Do you agree that "practically at right angles" means something similar to D plane?
Where do you think Homer was wrong? Do you think that the ball doesn't stick during the impact interval? That it rolls on the face? Or something else?
Practically, at right angles is excellent. I wish I had read the book many years ago and it is right in line with all modern ball flight theory. Especially, since the golf balls have become more solid.
I think Homer is incorrect about how a perfectly straight shot is created. I think it is more logical to consider the path of the club during the impact interval as a tangent instead of a cord.
I think that the ball does not get carried down and to the right during the interval. Otherwise the implications would be inconsistent with practically at right angles. It would also suggest that a ball resting on the ground is getting rammed into the ground some amount.
I agree the collision is so violent, as has been expressed here by many, to think that the ball simply does nothing but get carried from one place to another without anything else happening but compression seems illogical.