Loft, Lie and Vertical Roll

Lie Angles:  Standard lie...what does that mean?  Standard as compared to what? The lie angle is a very critical specification.  The lie angle of a golf club is a MAJOR factor in the direction and accuracy of a shot.  If a lie angle is too upright the shot will be left of the intended target.  If the lie angle is too flat, the shot will be right of the target.  There are only two ways to compensate for an improper lie angle, neither of which is recommended.  One is to change your alignment, i.e., how you line up to the target.   The other method is change your swing mechanics.  Obviously, the proper solution is ensure the lie settings are adjusted properly.  This is only accomplished by performing a dynamic lie test.  The test consists of taping the sole of the golf club, swinging on a lie board in order to place a mark on the tape.  This test pinpoints the area of contact in order to be sure the mark appears precisely on the center of the sole.  Marks on either side of center indicate a lie angle which is too flat or too upright.  Clubs with improper lie angles can then be adjusted more upright or more flat to correct the problem.  The illustration above shows the adverse effects of improper lie angles.  See the "Custom Blue Printing" section for more information on the importance of Lie Angles.

Loft Angles:  I've already covered the problem with the decrease in loft through the years, but I'd like to apply some logic here.  It's doesn't matter how far you hit a particular iron, what matters is the distance obtained with an iron.  Depending upon swing speed, there should be a 10 to 15 yard separation from iron to iron.  I recommend basing a set of irons on a 28 degree 5 Iron.  I could care less if my buddy hits his 6 Iron 10 yards further than I do.  After all, he's really hitting what should be "5 Iron", he should hit it further. 

Driver Loft: The loft angle of the driver is extremely important.    Maximum distance with the driver is achieved by matching a player with a driver head and shaft which achieves the proper launch angle, trajectory and ball spin rate.  To achieve these parameters it's very important to measure swing speed and determine the Angle of Attack.  The Angle of Attack is a measurement of the angle at which the golfer delivers the club to the ball at the moment of impact.  A golfer has specific swing characteristics, and alignment positions, which cause the driver to travel through the impact area on a downward angle, a level angle or an upward angle.  These are the three possible angles of attack.  Optimum Carry Distance is achieved by matching the loft of the driver with the swing speed.  Angle of attack must be factored into selecting of the proper loft angle of the driver.  For example: Based on swing speed, a player achieves maximum carry distance with a loft of 11 degrees.  This player has a slightly downward angle of attack.  The angle of attack works in combination with the loft of the driver.  So in this case, a downward angle of attack would require a driver with more than 11 degrees of loft to achieve the desired trajectory because the player does not achieve the proper launch angle with 11 degrees due to the downward angle of attack.  The reverse would be true if a player has an upward angle of attack..

Vertical Roll:  Drivers and Fairway woods have been made with a vertical curvature called Vertical Roll and  a horizontal curvature called Horizontal Bulge since the beginning of the 20th Century.  Vertical Roll is the radius of curvature on the face of a wood from the top to the club face to the leading edge at the bottom of the face.  Horizontal bulge is the radius of curvature over the horizontal face of the club head.  Although horizontal bulge serves the purpose of reducing the effects of hook and slice flight patterns due to gear effect; no useful purpose has ever been determined for vertical roll.  Wood heads have simply just been made this way since the late 1800's.

Because these clubs have been manufactured with a vertical curvature, the  the top of the club face has more loft than the center of the face.  Likewise, the bottom portion of the face has less loft than the center.  We all know wood heads have become larger and larger over the years since metals, specifically titanium, have replaced actual wood.  Because the standard radius formula for determining the the vertical roll of a club has not changed, the difference in loft angles at the top and bottom of the club face has become more and more extreme.   So to produce the desired launch angle with any driver or fairway wood, the player must impact the ball very close to the center of the club face.  If impact is not made in the center, loft will be added or subtracted depending upon where impact actually occurs.  This is not good news for the average golfer.  For every off center hit a player is not achieving the proper trajectory for maximum carry distance!

Don't panic! Tom Wishon has attempted to solve this problem.  Wishon was the first to realize the problems the larger volume driver and fairway wood faces created with respect to vertical roll and designed loft.  He researched and tried to find the purpose of vertical roll and could find no data supporting why woods were designed with this feature.  He went to work designing woods with less of a roll factor vertically.  He developed club heads with a graduated roll called Graduated Roll Technology or GRT.  With GRT, the loft angle at the top of the club face has been reduced significantly over the conventional vertical roll designs still being produced by the major manufacturing companies.  The loft angle at the bottom of the club face is the same as the design loft at the center.  Another one of the over 50 Design Firsts for Tom Wishon!  I've been using driver and fairway woods from Tom Wishon with GRT since he first introduced them.  My shot trajectory consistency has improved significantly through the use of Graduated Roll Technology.