainer GST4

For a long time I have been not posting and updating this blog. I have been very busy increasing my knowledge in different fields and working and developing some projects.

Again I will continue the writing of this blog with new post which I hope they will be of interest.

This is a review of the gadget "Swing trainer GST4" made by the company Yupiteru

The device gives information of every shot for these parameters:

• Club's head speed
• Distance
• Ball Speed 
• Smash Factor (measures the ball speed divided by the club head speed, I will write a new post with this subject more detailed)

It comes with an in-ear metronome as well to allow you set the tempo for your swing (however i have not found it very useful) 

it has different functions as checking only your shots information, a train mode where you decide the club and the device chooses a distance to target, a history of your shots by day and club with the option of a graphic to check your progress and it has a slot for a Micro SD to save the data and move it to other device so It can be opened with spread sheet program. 

The "quality" of your shot can be checked by a 3 color LED (based in the Smash factor) to show you how precise you hit the ball.

Blue: Nice Shot

Yellow: Good Shot

Red: Miss Shot

It contains all the presets for all clubs and wedges face angle can be set-up to your needs for more accurate information. And here is where the device was not up to my expectations.

The device calculates different from real data. After shooting in a driving range I notice the distance shown and the one that was real (seen with my eyes) was different in a high proportion. For example, I hit my 3W, the device showed 275yds and I could check my ball was sliced and did not get either 200yds.

Even the LED color show me a "Nice shot". And this kind of different information from real to displayed makes the device useless so i can not trust the information even though it was made for offering information of your shots...

It is a good device if you are not expecting so much and just for fun and get some little idea how is your swing doing. However if you are looking something more professional and very accurate then you should check other options.

The device costs about 30,000JPY (about 330USD).