NOTE: We get a lot of questions about positive vs negative numbers. In general, a positive number takes place when the metric is ascending or pointing to the right. A negative number takes place when the metric is descending or pointing to the left. 

 

Attack Angle: At the moment of impact, your club head could be ascending (hitting up on the ball), perfectly flat or level, or descending (hitting down on the ball). 

  • Hitting up on the ball results in a positive number. 
  • Hitting down shows a negative number. 

 

Ball Speed: How fast (in miles per hour) is the ball traveling right after impact?

Curve: Compared to the starting line, this shows how much total movement the ball curved. For example, was it a little slice (it curved 10’) or a big slice (it curved 50’)? 

Club Path: Let’s assume your club is going straight at the target line. This is a square Club Path. If your club comes from the inside (closer to your body) and moves away from your body at the moment of impact, this would be an in-to-out Club Path and will show a positive number. This only looks at the club head motion at one point in time (impact). IMPORTANT: Assuming you hit the ball near the center of the club face with a full swing, the Club Path determines the direction the ball will start heading after impact. (The ball ends up where your Face Angle is pointing). 

 

Club Speed: How fast your clubhead (in miles per hour) is moving right before impact

Carry: This shows how many yards the ball traveled in the air – assuming the ground is flat. Meaning, if you hit a shot on a severely downhill hole, the number will not show the entire distance it carried. It measures from the same elevation as it was at impact.

Dynamic Lie: Every club is designed to have an angle. Meaning, clubs are not completely vertical. For example, a typical 7 iron has a 62.5 lie angle. The Dynamic Lie measures the actual shaft angle at the moment of impact. If you have a flat swing, the club will have a lower Dynamic Lie.

Dynamic Loft: Let’s say you have a 10 degree driver. If your Attack Angle is 0 (flat) and a square club face, your Dynamic Loft would also be 10 degrees. However, if you have a descending Attack Angle and a square club face, the Dynamic Loft would be less than 10 degrees. An open face increases the Dynamic Loft. A closed face decreases this number.

Face Angle: This is also known as the angle of your club face. If your Face Angle is pointing straight at the target at the moment of impact, your Face Angle would be 0. For a right handed golfer, if your club face is pointing to the left of the target line, this is as a closed Face Angle and results in a negative number. If it is pointing to the right, this is an open Face Angle and shows a positive number. IMPORTANT: Assuming you hit the ball near the center of the club face with a full swing, the Face Angle determines the ending point where your ball will land. In other words, the ball starts in the direction of your Club Path. The ball lands in the direction of your Face Angle. 

Face to Path: This measures if your Club Face and Face Angle are going in the same direction at the moment of impact. For example, if your Club Path is 3 degrees to the right of the target line, and your Face Angle is 3 degrees open, your Face to Path would be 0. For a right handed golfer, this is known as a push. 

If the Club Path is 3 degrees to the right, and your Face Angle is 0, the ball will start to the right but & ends up right of the target. This is known as a draw. 

Height: The maximum height the ball achieved during flight, relative to the elevation at which the golf ball was launched.

Impact Height: Did you hit the ball low on your club face? High on the club face? The Impact Height measures how high or low (in millimeters) the ball impacted your club.

Impact Offset: Did you hit the ball toward the heel on your club face? Toward the toe of the club face? The Impact Offset measures how far towards the toe or the heel (in millimeters) the ball impacted your club.

Landing Angle: The angle the golf ball was coming in as it hit the ground. If the ball came straight down, it would be a 90 degree landing angle. Is the ball coming in steeply? This number greatly impacts the bounce and roll after it hits the ground. 

Launch Angle: The angle the golf ball takes off from your club. If the ball popped up vertically, the Launch Angle would be 90 degrees. If you hit a shot that never left the ground, the Launch Angle would be 0 degrees. Driver launch angles should typically be around 10 to 15 degrees. 

Launch Direction: Does the ball start left, right, or straight at the target line? A positive number indicates a ball that starts to the right of the target line.

Low Point: Your club head moves up during the backswing. It moves down when heading toward the ball. The Low Point is when the club hits its lowest point. Was the Low Point before impact (which means the club head would be ascending), or was the Low Point after impact (hitting down on the ball)?

Side: This shows how far from the target line the ball landed (Orange Dot). 

Side Total: The perpendicular distance between the target line and the golf ball’s calculated resting position (Golf Ball).

Smash Factor: The ratio between the measured ball speed and measured club speed. For example, if your Club Speed is 100 mph, and the Ball Speed is 150 mph, your Smash Factor is 1.50. The Smash Factor measures your ability to “compress” the ball. If you have a square Club Path, a square Face Angle, and you hit the ball in the exact center of the club face, you will maximize your Smash Factor. Strive for a 1.50 Smash Factor. If your number is much lower than that, work on your Club Path, Face Angle, and Impact location.

Spin Axis: This represents the amount a golf shot curves. A negative spin axis means the ball is curving to the left. A positive number means the ball is curving to the right. An interesting way to understand this is to visualize the wings of an airplane. The tilt of the wings makes it easy to tell which direction the plane is turning. Visualize the same thing with a golf ball.

Spin Loft: This is pretty technical. It considers the club path, attack angle, face angle and dynamic loft. To keep this as simple as possible, you subtract the attack angle from the dynamic loft to get this number. A higher spin loft will result in a higher spin rate. 

Spin Rate: This refers to how fast the ball is spinning after impact. Note – this could be pure backspin or sidespin. In reality, it will be a combination of backspin & sidespin.

Swing Direction: Similar to Club Path, but this looks at the path from knee height to knee height. The Swing Direction is the angle between the base of the plane created by the club head and the target line. TrackMan says this is the direction of the “base of the hula hoop”. Using the picture on the right, it is at the low point of the swing. 

Swing Plane: If your club head was directly below the grip throughout the swing, you would have a perfectly vertical Swing Plane. That doesn’t happen with full swings. Some people have a more vertical swing. Others have a flatter swing. Using the image above, the Swing Plane is the light gray rectangle (looks like a pane of glass).

Total: The straight-line distance between where the golf ball was launched from and its resting position. This is also known as the Total Distance, and is the Carry plus or minus any bounce or roll.