John Daly - ball flight profile

[metallion]

Friday on the Open @ St Andrews I managed to move to a great spot, sitting just behind the 11th tee. As you may or may not know it is a par 3 of some 175 yards with a raised green.

We saw 2-3 groups passing. Then came Dalys group. The ball flight of Jimenez and Appleby was pretty standard, but WE WERE STUNNED by the path Dalys ball took. When it left the clubface I thought he'd hit it thin. It just raced very flat and low and almost level to the ground. Halvway to the hole the ball raised un unbelievable amount and then dropped down to some 8 ft.

Big Johns shot was best in the group. He waved and I thought I could see in his eye that he actually planned to hit that exact shot.

I have seen balls take off in a similar way before, but never to that extreme. The ball semmed to go almost horizontal for a while until it took off upwards.

Have you ever seen Daly hit from that angle and is that his normal short iron shot?

Anyone has an image of Daly at impact? With a short iron? Judging by the shot his hands were very far ahead of the ball at impact.

The club seemed to be a 9 or an 8. Might even have been a PW with a lot of loft taken off.

Here is my best interpretation of the ball paths from the different players. Dalys ball may even have taken off even closer to horizontal.

[Mathew]

I saw Daly on the practice ground just before I sat in admiration for freddy....

Seemed to have a normal trajectory....

[densikat]

Thats quite an interesting story, flight always fascinates me. I cant think that extreme riser flight is the best type in windy conditions though...

[ulim]

But it is! I saw Ernie Els hit such a shot into the wind. It was on a 185 yard Par 3 and he used a #3 iron! It ballooned into the wind and then dropped down vertically, pin-high.

Ulrich

[densikat]

Ulrich,

How does one time at what point the ball begins to balloon, happens too early and you are 20 yards short, happens late and you are over the back. That is why I think the controlled knockdown is the preferred shot, it will still spin enough to stick where it lands and you don't have to time at what point it balloons into the wind.

[birdie_man]

It might be useful for when something is otherwise completely unaccessable...like over the road hole bunker or some junk...

But if the shot's that hard you prolly shouldn't do it anyway...cept for fun or if it's "do or die".

I agree...a boring shot would take the wind out of the equation a lot more...easier to judge.

[jim_0068]

unless you hit a shot that is nothing but a STRAIGHT LASER 20 FEET OFF THE GROUND, the ball is going to balloon into the wind.

Keep it low for as long as you can and let the wind balloon it up and then just hope you guessed right with club selection, that's all you can do.

I was playing this 145 yard par 3 with a 40mph gusting crosswind right/left and into me and i hit the hardest 5 iron i could as low as i could and it barely got there. Only went about 10-15 feet off the ground, cleared the pond, the wind took it up in the air and then it landed on the fringe

[Theodan]

You guys would have loved wound, liquid center, balata balls.

Charlie