Shot Shape Lab
Set the face and the path. See where a centered strike starts, how far it curves and what the shape is called.
What this answers
Where does a shot start and curve for a given face and path?
- Set face angle and club path below; pick a club and right- or left-handed at the top.
- Read the view from above: the arrows show face and path at the ball, the line shows the flight.
- The verdict names the shape; the tiles give start direction, curve, where it lands and carry.
Reopen it any time with ? Guide
Shot shape Model
Push slice shape, if struck in the center.
Starts right of the target and curves farther right.
If the face is 7.0° open to the path and 2.0° open to the target, a centered strike starts 1.0° right and curves 52 yd right.
- Face to pathFace to pathThe face angle minus the club path. Open to the path curves a right-hander’s ball right (a left-hander’s left); closed curves it the other way.
- 7.0°open
- PublishedTutelman’s example, 2007
- Start directionStart directionThe angle the ball starts off the target line. It lies between the path and the face, much nearer the face.
- 1.0°right
- Model
- CurveCurveHow far the ball moves sideways from its start line by the time it lands, in yards.
- 52yd right
- Model
- LandsLandsWhere the ball lands, in yards left or right of the target line: the start direction and the curve together.
- 57yd right
- Model
- CarryCarryModeled carry from this club’s TrackMan tour ball speed, launch and spin, for a centered strike in still air at sea level.
- 270yd
- Model
The chart shows Tutelman’s worked example with the PGA Tour driver. The controls need JavaScript.
Show the numbers as a table
| Club | Driver (right-handed) | Published: TrackMan PGA Tour average, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Ball speed | 171 mph | Published: TrackMan PGA Tour average, 2023 |
| Launch angle | 10.4° | Published: TrackMan PGA Tour average, 2023 |
| Spin | 2,545 rpm | Published: TrackMan PGA Tour average, 2023 |
| Attack angle | −0.9° | Published: TrackMan PGA Tour average, 2023 |
| Dynamic loft | 12.1° | Model: solved from the published launch and attack angle |
| Face angle | 2.0° open | Published: Tutelman’s worked example, 2007 |
| Club path | 5.0° out-to-in | Published: Tutelman’s worked example, 2007 |
| Face to path | 7.0° open | Published: Tutelman’s worked example, 2007 |
| Spin loft (3-D) | 14.8° | Model |
| Spin-axis tilt | 28.0° right | Model |
| Start direction | 1.0° right | Model |
| Curve | 52 yd right | Model |
| Lands | 57 yd right of the target line | Model |
| Carry | 270 yd | Model |
Published numbers: TrackMan Tour averages (2023 data), published May 2024. Geometry: D. Tutelman, “3-Dimensional Launch Conditions from Impact Conditions”.
For your gear
What equipment can change
Equipment can change how far a curve travels. It cannot change the face and path the swing delivers.
A driver that slices
The Driver Finder's "It slices" answer favors drivers whose makers say they build or set them to draw. Draw bias is the maker's description, not a measured effect.
Driver FinderA hosel you have never moved
An adjustable hosel changes loft, and on many designs how the face sits at address. What each setting does differs from one hosel design to the next.
What an adjustable driver hosel doesMore loft, less curve
Turn on "Same face and path, more loft" above: in the model, the same face and path curve less at 12° of dynamic loft than at 9°. Dynamic loft is the loft at impact, and the shaft and the strike move it away from the loft printed on the head.
How to choose driver loft
The names
Nine shapes, by start and curve
For a right-handed golfer. Left-handed, swap left and right.
Pull hookStarts left of the target and curves farther left.
HookStarts on the target line and curves left.
DrawStarts right of the target and curves left.
PullStarts left of the target and flies straight.
StraightStarts on the target line and flies straight.
PushStarts right of the target and flies straight.
FadeStarts left of the target and curves right.
SliceStarts on the target line and curves right.
Push sliceStarts right of the target and curves farther right.
Method
How it is calculated
The start direction and the tilt of the spin axis come from Dave Tutelman's published geometry for a centered strike: the ball leaves between the path and the face, much nearer the face, and the face-to-path angle tilts the spin axis. Ball speed, launch and spin are TrackMan's PGA Tour averages for the club. The Golf Lab's flight model then flies the ball.
The face sets about 87% of the start direction with the driver and 78% with the 7-iron in this model. TrackMan's rule of thumb, quoted by Titleist, is 85% and 75%.
Sources: Tutelman's 3-D launch conditions and TrackMan's tour averages. The full method, its checks and its limits are on the Golf Lab methods page.