BlockedItRight

BUT, Why they are all saying that 9.5* driver w/ open face hit lower that the 9.5* square or close face? Due to static loft changes for the open face driver and square possition at impact, Shouldn't the loft at impact basically the same at 9.5*?...that meants they are both will have the same trajectory if they hit both of them straight down the middle. Joe - I think the missing factor is how the pro's or good players square up the clubface. Most square it up with a dynamic delofting action while turning the clubface (turning the left wrist slightly downward aka Hogan's bowing of the wrist). This ratio of delofting and squaring is the key to figuring out how much the loft will be affected by opening a face. There are ways of getting the club square/closed to the target line without this delofting action but I think most good players do deloft. Try getting a clubface square or closed with a slight flippy action while twisting the clubface shut, this is possible as well. The loft in relation to the ground will remain the same or even possibly increase as the club is twisted close this way.

Here is how I look at it (albeit a little more complicated). I may not be 100% correct here and its been a long time since my college physics classes. Going on what I intuitively see. I am assuming that we are concerned with ballflight here, not what the static machine says. The key here is where/what the reference points are on face angle and lofts. Static loft and face angle is measured in relation to the clubshaft/hosel and its sole. It does not take into account the relationship of the angle of approach to the target line or the angle of the sole in relation to the ground when it is swung or even how a player addresses the ball. No matter what, the static loft and the face angle of the club cannot change during a swing if the reference point used in the static measurement maintains the relationship during the swing. If opening the face increases the static loft when measured it has increased from a static point of view no matter how the club is swung. One way to visualize this is to tape the club to the measuring device (dont know the proper name for it) and rotate the whole thing with the club on there. The measurement will not change. We are assuming that the sole is the reference point for this measurement without factoring anything else. However in reality because we are concerned with the flight of the ball, the reference point changes once we swing to hit a ball. What changes is the relationship between the face angle of the clubhead/sole to the ground/target line. The reference point to measure loft becomes the ground and the reference point for the open/close angle becomes the target line. There are many ways to square up the clubface in relation to the target line. Depending on how a person releases the club (forearm rotation, flipping the clubhead with just the hands, body movement, combinations of each etc) will change the relationship of the club to the ground and the target line. Some releases decrease loft while closing the clubface and other ways can possibly increase it even while closing the clubface. That is how we hit high hooks and low slices vs low hooks and high slices. There are also other possiblities to condsider too, what about COG, shaft droop changes and even how the way a club is bent open i.e. - just twist the hosel around its axis vs bending the hosel. To conclude, I think that opening or closing a clubface will probably change the trajectory of an individuals ball flight but that will depend on how that individual manipulates the clubface in the swing. Just because the flight of the ball is lower after I have bent it open does not mean that I have lowered the loft. The only true measurement for loft is the static measurement. I could have released faster or earlier because I dont fear the left side now and if my type of release decreases loft then I caused the ball to go lower. Bend it try it and see what works for you. Too many possibilities to measure and factor here, especially the human mind.

Joe, I think you need to put up some specs for the GD Japanese shafts as well. They are simply are not getting the attention they deserve!! The Tour AD M-85 you installed in my 19 BBD Super CV PRO is awesome. Super tight shaft while not feeling boardy. Ball has got a flat trajectory now, no more 'floaters'.