Trackman Glossary

TrackMan users will notice that a few of the data parameters measured by TrackMan and listed below have slightly differ- ent names. The name changes, some requested by TrackMan users, were initiated with the primary objective of making the comprehension and use of the TrackMan data more intuitive for our customers and their clients.

We are aware that the name changes may require a re-educa- tion for some users, their staffs, and clients – we apologize for this inconvenience. For those who may see this as an inconvenience, we hope in short order the changes will be understood as an improvement for all concerned. Future soft- ware from TrackMan will use the new glossary terms as listed below.

Club Speed: The speed of the center of the clubface at impact (first contact with the ball)

Attack Angle: The vertical (up-down) angle at which the club head is moving at impact. Positive means hitting up on the ball, while negative means hitting down on the ball

Club Path: The horizontal (left-right) angle at which the club head is moving at impact. Positive means to the right (inside-out for a right hand golfer), negative means to the left (outside-in for a right hand golfer)

Dynamic loft: The loft (angle) of the part of the club that makes impact with and influences initial direction of the ball, relative to vertical (vertical = zero degrees)

Face Angle: The angle of the part of the club that makes impact with and influences initial direct of the ball, relative to the target line (left-right). Positive means to the right (open relative to target for right hand player), negative means to the left (closed relative to target for right hand player)

Spin Loft: The difference between dynamic loft and attack angle. The spin loft is related to the static loft of the club, however shaft flex and hands leading or lagging the clubhead will alter this.

Swing plane (formerly vertical swing plane): a measure of how vertical the swing is, where a high value represents a very up and down (steep) swing plane and a low value a relatively flat (to the ground) arc. More technically, it is the angle made between the ground and the plane of club head trajectory at the bottom of the swing arc.

Swing direction (formerly horizontal swing plane): The orien- tation of the swing arc, relative to the target line, where positive means to the right, negative means to the left. More technically, it is the horizontal direction the club head is traveling in at the bottom of the swing arc.

Ball speed: The ball’s initial velocity.

Smash factor: The ratio ‘ball speed divided by club speed’, which describes the efficiency of impact. Note that the smash factor de- pends on the spin loft and impact location, where the lower the spin loft the higher the smash factor and the more centered the impact the higher the smash factor.

Launch angle (formerly vertical launch angle): The ball’s initial vertical angle relative to ground (horizon) level

Launch direction (formerly horizontal launch angle): The initial direction of the ball relative to target line. Positive means to the right, negative means to the left

Spin rate: How many times the ball rotates per minute when leav- ing the clubface. This is independent of the orientation of the spin axis. Note that the spin rate drops during ball flight – typically 4% for each second

Spin axis: As the ball spins around an axis, the measure of axial tilt. Positive means the axis is tilted to the right (thus resulting in a fade or slice for a right handed golfer), negative means the axis is tilted to the left (thus resulting in a draw or hook for a right handed golfer)

Height: The apex point of the ball flight, measured relative to the height of the starting/launch position of the ball.

Carry: How far the ball travels in the air. The number reported is carry “flat,” meaning how far the ball would carry if the ground were perfectly flat relative to where the ball was launched from.

Side: How far off-line the ball lands relative to the target line (right or left carry). Similar to carry, this is side “flat,” meaning how far the ball would land off-target if the ground were perfectly flat relative to where the ball was launched from.

Total: The sum of measured carry “flat” distance plus calculated bounce and roll. The calculated bounce and roll model depends on three parameters measured by TrackMan: landing angle, landing spin rate, and landing speed.

Side total: How far off-line the ball ends up, after calculated bounce and roll, relative to the target line (right or left). This is reported “flat,” meaning how far the ball would end up off-line if the ground were perfectly flat relative to where the ball was launched from

Landing angle: Descent angle of the ball as it lands (carry “flat” landing point), measured relative to ground level

Last data: Distance at which TrackMan last recoded data. If the range is sloping upwards last data should be shorter than carry “flat”, if the range is sloping downwards and the TrackMan radar has a line-of-sight to the landing area last data should be longer than carry “flat”

Hang time (formerly flight time): Elapsed time from impact to carry “flat”

Face-to-Path: The difference between Face Angle and Club Path

Swing Plane: A measure of how vertical the swing is, where a high value represents a very up and down (steep) swing plane and a low value a relatively flat (to the ground) arc. More technically, it is the angle made between the ground and the plane of club head trajectory at the bottom of the swing arc.