A couple of years ago, John Kaufman asked on SpineTalk for an
explanation of spine alignment. Not a recipe, an explanation. What is
it about a spine that causes problems with a shot, and how does
alignment solve those problems?
I don't remember anybody answering the question that was asked. I
don't mean that their answers didn't satisfy John; the few attempted
answers didn't address the question. They talked about HOW to align a
spine, and the RESULTS you might expect from aligning the spine. But
they never even tried to answer -- in physical terms -- what goes
wrong and why if you DON'T align the spine.
I have finally posted a long-overdue article that addresses John's
question. I don't know if he will like my answer either, but I took
the opportunity to go on for pages about where I come out when I
think about spines. I include:
*** The mechanics of shaft bending, as understood by engineers (but
not by a lot of clubmakers).
*** Instruments for finding and measuring spine, together with a
comparison of how each instrument fared over a variety of shafts.
*** MY SHOT AT JOHN'S QUESTION: I discuss six proposed theories of
why spine alignment works -- six different tries at John's question
-- evaluating each theory in light of what we know about spines. Two
theories survive this examination, IMHO.
BTW, the article leans heavily on results in my recently posted
articles on ShaftLab and FLO.
The article is at <http://www.tutelman.com/golf/shafts/allAboutSpines.php>
Feedback is always welcome.
Cheers!
DaveT
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