John Graham Golf» D Plane

The Complete D Plane 3D Video

John Graham — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:32:36 +0000

Just wanted to share with everyone that has downloaded the D Plane Chart and subscribed to my blog posts that I will be releasing a video for sale that discusses the D Plane. This video which is about an hour long explains in detail all the elements of how the D Plane is constructed. The great thing about the video is that it has been constructed in a 3d platform. We are hoping that this will help coaches and players better understand this very important topic.

I’ve included a teaser video along with this post to give you an idea of what it will look like.

I’ve also included an opportunity to preorder the video before it is released in a few days. The video is up on the server and we are making some small setting adjustments before sending out it’s location and password. The video will be $10 and you can preorder below by paying through the paypal button included. Once the settings are finalized, I will email you the links and download information.

Trackman and Initial Ball Flight Direction

John Graham — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 21:29:57 +0000

Here’s a picture from a Trackman presentation I thought would make for a very interesting discussion. You can click on the image to see its full size. Basically, this chart shows the results from a case study comparing different golfers and Horizontal Launch Angle. It discusses the Face Angles and Club Paths contribution to Horizontal Launch Angle.

Here’s how to read the chart. The bottom numbers represent ball speed (in MPH) and the numbers on the side represent the percentage of contribution in the Horizontal Launch. The blue line would represent 100% contribution from Club Path to Horizontal Launch and the red line would represent 100% contribution from Club Face Angle.

There’s been a general consensus that the ball starts at about 85% of Face Angle. You can see that this is not necessarily accurate. Their are many factors that go into the full answer. Each dot in this chart is a hit. There were a multitude of golfers used and you can see they were from a wide range of skill levels and swing speeds. I’m am not aware if the slower swing speeds are different clubs or just the same club with a slower speed. The other thing we don’t know is where on the face these shots were hit and the divergence of the face on path on these shots.

In any event, I think this will give you some food for thought. Aside from swing speed and loft, friction is the other main component for Horizontal Launch Angle. This friction is one of the main reasons why lofted clubs will tend to be a little closer to 65% of the face angle direction relative to the 85% we hear about driver face angle direction. Just remember, the face angles contribution can vary and only with measurements from an accurate machine can we truly understand what happened at impact.

Please consider sharing this information with as many people as you can by using the Twitter and Facebook buttons at the bottom of this post. The more teachers and players that understand the reality of ball flight, the better off everyone will be.

John Graham Interview on Gotham Golf Blog

John Graham — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:16:02 +0000

John Graham’s Interview with Ralph Perez of the Gotham Golf Blog. Click on the Picture above to go to the video. This is basically an introduction to me, my history and my internet presence.

Hope you enjoy. Pass it on.

D Plane – The Short Version

John Graham — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 04:15:44 +0000

I made this little drawing to help someone get an idea of what is most important about the D Plane. This picture is basically showing a picture of a swing plane from down the line for a right hander. As I look down the plane, there is only one place on that line that is more right than any other.

This point would be low point. If the ball comes off the face any other place on that line, then that means that the club head is moving to the right until it reaches low point. So, if this swing planes low point is pointing toward the target, any ball hit before that assuming a centered hit and a square to target club face shape can not fly straight.

In other words, if you are looking at your swing on video and your club travels right on this line while it’s pointing directly at the target and your club face is pointing directly at the target but you hit the ball before the low point, you will not hit it straight. Please check out the other D Plane posts on the D Plane page above.

D Plane for Off Center Hits

John Graham — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:18:55 +0000

I started a thread over at Brian Manzella’s site talking about the future of the D Plane. As a model, I think it needs a little refining to handle the off center hits. I’m not exactly sure what that refining will turn into but I have a theory.

I was talking with David Colclough about this topic and he really got me thinking. I’ve asked some very smart people about my theory and will discuss the results after I hear back.

Ok, so here’s my theory. The D Plane suggests that the spin axis on the ball will be perpendicular to the plane formed by the 3d club path and clubface normal. It also suggests that the lift forces will be perpendicular to the spin axis. This model works wonderfully for center hits. However, for off center hits, the spin axis and lift forces are not in the D plane because of the gear effect caused by the off center hit.

My theory, which allows for center hits and off center hits to be accurately described is to use the 3d direction of the spin axis as the top vector and not the clubface normal. This would allow for a properly shaped D Plane for any outcome. I don’t know if I’m right and I’m pretty sure someone much smarter than me will come up with the right model.

I can say this. The email I received from Fredrick Tuxen shows agreement that the D Plane model is not sufficient to explain off center hits

Let the tweaking begin.