One piece of the equation that enabled many great golfers to achieve such success is their understanding of how the length of the arc in their swing directly affects the success of each shot.The length of arc is defined as the total distance that the club head travels in the backswing and forward swing. This differs from the width of arc, which is the distance that the grip end of the club travels. The club is a one-piece lever, but the forces on the two ends are quite unique. Yet, the primary ball-flight influence that width and length of arc both affect is distance.While a short putt needs only a short back and forward swing to generate enough club head speed to roll a ball the required distance, the maximum drive a player is able to hit is dependent on the fastest possible club head speed he can produce. The greater the length of arc that a player can create increases the amount of time that force has to build up in their swing. There are several factors that directly influence the length of arc, with the greatest being club shaft length, size of the player swinging the club and the ability of the player to extend the motion on both the back and forward swings. The goal of a player's swing is to create the length of arc necessary to produce the speed to reach the desired distance.I recently studied the swing of Sergio Garcia while using the state-of-the-art Motion Analysis Technology System by TaylorMade here at the PGA Learning Center, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. -- one of just seven MAT-T Systems available to the public in the world. His swing demonstrated a classic example of the difference between width of arc and length of arc. Two separate driver swings by Garcia gave us some interesting numbers. On swing No. 1, his club head speed equaled 117.4 mph (length of arc), and his hand speed was 17 mph (width of arc). Swing No. 2 showed a club head speed of 120 mph, and a hand speed of 16.4 mph. These figures demonstrate the difference in speed between the club head and grip end. For Garcia, the faster the hand speed, the slower the club head speed, and vice-versa. The positioning of the club shaft enables the slowing of the speed on the grip end, which can be used to increase the centrifugal force on the club head and also allow for an increase in club head speed.That is the kind of inside information that the best in the game take to the bank.And you can too. The MAT-T System is available for you to utilize at the PGA Learning Center. Call (800) 800-GOLF or visit www.pgavillage.com for more information.(Rick Martino is director of instruction at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Contact him at pgalearningcenter<a>atapgahq.com or at (800) 800-GOLF.)
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