Video Lesson: Understanding Angle of Attack

By Nick Anson
August 14, 2015

08/14/2015

Angle of attack is a term that you may have heard, but may not understand.  In this segment of Teaching with Technology, PGA Professional Todd Kolb explains not only what angle of attack is, but also shows us how it should differ from club to club and shot to shot.

I’m PGA Professional Todd Kolb with another segment of Teaching with Technology, and today I want to talk to you about a term we call Angle of Attack.  Now first of all, what is Angle of Attack?  Well, in layman’s terms, or in the most basic description, Angle of Attack is the angle the club head—the center, the sweet spot of the club head—is traveling at the moment of impact.  Now that club could be traveling down, which would be a negative angle of attack; it could be traveling neutral, which would be zero; or it could be traveling up, which would be a positive angle of attack.

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A positive angle of attack on drivers will help you maximize distance

Now, why is this important to know?  Well first of all, different clubs—in order to hit a good shot—require different angles of attack.  So I’ve got two examples.  I’ve got a driver here.  Now when I hit a driver, if I want to maximize my distance, it’s best that I have a positive angle of attack, so that the club head is traveling on an upward motion as it comes in contact with the golf ball.  I’ve also got a 7 iron here.  Now that’s a completely different situation, because the ball is on the ground.  In that situation, I want a negative angle of attack, where I’m hitting actually down on the golf ball.  And that could be 2 degrees, 3 degrees, 4 degrees; it’s kind of up to you and your swing style and, of course, your golf instructor.

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Having a negative angle of attack on irons tends to be more beneficial

The fact of the matter is that even as a golf instructor, who literally watches thousands of golf shots every day, you cannot see the angle of attack with the naked eye.  It is just literally impossible.  That is why I of course use my Flightscope X2 Elite, because it tells me that exact number.  And when I’m working with high profile players—Tour professionals—I need to know exact numbers.  I don’t want to be guessing.

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Technology like the Flightscope X2 Elite can help you better understand Angle of Attack

So what does it mean for you, the average golfer?  It means this:  if you’re serious about your golf game—if you want to get better, you maximize your driver distance, if you want to hit quality iron shots—you need to know what your angle of attack is.  So you should find an instructor who has access to a Flightscope, or something along those lines, so you can get that information.

Angle of attack, the direction that the club is traveling—angle down, neutral or up—at the moment of impact, an important key to hitting quality golf shots.

Tour Draw

9 Comments

  1. Thank you for your great tips. I ‘ve learn a lot from your website.

  2. Brian,

    Thank you for the kind words. We love the game and we want to share what we’ve learned to help golfers get better. We hope you continue to visit our site!

    — Troy
    Editor-in-Chief

  3. This is a really evergreen tips. thnaks a lot for this best idea

  4. This is really helpfull lesson for new golf players, I like your video!

    Keep Sharing!

    Thanks

  5. I bought the SC200 top speed golf on 11/9/2019 and I got it a few days ago. Now the problem is all the data that was involved getting the above unit on my computer is gone, no billing info, your notes, your video. ect. The video was over and hour long and I would like it back otherwise this unit will be returned. What kind of system do you have that all data between us is gone.

  6. My name is Joseph Cadunzi, at (732)297-0643, I ordered the SC 200 swing caddie and it was mailed to me on 11/9/2019 and I probably received it a few days later. The problem is all the data related to the sc200 caddie is off my computer. Gone, all gone. The one data that is the most important to me is the over an hour long video (several) that came as an email to me. Please email me those instructions again to jnjcadun@gmail or to 2jnjcadun@optimum.net or fax it to (732) 297-0540. Without those videos sc200 comes back. Thanks
    Joseph Cadunzi

  7. Hi Joseph, we are not actually affiliated with Top Speed Golf, so you will want to contact them directly for any videos/notes you need access to. We would not be able to provide them. This is the email provided on their site for contact: sales@topspeedgolf.com
    Best of luck!

  8. Thanks for all the information.This is very helpful.

  9. Our pleasure…thank you for posting! More great content to come..

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