A naive question about launch angle

[garcia is god]

Forgive this question, but I have never been fitted etc.

I tend to hit the ball fairly high. Does this mean I have a high or a low launch angle, or is it dependent upon other things?

Thanks.

[TheLastDon]

It's dependant on other things besides just how high you hit the ball, although that's a factor. Does your ball get high quick and stay high, or does it start low and then peak high? This can help determine whether it's launch angle or spin that is causing the height.

My swing generates a rather uncommon launch profile, low launch but high spin. My ball starts low then rises rather sharply with very little roll after landing. I hit the ball with a very shallow almost descending blow angle of attack causing these conditions. I recently switched drivers to a higher loft in a lower spinning head (10.5* Titleist 983E) and it's helped tremendously in increasing my launch angle but drastically lowering my spin rates. This change alone has added about 15-20 yards of carry/roll (wasn't getting hardly any roll before). This isn't to say that the 983E is a holy grail of drivers (it isn't), but it is a loft/head combo that fits my swing and launch characteristics and is much closer to maximizing both.

I would suggest going to a golf shop with a launch monitor to hit some drivers. If it's a full launch monitor fitting on a Vector (or other brand), thats great. If it's just a "simulator" like Golfsmith/Golf Galaxy lets people hit with that's alright too. Take note of the ballspeed and the launch angle (and spin numbers if given) it provides, and report back and we can help explain the numbers to you if ya need help.

[garcia is god]

Thanks very much for your help. I shall go and measure it soon (only issue is that I'm changing around my swing so much at the moment, that I don't want to fit a club and then immediately have to change it again!).

When I'm swinging well (!), I think it starts off at a medium height (not particularly high or low) but gets fairly high at the peak of the ball flight.

I guess this means I have a medium launch angle & high spin? Anyway, I'll go and measure it! ;)