Why is a driver angled outward?

Question

I just got this new driver, and I keep slicing it and hooking it (I know, it's not the driver it's that I suck, which I do). But I noticed that on either side of the driver, the face is angled outward. It would seem to me that the club would be more forgiving if it was flat all across, rather than curved. Am I too dumb? Or is this a flawed idea?

Answer 1

it may be a draw driver

Answer 2

The concept is known as "gear effect" and is a bit counter-intuitive. Unless you are into physics or science, it can be a little intense, but basically the curve is to help steer off-center hits back toward the center of the fairway. Here are a couple of articles on the topic.

"Gear effect" is the term used to describe the action of the clubhead, during impact with the ball, that causes a shot hit off the toe to curve in a draw or hooking motion, and a shot hit off the heel to curve in a fade or slicing motion.

These actions of sidespin and shot curvature happen because the clubhead rotates around its vertical center-of-gravity axis whenever the ball is hit off the toe or heel.

When the head rotates in response to a toe-hit, the ball slides, then rolls, sideways across the face from the toe toward the center of the face. This causes the ball to leave the face with a hooking or draw sidespin. Conversely, when the head rotates the other direction in response a shot hit off the heel, the ball slides, then rolls, sideways across the face from the heel toward the center of the face, which causes the ball to leave the face with a slicing or fade sidespin.

The reason all woodheads are designed with a horizontal curvature across the face (called "bulge") is because of the gear effect. If shots hit off the toe generate a hook or draw curvature, the face needs to be radiused (curved) horizontally so the toe shot will leave the face angled to the fade side of the target. Thus the bulge radius causes the ball to start off more to the right (for a right-handed golfer; or to the left one a toe shot by a left-handed golfer), after which the hook spin generated by the gear effect takes over to bring the shot back toward the center of the fairway.

For shots off the heel, the bulge radius across the face of the wood causes the ball to take off to the left (for a right-handed golfer; or to the right from a heel shot for a left-hander), after which the fade spin generated by the gear effect takes over to bring the shot back toward the center of the fairway.

GEAR EFFECT    



A feature built into modern drivers and fairway woods intended to reduce the amount of slice or hook when the ball is propelled. Here are the details:

The face of a driver or fairway wood is designed with a subtle convex curve from toe to heel. The clubhead is weighted to keep the center of mass well behind the clubface. This curve tends to compensate for sidespin that would otherwise result from striking the ball either too close to the heel or too close to the toe.

Here's how it works. (You had better sit down first.)

Let's say a right-handed golfer makes contact with the ball very near the toe. The center of mass of the ball is not centered with the center of mass of the driver with respect to its direction of travel.

Contact by the ball with the clubface above the path of travel causes an opposing force not centered with the driver's center of mass.

If you are having difficulty understanding the rotation, imagine that somebody pushes you. If that person pushed your chest, you've simply move backwards. But if that person shoved your right shoulder instead, your body would rotate around to the right a bit.    



The fact that the force does not point directly to the center of mass of the driver means that the driver will want to rotate in response. The club will pivot clockwise around it's center of mass.

The club face itself slides in the direction of the force. But because the clubface of a gear-effect club is curved, it can maintain contact with the ball as the clubface slides sideways. Friction between the face and the ball act as gears meshing together.

This imparts a counter-clockwise rotation in the ball around its center of mass.

Now your intuition is still correct. The ball being hit off the toe will certainly be propelled at an angle rather than straight to the left. But the gear-effect rotation of the ball will cause it to hook during flight, making it curve back (somewhat) towards the center of the fairway.

The actual ability of gear effect to correct for slice is limited to off-center ballstrikes when the clubface is square to the line of travel at impact.

Gear effect cannot correct slice resulting from an open face at impact, nor an outside-in swing.

Gear effect is also not possible with bladed irons because the clubhead is too thin to get the center of mass as far behind the ball as would be required to induce gear effect. Besides, the face of an iron is flat and the concept still wouldn't work.

Answer 3

Slices are not caused by face roll.....(that is what you are describing)   Sliceing is caused by swing flaws.  Learn a proper repeatable swing and you can hit a broom of the tee and it will go straight.  The only way to learn good swing mechanics is from a teaching pro....not form a video....or book....or article......it requires hands on teaching.