Adjust Your Path As Needed

The relationship of club head path to club face angle at impact determines the shape of your ball flight (i.e., left curve, right curve, or dead straight), while it's mostly club face angle at impact that determines your ball's starting direction. This is all based on the proven "new" ball flight laws (9 potential shapes) and D-Plane theory. Stated simply, the "old" ball flight laws taught that the starting direction of the ball flight was determined by the path, while the face pointed at where the ball flight would finish. The "new" laws state the opposite.

Problem: You usually hit a draw but today you're hitting fades and pull-hooks that are not terrible but are leaving you in the rough. You can't figure out how to get your draw back. You strengthen your grip, close your stance, feel like you're swinging right, rotate your left forearm, and nothing you try is really bringing your nice draw back. Should you be trying to adjust your club path or club face angle? For most golfers who have hit nice draws in the past, they should be trying to fix their path. It's likely that MOST golfers should be scrutinizing their path, especially if their ball is starting on the right line. Because the face and path have a relationship that's actually reasonably fixed with a good grip, adjusting the path will often adjust the face angle automatically, without doing anything different. This is why better players who often "lose" their draw start hitting pull-hooks; the face and path still have the same relationship, but the path is now outside-in. The entire club face-club path relationship shifted left.

No matter what the shape of your backswing, it's the first six to twelve (6-12) inches from the top of the downswing that programs what path the clubhead will take back to the ball. So it's the initial drop of the hands and handle that need your attention, though it's true there are many ways to influence how a particular path witll occur.

When the club head is still above the hands during the transition and downswing, the butt end of the handle is automatically pointing at the path the club head will take into the ball at impact. The club head will always follow where the end of the handle is pointing at this point during the downswing. Try this drill: Go to the top of your backswing and then start down but stop after about 6-12 inches; your hands should be somewhere vertically between your sternum and your waist. Where is the butt end of the club pointing? Chances are it's pointing at the target line or even left of it already. This means you're already over-the-top and swinging outside-in. This may be what you want if you're a skilled player and trying to hit a fade, but that's not the case for most of us. If the butt end of the handle is pointing out to the right, you can probably expect one of the following ball flights: 1) push; 2) push-draw; 3) hook; 4) push-slice. Which of these you see depends entirely on the face angle relative to the amount of inside-out swing path you're using at impact. Could you see a pull-hook with an inside-out swing? The new ball flight laws say yes, but this is a highly improbable occurence, as most golfers--even beginners--would not have the impulse to swing outside 45 degrees with a club face closed the other way (this would make me feel as if I was trying to hit the golf ball with toe edge of the club).

How do you ensure you have an inside path back to the ball? First, ensure you make a good, compact, connected backswing, where you keep both elbows close together--the same distance between the elbows that you started with at address. This may not be a problem for you, but I personally fight a flying right elbow. The right elbow must be able to drop back in front of the body unhindered by crashing into the right side, and keeping good external rotation in the right humerus is crucial. Next, keep your attention on where the butt end of the club handle is pointing during the first 6-12 inches of the downswing (i.e., while the hands and handle are dropping); you must keep it pointing out to the right or towards the left-rear quadrant of the golf ball during this period of the downswing. The only way to do this, you'll find, is to keep your back facing the target just a touch longer during this period, so thinking of where the handle end is pointing helps you automate this move. This keeps you from opening your shoulders too soon, which is a major cause of swinging outside-in.

There are numerous other swing thoughts and feels you can use to achieve an inside-out delivery. I've already alluded to one of them: Keep your back closed while your hands begin to drop. You can also focus on the club head end, ensuring it falls behind you somewhat before arcing down towards the ball.

Shaping Shots Consistently

I must have a ga-ja-billion posts on shaping shots (i.e., coaxing fades and draws), and that's because I'm always in search of the best way to do it. The best way is the way that is consistent and reliable for you to perform on the course (i.e., 90% of the time the ball bends as you intended). Click on the tags or keywords at the end of this post and you'll discover the numerous ways it's possible to influence the ball's starting line and follow-on ball flight.

I think this method--along with Jack's method--may be the easiest.

To fade the ball, tee up the ball LOW (even with the top of the driver) and on the right side of the tee box. Aim the club face towards the left side of the fairway (pick a tree or other target on the left); this represents the starting line. Place the club down aligned with this starting line. Make the address stance slightly open to the starting line; this means the hips, knees, feet, and shoulders should be aligned to the left. The upper body should still be tilted away from the target, and one must still shift the weight correctly and stay behind the ball for this power fade (sort of a push-fade, as you're still hitting inside-out ala Lee Trevino). Position the ball off the inside of the left instep (or roughly with the left shoulder). The further forward the ball position, the further left the ball should start on line before curving. Experiment with tee heights and ball position to get the right mix for the shot shape you want. Hit through the ball as if hitting four balls in a row on the starting line. Finally, use your normal grip, as most amateurs and high-handicappers hit with a slightly open club face even when trying to close it. Done correctly you should impart a nice, narrow fade on the ball.

To draw the ball, tee up the ball HIGH (one quarter to half the ball above the driver) and on the left side of the tee box. Pick a target on the left side of the fairway and place the club on that starting line. Make the address stance slightly closed to the starting line (pull the right foot back and align the shoulders and knees to the feet). Position the ball back in the stance (a few inches to the right of where it would be for the fade); the ball should be inside the left heel or roughly even with your shirt logo. Finally, rotate the club face slightly closed compared to the stance and then take your normal grip (most amateur golfers have trouble closing the club face enough for a push-draw, so manipulating the club at setup is easiest). Instead of hitting through all four balls, pretend you're hitting only the first ball of the four. Experiment to find the right mix; you will draw the ball (if you hook it then either move the ball slightly forward, tee it lower, lessen your closed stance, or try combinations of all).

A few notes. The lower the loft of the club (6-iron and up to driver), the easier it is to slice and the harder it is draw (another reason for manipulating the club face slightly closed for a draw). The higher the loft of the club (i.e., 7-iron and higher), the easier it is to hook and more difficult to fade. Draws tend to fly lower, further, and run more on landing. Fades tend to fly higher, shorter, and land with less roll. Take this into account when selecting a club. Don't be afraid to exaggerate adjustments to get the ball spinning like you want (i.e., if you lose your draw, get the ball hooking by standing with your back to the target and hitting balls).Full extension adds power and helps close the face (obviously useful for a draw but maybe for the fade too if the fade is too close to a slice). Hit both shots with the same swing shape--inside-out. And inside-out fade is called a power fade, and this was used by the greats like Hogan, Trevino, and Nicklaus.

Trevino’s swing is unorthodox, and so is his method for hitting the fade. The conventional way is to align the body left of target, aim the clubface at the target, and swing along the line of the body. Trevino follows the first two steps, but swings down the target line rather than with his body. The deviation actually produces a swing path that’s inside-to-out relative to the body, and directly down the target line. Trevino produces the left-to-right spin necessary for a fade by delaying the release (rolling over) of his hands through impact. According to Trevino, his routine produces more power than the traditional technique. He acknowledges that the ball will finish right of the target, but suggests simply lining up the body and clubface farther left to compensate.

Try Trevino's Unorthodox Power Fade Swing

Most players think of the swing as a circle. Trevino saw it as something different. Instead of folding his arms up after impact to remain on the circle, he chased his right shoulder toward the target to 
 the point where the club pointed straight down the line. He made this move with such force that it 
 looked like his right arm was going to rip straight out of its shoulder socket. It’s actually a move that most great ballstrikers have used over the decades.

Eventually, your left elbow must fold and get the club moving up the circle again, but try chasing down the line first, like Trevino did. I bet you’ll find yourself hitting the ball a little straighter and, if you can hold off your release just that much longer, creating a power fade. While the word “fade” has negative connotations for a chronic slicer, a controlled cut in the hands of a good player like Trevino leads to a Hall-of-Fame career, five Vardon Trophies and half a dozen major victories.

Johnny Miller - Lee Trevino signature chase move can help you hit it straighter | GOLF.com

"Inside out?" you might ask. "Doesn't that cause a draw?" Yes, it does, but only when your swing is inside out in relation to your target line. This swing is inside out in relation to the body alignment, but straight back to straight through in relation to the target line (see illustration). You won't draw the ball with this swing. If anything, you will contact the ball after the club has swung down and back to, the inside on the forward swing, thus putting a slight left to right spin on the ball .

So you have two big pluses here: First, you have an inside to outside attack in relation to your body. This is much more powerful than the outside-to inside swings that many amateurs use to fade the ball. Second, you have the club moving down the target line, producing either a straight ball or slight fade. You can't beat that combination.

Here's a trick that might help you understand this a little better. After you set up, imagine that there are three golf balls in front of the one you're about to hit. For the fade, you want to hit through all four balls. This will force your right shoulder down rather than around on the downswing, with your arms extending toward the target on the follow through. Keep in mind that the right shoulder doesn't dip. That would cause fat shots. Instead, the shoulder simply swivels underneath the chin. As a result, you will hold your release, keep the club moving down the target line, and push the ball to the hole, with very little sidespin.

I have, however, encountered one "problem" among people who have tried this method. They say to me, "Lee, when I swing your way, I hit the ball way to the right. I just tell them, "Aim farther left.” Don't open your stance more; just shift your entire orientation to the left. In other words, rather than aim the clubface down the fairway or at the pin, aim it at an intermediate target more to the left and shift your body alignment farther to the left as well. There's no rule that says you have to aim down the middle. Line up for the trees on the left and push it down the fairway. It's easy, when you know for sure that you can hit the push/fade.

The beauty of the balls in a line image is that you can use it to draw the ball, too. For the right to left shot, line up your body parallel to the target line and aim your clubface at an intermediate target to the right, to allow for the draw. Then, simply think of picking off the first ball in line, the real ball, without touching the three imaginary ones. This brings the right shoulder and club up quickly in the follow through, and whenever the club and shoulder move up, they go counterclockwise as well, which closes the clubface. Result: a draw.

You Can Learn to Hit My Fade - Lee Trevino - Golf Magazine - Dec 1979

Swinging Back to the Inside Early

There are numerous ways to swing a golf club and hit a straight ball (by straight I mean possibly with a slight fade or draw). All methods require squaring the club face relative to the path in some way (i.e., mostly perpendicular to the path with maybe very slight open or closed face positions for the shot shape desired); some of those methods are active and some are passive. Active methods, such as rolling the arms, turning the knuckles down, or squaring up the back of the left hand, all require careful timing and skill to pull off consistently. Passive methods, such as using a stronger grip or a club face that stays mostly square to the arc with heavy body rotation, require less precise timing and are probably more suited to the weekend mid- to high-handicap golfer.

We've all been told that we need to swing inside-out to avoid coming over the top (OTT or swinging outside-in). Few really great golfers swing outside-in, though there are examples of pro golfers who've used a slight OTT move to good effect, such as Sam Snead. Killing the OTT move--apart from the open club face--is one of the first steps a slicer (most amateur golfers) needs to take. But what about the arc on the other side of the ball? Does the club REALLY swing "out to right field"? Here's where you'll see the divergence between those who actively or passively square the club face.

When a player actively squares the club face, the arms cross over and cause the toe of the club to quickly over take the heel, irrespective of the body's turn. Often the club will chase down the line (or even out over the line) after impact for a time before coming back inside, and such an inside move isn't very pronounced. A good player on a good day can make this work. But even good players struggle with this move and often end up with duck hooks on days when the timing just isn't there. This is what happened to Ben Hogan early in his career.

When a player passively squares the club face by trying to keep it perpendicular to the swing arc all the way through, the arms don't cross over actively. Any movement of the wrists and forearms is entirely unconscious. As a natural consequence of body rotation serving as a primary squaring mechanism, the club head immediately tracks back to the inside, such that the swing shape is inside-outside-inside, following a natural, crescent-shaped arc that intersects the target line at after impact. Whereas an outside-in swing shape is steep, the inside-outside-inside swing arc is rounder, flatter, and more shallow. The small muscles of the arms are taken out of it and the golf swing is powered more by the lower body and larger muscles of the trunk. It's easier to maintain lag pressure and thus lag, as the club head never passes the hands until very late.

Swinging back to the inside early is the way that Ben Hogan played golf later in his career, and many would argue that there has never been a more consistent golfer once he made this change. Hogan adopted a fade ball flight that was consistent and reliable; he never had to worry anymore about his ball hooking directly off the course. Other great golfers, including Jack Nicklaus, played a fade as their go-to shot. Matt Kuchar swings this way and is one of the most consistent modern players. This method of swinging really lends itself well to a slight fade or straight ball flight, with minor adjustments (mostly ball position) needed to coax the draw. Tiger Woods is trying to develop a fade ball flight as his go-to shot; you'll often see him practicing for a shot by exaggerating coming back to the inside.

Swinging this way works best with the correct hip movements (clearing the hips and covering the ball), and a good swing thought is the good old belt buckle--keeping the butt end of the club pointing at it as you turn through.

Want to know if you're doing it? Film yourself swinging down the line. If your club approaches the ball from the inside and the hands and club disappear behind your body low and early after impact, you have an inside-outside-inside swing shape. Another characteristic of this swing shape is the maintenance of connection between the left and right upper arms against the chest throughout the swing--often called staying connected. All of these characteristics make for a more consistent golf swing because no emphasis is placed on the conscious control of the small muscles in the arms.

Of course, the shorter the club, the less pronounced this move is, because the swing plane is more vertical and thus the inside-out-inside move is not as obvious.

As I said earlier, our goal was to take the timing problem out of my swing, including my hands having to roll over at just the right instant to square the clubface. Now, once I shift to my left side to start the downswing, I can turn hard, and my body will bring the club around. That's because I've kept my left arm pinned against my chest. With this connection, turning my body squares the face without any hand action.

With the body leading like this, my arms track back to the inside quickly after impact. I used to have too much "chase" in my swing, with the clubhead swinging straight down the line or even out to the right. My new swing shape proves that my arms and body are working together, like concentric circles, with my arms moving in orbit around my body.

How To Make Your Swing Repeat: Matt Kuchar: Golf Digest

Charles Howell III is getting back to what works for him. Howell relied almost exclusively on a fade when he was one of the game’s hot young prospects. After developing some bad habits while trying to incorporate a draw into his arsenal, Howell is back to the reliable left-to-right ball flight.

The main objective in Howell’s new swing? To get the club swinging more to the left after impact so the ball can start down the target line.

The plane of Howell’s old downswing looked ideal on video shot down his target line, but his club traveled too far in-to-out through the ball because of his steep, downward angle of approach.

“Because Charles hits down on the ball steeply, we had to have him swing more to the left to make the ball go straight,” Smeltz said. “We needed the club to approach the ball slightly more from the outside for the club to be traveling down the target line through impact. We had to get the club in front of Charles’ hands during the downswing. That got the club exiting more on plane and not swinging so far out to the right.”

For Your Game: Charles Howell III

The club orbits the body at an angle called swing plane – like a circle or ellipse tilted on its side. That angle can range from 45-60 degrees depending on the club. What most golfers neglect is how the club must travel back inside after impact. Instead of allowing a natural release to the left, they force the hands and arms to release the club down the target line in an effort to hit the ball straight or add more speed. This leads to inconsistency. In fact, releasing the club down the target line moves the club off its natural plane. The result can produce tremendous hook spin or block pushes depending on the angle of the clubface.

Better Players Swing Left | Scratch Golf School

 

Failsafe Fades and Draws by Jack

There's a reason Jack Nicklaus is still the greatest player of all time (at least in terms of majors won). I've blogged so many times about ways to hit fades and draws. All of the methods work on the same D-plane principle (i.e., all roads lead to Rome), but some methods are easier to understand and pull off than others. Feel free to review my early post on factors that are associated with various shot shapes or ball flights.

To hit a draw, you could strengthen your grip, close your stance, move the ball back, swing out to the right, and do any number of other things that we've been told will help hit a draw. Same thing for a fade (except the reverse). But I've found that these methods sometimes have too many variables and don't always end up giving us the shot shape intended; sometimes the ball hooks wildly instead of mildly drawing, slicing instead of mildly fading, or ironically going straight! Being able to shape the ball is important in order to advance in skill. Shaping the shot allows one to bend the ball around obstacles, fight the wind's influence, reach a tucked pin, control trajectory, control roll upon landing, and generally avoid trouble.

I think Jack's method (being taught in the video below to beginning children of the First Tee program) might be the one to use because of its simplicity. Jack Nicklaus advocates using the same swing for all shots. What he changes is the club face and maybe the ball position. In other words, he loosens his normal, neutral grip, opens or hoods the club face slightly (depending on the desired shot shape), and then regrips with the same neutral grip. However, keep in mind the caveats below.

Many instructors correctly advocate creating a divergence between club face and swing path to shape shots, but they often are nebulous in their explanations (i.e., "aim your club face at the target and swing either left or right of the target"). However, one must either change the grip on the club (i.e., stronger or weaker), change the club face position at setup (as Jack describes), or use the hands/arms to control the club face during the swing. Simply "aiming the club face" with no other modifications will do nothing except cause one to lose another ball. Actively rolling the forearms (closing the face for a draw) or blocking the forearms (slowing the face for a fade) is a method best left to the timing of professionals.

Here are my embellishments to Jack's simple method. Stand behind the ball and pick a desired target. Set up on that target line as if you were going to attempt to hit a perfectly straight ball. To hit a draw, hood or close the club face a few degrees as described above (ungrip and regrip the club to do this). Now adjust the body and stance such that the newly hooded club face is aimed at the desired starting line (i.e., for a draw, aim the face and body further right of the target line). Now take a normal swing as if you were trying to hit the ball well to the right of the target. The ball flight should start right (where the club face was aiming at address) and draw or turn back towards the intended target.

For a fade, reverse every step above; you should ungrip, open the club face a few degrees, and then regrip. Aim the body, stance, and club face left of the target line and take the swing as if you were trying to hit the ball well left of the target. The ball flight should start left and fade back to the right. Use the exact same swing for both. We're following Jack's advice by reducing variables and making the swing simpler.

Now a few caveats. When attempting a fade, go with at least one club of lesser loft (e.g., 5-iron instead of 6-iron) for the required distance; this is because the fade shot will tend to go higher, shorter, and land softer, with little or no roll. The opposite is true for a draw: it will tend to go lower, longer, and run after landing, so choose a club with more loft for the required distance (e.g., 8-iron instead of a 7-iron). When you open a club you're adding loft and taking away loft when you close a club (closing down a 3-iron will turn it into a 2-iron or less).

Also, clubs with lower lofts (like a driver) don't need to be opened or closed quite as much to impart the same amount of side spin as higher lofts (like a pitching wedge). So you should hood or open clubs with lower lofts (e.g., driver or 4-iron) much less than you would with higher lofted clubs (e.g., 8-iron or wedges). As always, experiment!

Next, close your face a bit at address. But be careful not to close too much. Drivers don't have much loft so if you close the face too much, you can't get the ball airborne and lose the distance.

How to Hit a Draw & Fade with a Driver | Golf Tips & Lessons

Then all you do to play a fade is aim your body slightly left (as Jim is making sure I'm doing above), open the clubface, and make the exact same swing.

Jim Flick And Jack Nicklaus: Hit A Fade With Power: Golf Digest

You are starting the ball to the left because you aimed your whole body to the left. In other words, you are purposely trying to hit the ball left of your target. In trying to teach this shot to people this is where they go wrong. They aim there stance and body to the left yet they swing down the target line. REMEMBER: if you aim left, you have to swing left. The ball will spin right because of the clubface position.

How to Fade the Golf Ball

In order to hit fades and draws or to hit the ball low or high, Nicklaus uses the same swing. It is the angle of the club head at impact that enables you to hit these variations in your shots. To get the club head on these angles, Nicklaus simply adjusts the position of the club head at address.

How To Draw Golf Ball, How to Fade Golf Ball, Improve Golf Swing

 

Adjustable Drivers

Adjustable drivers are all the rage these days; golfers can adjust various attributes of the club to suit their swings and help correct ball flight errors. My Nike SQ Machspeed driver is a square-headed, thud-making monster; I keep it adjusted to a flatter lie with a slightly closed club face position (because my ball flight error tends to be a slice).

However, I've noticed that on days when I'm making a good turn behind the ball and using a reasonably strong grip (slightly more than neutral), I can start pulling, hooking, and hitting really low shots off the tee with it. This is why it's important to be able to diagnose what's going on while playing. Two primary components of ball flight are swing path and club face; the two are joined at the hip and synergistic.

When I know I'm making a good turn behind the ball (full shoulder turn) and getting an inside-out swing path and the ball is hooking, pulling, or going low, I know that my club face is too closed to match that swing path. Suddenly, my adjusted driver becomes an enemy. True, I'm not slicing…I'm just doing the opposite, which can be disastrous too.

In those situations, a slight grip change may be all that's needed to correct the ball flight. I've noticed that the stronger grip I use for my other lower lofted clubs (like the 3-hybrid or 5-iron) can produce low and/or left ball flights with my adjustable driver, if I'm swinging on a good inside-out path. So (and every day on the golf course is different), I will slightly rotate my grip to the left (V's pointing between my neck and right shoulder as opposed to directly at my right shoulder) as a fix. Usually, this small change will straighten my ball flight and produce a higher draw shape.

However, go too far with the grip (or start making an incomplete turn) and the ball will start fading or slicing again. Golf is great, huh?

Use Setup Foot Position to Encourage Ball Flights

Here's something I tried today that I think may be far better than using shoulder turn or even the traditional body alignment-club face alignment to encourage a fade or draw.

Stand behind the ball and picture where you want the ball to end up. Then (depending on the desired ball flight) pick a line on which you'd like to start the ball that makes sense (i.e., if you're trying to fade back to a target, pick an aim line to the left of the target). Now, align oneself as if trying to hit a straight shot along the aim line (completely neutral stance). If trying to hit a draw turn the back foot out more and the front foot perpendicular to the target line; for a fade, do the opposite.

This encourages either more shoulder and body turn on the backswing (draw with back foot flared out) or more shoulder and body turn on the downswing (fade with front foot flared out).

I initially read about this in Hank Haney's book, The Only Golf Lesson You'll Ever Need, but it makes complete sense if you think about it. The cool thing about doing this to encourage a certain ball flight is that it seems to give just the right amount of inside-out or outside-in, providing slight draws and fades as opposed to more extreme hooks and slices that can come from the other methods (like the traditional setup method--link above).

For a straighter shot attempt (encouraging an in-out-in path), flair both feet out slightly.

Flare your right foot to 2 o'clock and position your left foot at 12 o'clock. Now swing the club for real and feel the increase in shoulder turn going back and the lessening of it into your follow-through.

As you do this, make sure you maintain your posture and forward tilt. Straightening up through impact only encourages a slice. This tricks also works if you hook the ball. In this case, position your right foot at 12 o'clock and your left foot at 10 o'clock. This will decrease your turn back and increase your turn through. You'll hit the ball more with your body and less with your hands so they can't take over and shut down the clubface through impact.

[From Stop Slices (and Hooks!) with Your Feet | GOLF.com]

To increase your ability to turn back and through the ball, flare your feet between 15 and 30 degrees at address, depending on your flexibility. The less flexible you are, the more a flared back foot will allow you to turn behind the ball and then approach the target line from the inside on the downswing.

The correct amount of flare in your front foot at address makes it easier to rotate your front hip and knee correctly as you swing through the hitting zone. If your swing is too steep, use more flare; if it's too flat, use less.

[From AskMen.com - Golf slices]

 

 

Using Shoulder Turn to Fade or Draw

I've posted already about setups to hit the fade and draw and the D-Plane (which explains the ball flight laws). My big fall flight error (like most amateur golfers) is the slice. Sometimes I set up to hit a draw and still end up hitting a slight fade (works out okay sometimes), or sometimes I'll set up to hit a fade and it will become a slice. That tells me that I'm compounding the left-to-right ball flight with my setup. And I've done the same thing with the draw too--setup to hit a draw and then end up hooking the ball off the course. Unfortunately, there are times when I've set up to hit one and hit the opposite (I'd rather not talk about those times right now).

Recently I was hitting fairly straight tee shots with a slight fade and was trying to figure out why I couldn't hit the tight draw that I was hitting a few days before. Everything SEEMED the same, but it obviously wasn't. Then I hit on it: I was NOT turning my shoulders back fully to 90 degrees. I noticed that my left shoulder pointed in front of the ball at the top of my backswing, which was giving me a slight outside-in swing path. That path along with a square club face should produce a fade; if the face was open, it would produce a slice (basically a severe fade from which it's hard to recover). Anything used on top of that to exacerbate the outside-in swing path would produce a more severe fade or slice, even with a relatively square club face.

Golf is really about trying to diagnose and repair what's screwed up during a round, because it's easy to get lazy and let bad habits or old tendencies creep in without realizing it (e.g., partial shoulder turn, right leg straightening to much, not keeping the arms in front, etc.). If you're getting a slice, it can be a lot of things, but I know I have a tendency to get lazy with the shoulder turn (which can cause a laid-off position at the top). I have a tendency to let the arms get too much across my chest (too inside leading to outside-in), and I have a tendency to get too handsy with my takeaway (too inside on the backswing that can lead to OTT).

The reason it's tough to diagnose why one might be fading, slicing, hooking, pulling, pushing, or drawing when it's not intended is that ball flights are a marriage between swing path and face at impact. If you KNOW your path is inside-out but you're push-slicing then you have an open club face. I believe this was more my issue when I first started golf--I simply was blocking the club face open and would often end up with a push-slice. Sometimes (unless you're really paying attention to yourself compared against the fundamentals), you may have trouble diagnosing what you're doing wrong.

Given that I noticed (this time) that I wasn't getting my back to the target at the top, I hit on the idea of using a variable shoulder turn to try to hit cuts, straight, and draws, especially since the traditional setup ideas to hit them usually give me severe slices and hooks instead of the intended flights. What if I simply used less shoulder turn for a fade and more for a draw? Then I could aim left of my intended target and hit the fade and vice versa for the draw. I wouldn't have to worry about all the other aspects of hitting fades and draws. If you think about it, it's the equivalent of opening or closing the stance to hit a fade or draw, but adjusting the stance requires the same full turn on both.

Here's something to try: To hit a fade, try turning the shoulders so that the left shoulder points in front of the ball at the top (from your perspective looking down); you shouldn't be able to see your left foot because your left shoulder will be shielding it from view. For a draw, turn more fully so that the left shoulder points behind the ball and covers the right foot from view. A straighter ball will be somewhere in between. Don't do anything else differently (except for where you aim)…use the same grip, square stance, takeaway, and ball position. The point here is to manipulate only one variable: swing path (and to do so as simply as possible).

 

 

Els: Keep the Box!

Probably one of the best bits of golf swing advice I've ever seen or heard comes from the great touring professional Ernie Els; touring pros aren't usually the best golf teachers, but this small tip from Els has become one of my top swing thoughts.

I've referred to this before in other posts (sequenced passivity and golf's triangles), but it also ties closely into other posts and fundamentals that did not mention Els, including the right hip-right elbow relationship and arms falling to start the downswing (as Shawn Clement's "arm-club unit falling down the plane").

Simply stated it's this: the right elbow, right forearm, and right wrist (and thus the club) form a box shape (actually more of a rectangle with 2 90-degree angles) at the top of the swing. During transition, one simply allows this box shape to remain intact and fall down in front (right elbow coming close to the right hip while the shoulders REMAIN turned) and then release it past the ball. As Ernie so simply puts it, "Keep the box and give it a lash!"

I believe it's probably best to focus on the right arm only in the backswing, because doing this properly will keep the left arm straighter and help set the wrists earlier. And thinking of the box shape in the downswing is a given; maintaining it as long as possible gets 2 crucial levers working in the swing: the right elbow and right wrist straightening in the right sequence and at the right times. This adds tremendous, effortless power to the swing (for all shots…include bunkers and pitch shots).

This is Els' way of describing what TGM'ers call the use of Pressure Point #3: "Keeping the box" as Els describes will place pressure in the base knuckle of the first digit on the right hand from the start of the downswing until past impact. This is often referred to as "lag pressure," and it's maintained all the way down into the ball. As a matter of fact, one can think of the base knuckle or first phalanx of the right finger as analogous to the club face; it's often called the "trigger finger," though most of the finger should do NOTHING during the swing.

By using this "box" method, you will notice that the left and right wrists can cock up and down WHILE the right wrist remains hinged backwards, and it's this backwards hinged right wrist that creates a flat left wrist at impact, maintains lag pressure in PP #3, gets the hands leading the club head, compresses the ball, and creates a forward leaning shaft. A key is to start down or transition slowly; the greatest speed is added at the bottom, not the top.

In reality, Ernie could have called this "Avoid the cast!" instead of "Keep the box!" Casters apply an active pushing force, unhinging force, and/or uncocking force (either consciously or unconsciously) at the top (and thus have to flip the wrists at the bottom), while laggers (i.e., good players) form the angles at the top and then drop that arm-club "power package" intact from the top (the right wrist remains hinged backwards through impact). Thus, the angles formed in the right arm during the backswing are retained late into the downswing. Casting is often associated with an early shoulder rotation; the arm-club power package should ideally begin dropping in response to the lower body BEFORE the shoulders open up.

Many instructors will tell you that maintaining lag pressure is not something you can do actively, but that poses the question: Is consciously fighting the urge to cast considered an active attempt to maintain lag? One could argue that "keeping the box" as Els describes is a means of actively keeping the angles and lag pressure in PP #3. Martin Hall's take on this is to "keep the thumbs pointing up in the air as long as possible," which also implies an active effort to maintain lag. As with all things in golf, let your results be the arbitrator.

A good way to practice this move is using the Pump Drill (see videos below); Hogan doesn't refer to it as the Pump Drill, but you can see him demonstrating it in his video. Another drill advocated by Hogan and Brian Manzella is to simply remove the right thumb from the shaft and hit some balls (Sam Snead used to remove his right thumb and right index finger entirely to practice). There are also drills that advocate holding a wet mop like a club (or using a club with a towel on the end) and dragging it across the ground. An impact bag is also used to instill the correct feeling at impact.

My take on the Pump Drill is to completely remove the right hand thumb and index finger from the handle to accentuate the pressure feeling in the base phalanx of my right index finger. From the top of the backswing, use the left hip motion to cause the arm-club unit to pump up and down a few times. The end of a "pumping action" gets the hands over the ball with the club shaft still parallel to the ground. After one or two "pumps," let it go at the bottom.

What happens when lag is taken too far? Skull shots (not really thin shots) because the club bottoms out late and balls that fly off to the right because the club face doesn't close in time. Rejoice if you see these occasionally instead of weak fat or thin shots that come from casting and flipping.

It's very crucial to keep your head behind the ball (i.e., maintain a tilted spine angle); just get the feel that once you get over the right leg in the backswing that the head stays there while the lower body weight shifts to the left. Keeping the head back assists with shallowing out the swing and with hitting inside-out.

Even cooler, if you "shake hands" with your right hand towards the target, you can coax a draw or straight-ish ball flight (the toe of the club overtakes the heel), or you if you hold off the right hand somewhat (toe and heel come through more together) you can get a fade.

As Ben Hogan rotates his lower body towards the target, the "straight left arm + bent right arm" act as a single unitary structure and they are both passively pulled down towards waist level as a single unit. Homer Kelley refers to this unitary structure of the left arm and bent right arm as the power package assembly [6]. In other words, Ben Hogan does nothing actively with his hands/arms/club during the early downswing - he simply allows them to respond reactively/passively to the shift-rotational movement of the lower body, and he simply allows the entire power package assembly to be passively pulled down to waist level.

How to maximize wrist lag

[Drill for learning the feel of lag pressure.]

BM: "Grip the club normally. Take the right thumb off of the club and point it at the target. Hit it."

[Why does this work?]

Forum Member: "...when most of us begin to lose the lag, we compensate by feeling/adding pressure from the right thumb to try and stop the throwaway....without the right thumb on the club, we must store and hold the lag or be ready for the club to flop around coming into impact (especially if there is throwaway or if we lose the lag on PP#3)."

BM: "Helps Slicers too!

...but why???"

Forum Member: "Without the right thumb exerting pressure on the club, one can drag the sweetspot onplane via the right index finger, thus closing the clubface by impact."

Best Drill for maintaining lag

In the Golf swing there are 4 distinct pressure points (more on that in another article) but again, for simplicity stakes, we will focus on the easiest and more convenient to feel: the meaty part of your index (the "trigger finger") of your trailing hand where it touches the club.

Here is the trick: Are you able to perform a Golf stroke while feeling pressure in this index from start down to both arms straight (the end of the follow-through and before the finish)???

Even better: if you can feel this pressure not decreasing (unrelentless pressure), I bet my shirt you must be a 1 digit handicap as you must have Lag in your swing with all the good things that come with it!

A player who casts the club (club head throwaway) does exactly that: he feels a lot of pressure in the start of the downswing (by accelerating the club very hard and convulsively). Such a sudden accelartion thows the club away with no chance to catch it up before impact.

Needless to say, that player feels no pressure at all in the index finger when the club head arrives at the ball.

The correct way to do it is to push your cart evenly with no over-acceleration.

Golf Lag Tips » Focus on pressure points to feel Lag

 

 

Use Chalk During Practice

If you're like me and have a net in your garage for practice when the mood strikes you (or when it's freezing outside), here's a little trick that will determine your likely club face direction and even clue you to the path upon which you're swinging and thus determine whether the ball likely would have faded or drew (not all of us can afford one of those fancy-shmanzy OptiShot style simulators).

Take some chalk (I recommend colored chalk designed for kids to use outdoors) and rub it all over the face of your club (you can also use masking tape or other materials designed for this purpose). Now hit a ball into your net. You should see a nice impact spot somewhere on the club face. If it's in the middle…you've just pulled of a great shot (if the path of the club head was correct - see D-Plane). Pay attention to the blur of the arc down at the bottom of your swing for the other piece of information; if you're swinging inside-out (like you should be most of the time) then you needn't worry over this variable. However, the position of impact on the club face can clue you to the path you're swinging on as well.

More likely, you'll see an impact spot near the toe. Slicers (most golfers who swing outside-in for various reasons--i.e., chicken winging, coming out of posture, etc.) will tend to hit towards the toe, because that's a typical condition of an open club face and outside-in motion. Toe impacts tend to worsen a slice, because the club head will open slightly at impact. Hookers (golfers, not streetwalkers) will tend to hit towards the heel, due to the club face closing through impact and the inside-out motion. Heel impacts serve to close the face even more. Sometimes, the club face is so closed that a shank occurs, and the ball will shoot low and right or run along the ground straight (making you think you topped the ball)!

Where you address the ball on the club face can also affect the mark. It's technically correct to address the ball more towards the toe if you prefer to rest the club on the ground behind the ball (i.e., instead of hovering it), as centrifugal force will pull the club slightly away from your body on the downswing. If you suddenly see your practice shots go low and dramatically right, you're probably shanking off the heel. Use chalk to verify this and then adjust your address position accordingly: Address the ball towards the toe and see what happens to the mark. Note: This assumes you address the ball with the arms naturally hanging; if you vary the extension of your arms towards the ball then this is a variable that will negate learning where you typically impact the club face; work to ensure you address the ball with the same posture and arm position each time!

You may discover that the difference in the club and stroke imparts varying impact points on the club face, depending on the manner in which you stroke the ball. For example, I need to address irons more off the toe to get closer to the center, while woods require me to address closer to the heel (even hovering the club). The reason, I believe, is that irons (shorter clubs) require more of a downward blow, while woods and drivers utilize more of a sweeping action.

However, if you start seeing your ball marks move from the toe towards the heel, it's a GOOD THING. It means that you're learning to keep your extension, swing inside-out, and close the club face…ingredients needed for the draw. As a matter of fact, making changes to achieve an opposite result in golf is usually a good drill (e.g., if you sliced during a round, stop at the range and hit balls until you're hooking it).

Since the club is pulling in towards you, the ball is struck with a glancing blow and on the toe of the club resulting in a slice that doesn't go very far. Does this sound familiar? It is a very common fault, so here is a three-part drill to get you on your way to correcting the problem.

[From Get hip to drive the ball farther - Tips at GolfInstruction.com]

Most golfers think the shank and its violent, clanky offline flight are caused by an open clubface. However that is almost NEVER the case. In fact for most golfers the face is actually closed when the ball makes contact with the neck or hosel. The ball first contacts the rounded, angled portion of the inside of the neck and starts flying offline before any true contact with the flat clubface can be made.

[From Stop Shanking the Golf Ball – Herman Williams Golf Instruction]

Third, check your clubface. If the golf ball leaves an imprint on the inside part of your clubface (near the hosel), then you have most likely hit the ball from inside-out. If the imprint is on the outside of the clubface (near the toe), then you have most likely hit the ball from outside-in.

[From Golf Tips – How to Swing That Golf Ball From Inside Out! | ProgolferDigest]

 

Let the Hips Drive the Swing

Going "hand-in-hand" with the idea of finding the "slot" by making a "reverse loop" downswing, the golfer should fire the hips forward to get the required power. The feeling I have is that my right hip leads my arms into impact, while the arms make ZERO muscle movements once set at the top of the backswing (they simply fall and rotate out due to momentum of the lower body). Both butt cheeks should be visible from DTL at impact due to this hip rotation (most beginning golfers commit the error of returning the hips to the address position).

Another thought is to use is to think of the knees, which may cause less problems than concentrating on the hips. If the swing is driven from the ground up (as we've heard countless times), the knees should turn and drive towards the target first while the upper body stays back. The hips and everything else will follow in sequence. Consider the footage below of Rory McIlroy. Pay attention to his knees at the top of the backswing and then as he transitions into the downswing; the knees move around and towards the target first and everything else follows. This also helps keep his head behind the ball and prevents too early a weight shift.

All of the golfers that can hit the ball a long way have one thing in common. They are firing their hips around on the downswing. Another common fault I see in teaching is the student's hips not being open enough at impact. GolfTEC's motion analysis computer measures how many degrees the hips have turned open (towards the target) at the impact position.

[From Get hip to drive the ball farther - Tips at GolfInstruction.com]

Here are some swing thoughts that a handful of my students think of when trying to turn the hips more through impact.

"Fire the right hip around."
"Fire the right knee towards the left knee."
"Get my left leg straight and left hip turned behind me"
"Get my right pocket turned to the ball as soon as possible."
"Turn my belt buckle towards the target"
"Hit the ball with my right hip."

[From Get hip to drive the ball farther - Tips at GolfInstruction.com]

Exaggerate the hip rotation for a fade and hold off the forearm rotation by tightening the grip.

I call it "holding off the shot." I'm keeping my arms quiet with far less forearm rotation and delaying the closing of the clubface. I think of it as squaring the face with my body rotation. You can see here my hips have turned significantly toward the target before the club has reached the ball. That's a good fade feel for me.

[From Adam Scott: Steal My Feel: Golf Digest]

Consider the images below of Mattero Mannasero and Jim Furyk. Both use a reversed loop downswing to hit from the inside, and look at how open their hips are at impact. The right hip clearly leads them into the ball, much like Ben Hogan's timeless swing.

How to Close the Club Face

So, you're aimed slightly right, hitting from the inside (trying for a draw), and the ball is pushing well right (or even push-slicing). The ONLY problem here, then, is that the club face is too open for the path. As Hank Haney so correctly puts it, all slices (whether classic, straight, or push) are ultimately caused by an open club face, though other factors may be associated with or contribute to that open club face. To close or square the club face, the toe needs to be overtaking the heel through impact, while a fade has the toe and heel coming through together. The only question is: What's the best way that each one of us can achieve this goal?

The grip, hips, shoulders, and forearms must work together to square and then close the club face coming through. This becomes easier when you think of the arms crossing over ("let the wrists kiss") when the club shaft is "center mast" to the body (the belt buckle or belly button).

Here are some ways to close the club face. Be careful trying more than one of these at at time, because you might start hitting really low pull-hooks:

1. Use less grip tension (waggle the club and relax the arms at address).
2. Square the back of the left hand by the time you reach impact! Golfers who roll the forearms open in the backswing may leave the club face too open through impact and block, push, and slice the ball; they must learn to square the back of the left hand BY THE TIME impact occurs. If they overdo it they can start pulling the ball or hooking it. You may need to consciously think of hitting the ball with the back of your left hand--sort of like a tennis backhand. To do this requires EARLIER left forearm rotation than you might believe (missing right means you need to exaggerate rotating the forearm earlier). It's too easy to mistakenly roll the forearm late--once the hands reach the ball, which will usually just result in a flip with added loft. Begin rolling the left forearm once your hands reach the vicinity of your right thigh or right hip. This gives you time to square up the club face. The back of the left hand and the right palm will rotate down to point roughly 45 degrees towards the ground when the hands are in the vicinity of the right thigh; as a consequence, the club face will also point ~45 degrees down towards the ground when the club is parallel to the ground on the downswing. This should feel really closed to you if you've been leaving the face open. Now all that's required is a turn through. The continued roll or "crossing over" appearance after impact is just a product of the squaring action you started earlier!! Focus on leading the club into the ball with the left wrist coming through first--even slightly ahead of the left hand; this will prevent the left wrist from bending backward or cupping (called dorsiflexion) through impact. The left wrist should either be flat or it should slightly bow while the left forearm rotates! (This continued rotation post-impact is also called "the release"). This seems to be the best for getting a slight draw shape without a lot of manipulation. Hank Haney calls this squaring the back of the left hand, and some instructors have referred to this as making your watch face the target. Another added benefit is that this delofts the club slightly, lowering the ball flight and adding distance. If you begin to pull or pull-hook shots, you will either need to back off slightly on how early you rotate the left forearm, use a slightly weaker grip, and/or swing more out to the right. The disadvantage here is that it requires a bit of timing to ensure a square position at impact; too much rotation and you can pull-hook, too little, a block or push-slice. If you do this correctly, you'll say farewell to the balls that keep heading right; but you might say 'hello' to a pull or pull-hook. Then you'll have to think more about the way to get the ball started more to the right so that it can spin back to the left! This is a welcome dilemma if you've been a chronic slicer.
3. Takeaway: Ensure the club face matches your spine angle! This is really just another way of accomplishing #2 above without having to reverse-roll your left forearm clockwise in the downswing. To do this, have the feeling that the back of your left hand faces the ball for as long as possible in the backswing (there should be no sensation of rolling the forearm counter-clockwise); this should make it easy to return the club face to square at impact. Another way to put this is to keep the club head outside your hands in the takeaway. Also, be careful to avoid the urge to lean left on the backswing when using no forearm rotation; make sure you still lean right and shift into the right leg.
4. "Shake hands" with the target using the right hand. This doesn't mean letting the right hand take over, which can cause the left wrist to cup or flip as above; in a sense, the right wrist straightens and the right hand rotates slightly over the top of the left, with the watch facing the ground just after impact. This is the one that I can use to hit a big hook, because it's very hard to time properly (i.e., tough to know how much rotation is too much rotation and when). This one is often called letting the wrists kiss or cross over each other.
5. Grip the club more in the fingers and away from the palm (automatically applies less tension).
6. Use a stronger grip (rotate both hands to the right with "V's" towards right shoulder).
7. Physically hood the club face at address (close it a few degrees then take your usual grip). This one doesn't work for me.
8. Consciously turn the left hand knuckles down at impact. This another way to think of #2 above; but I think it's better to think of leading with the left wrist, as there's less manipulation involved than when using this swing thought. This is often taught as turning the door knob with the left hand or revving the motorcycle throttle.

It's important to keep in mind that the club path works in concert with the face to produce the desired ball flight. That is, the club face can be closed but still open to the path, causing some form of slice (push, straight, or pull--depending on the direction the face was aiming at impact). The club face must be closed to the path to produce a hook (hitting inside-out with a face that's closing is critical).

You'll know you've gone to far when you start duck hooking the ball or getting a really low ball flight. Tom Watson wrote in his book, The Timeless Swing , that you should use as strong a grip as you can without hooking the ball.

Don't be afraid to try the "left wrist leading" even with your fades. The kicker is to hold off the release (i.e., slap the ball with the back of the left hand and then let the back of the left hand--or the right palm--continue chasing after the ball instead of rotating over). With an open set-up, the ball flight should be a slight fade as opposed to a large one.

In addition, the left wrist should be flat or bowed through impact. In the April 1956 issue of Golf Digest, Hogan wrote, "I've noticed one thing that all good golfers do and all bad golfers do not. The good ones have their left wrist leading at impact. It seems a small thing, but I've found it to be universally true. At impact the left wrist of a good player is slightly convex, while that of a poor player is generally concave."

[From Grouchy Golf Blog]

The more you grip the golf club in the fingers (#1), the faster you can swing the golf club and the quicker the clubface will close (causing a hook or draw ball flight). If you grip the golf club further up in the palm (#2), the slower the golf club will travel and the longer it takes for the clubface to close (causing a slice or a fade). If you are slicing the golf ball, you will want to move the grip more into the fingers (the base of the fingers), if you are hooking the golf ball, you will want to move the grip more into the palm area (higher up in the left hand).

[From Golf Swing Instruction Articles and Lessons to Shave 7 Strokes Off Your Game]

While the left hand swings back horizontally so that the back of the left hand is always perpendicular to the ground (vertically-oriented like a door opening) it "feels" slightly supinated relative to the inclined plane on which the clubshaft is traveling, and a golfer "feels" as if the left hand is rolling slightly over (supinating) during the followthrough. Tiger Woods states that he he tries to get a "feeling" that the knuckles of his left hand start to rotate groundwards (supinate) immediately after impact, and what he is describing in simple "feel" terms is the "roll-feel" movement of the left hand during the horizontal hinging action. The back of the left hand should never face groundwards during a horizontal hinging action (even though there is a "roll-feel" during a HH action), and it should actually remain vertical to the ground.

Impact

There are only two options for the club to be released through impact. You can either keep turning the body through at a high rate of speed, or you can keep your hands soft and rotate the left wrist counterclockwise. Which one sounds more efficient?

Golf Left Hand Release Drill - RotarySwing.com

If the player is not aware of or not expecting that change, it can be frustrating to watch every shot go right after supposedly getting on the ideal swing plane. The secret is to make the necessary adjustment in wrist and clubface action to deal with the new flatter plane.

A key checkpoint is the half-way position in the downswing once the hands are about waist high. It is imperative that the right palm is beginning to face down as the back of the left hand is also facing down toward the ground. This is part of the infamous pronation and supination referred to in descriptions of Ben Hogan’s downswing and impact positions.

Picture turning your watch face down toward the ground during the downswing, assuming you are a right handed golfer wearing a watch on the left arm. Another way to see it and feel it is to turn the knuckles of the left hand downward so they face the ground and are essentially out of view at the waist-high position coming down.

Stop Slicing Pushing Blocking Golf Shots – Herman Williams Golf

Flick suggests a drill to eliminate flipping that works best initially with shorter irons. Practice hitting balls while letting your right hand come off the grip just after impact. This removal of the right hand emphasizes the need for the left hand and arm to lead the swing, bowing the wrist with the hinge, rotating through impact with the ball and finishing the follow-through by folding up at the elbow.

Drills For People Who Flip In Golf | LIVESTRONG.COM

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Tiger does not delay the unhinging of his wrists for as long as possible. As soon as he initiates his downswing, he starts rotating his left forearm. That action starts to square the face and begins the gradual release of the clubhead. Halfway down, his wrists are already uncocking.

Golf Swing Tips to Boost Power | GOLF.com

"At impact the back of the left hand faces toward your target. The wrist bone is definitely raised. It points to the target and, at the moment the ball is contacted, it is out in front, nearer to the target than any part of the hand.

"When the left wrist is in this position, the left hand will not check or interrupt the speed with which your clubhead is traveling. There's no danger either that the right hand will overpower the left and twist the club over. It can't. As far as applying power goes, I wish that I had three right hands!

Saturday Morning Tip: Supinate your wrists like Hogan : The Instruction Blog: Golf Digest

The back of your left hand, assuming you've got a decent grip, will show you where the clubface is through impact. The common mistake a high-handicapper makes is swinging through the shot with the back of the left hand -- and the clubface -- pointed up. When the side of the hand leads the way like that, you'll hit weak slices.

To hit straighter, more powerful shots, you need to release your hands through impact. As you swing into the ball, turn your hands so the back of your left hand -- the logo on your glove -- points down the target line. That corresponds to a square clubface.

Get back to square: Golf Digest

To create more speed, here's a great swing thought: Rotate your forearms counter-clockwise as you start down, turning the face of your driver to the ground. Another good feel is to get the back of your glove pointing down, as if you were going to drag your knuckles along the turf. This move will help you maintain your wrist hinge longer coming down. Remember, power comes from clubhead lag, where the clubhead lags behind your hands until your wrists release at the bottom of the swing.

One word of caution here: Because you're closing the clubface earlier than you're probably used to, you might start hitting hooks, until you adjust your path into the ball. Feel as if you're swinging out to the right of the target. Do that, and you'll turn those left misses into power draws.

Rick Smith: Turn The Face Down For Bigger Drives: Golf Digest

Setup for a Draw or Fade

Considering the D-Plane and "new" ball flight laws, try this method to set up for your draw or fade. It's very similar to the way Nicklaus and Watson (see Lesson 1 Lesson 2 on youtube) set up to shape their shots.

GC: What about the pre-shot routine; is that something you think is important?

TW: I talked about the target line and aiming. That’s your pre-shot routine; if you can do that, that’s fine. Getting behind the ball and hitting that ball over a point like Nicklaus does, that’s all the pre-shot routine you need.

You’ve got to aim it with the club face. You’ve got to learn how to do that; a beginner has no clue. “Where do I aim it? Is the club face square?” How do you determine whether the club face is square? You see people play with a closed club face and an open club face. But then they make an adjustment in their swing to try to get their club face back to square.

[From Tom Watson | Golfconversations.com]

I call it "holding off the shot." I'm keeping my arms quiet with far less forearm rotation and delaying the closing of the clubface. I think of it as squaring the face with my body rotation. You can see here my hips have turned significantly toward the target before the club has reached the ball. That's a good fade feel for me.

[From Adam Scott: Steal My Feel: Golf Digest]

So you can see (in harmony with the "new" ball flight laws), Tom Watson understands that the club face should aim where you want the ball to start…not where you want the ball to end up! If he has a natural hook in his swing, he needs to aim right to bring the ball back to target. This is why most pro golfers you watch on television appear to be hitting the ball off to the right; they're drawing the ball back to the target.

Stand behind the ball and imagine the TARGET LINE--a straight line from the ball to where you want the ball to carry. Don't worry if some obstacle falls on this line (e.g., a tree, trap, or dogleg); your intention may be to use the curve to go around that obstacle! At the same time, imagine an AIM LINE--a straight line where you want the ball's flight to begin. I recommend starting with smaller curves, so the aim line should be relatively close to the target line. These two lines (if imagined to be infinite) will intersect at some point behind you, forming a small angle.

The best way to create these lines at setup is to pick two points on the ground a few feet away from the ball; use blades of grass, broken tees, and so on as the points on the line. You'll need these frames of reference for alignment. I never pick points on these lines that are more than 5 or 6 inches aways from each other.

Set the club down with the face pointing down the aim line (not the target line); in other words, point the face at that spot chosen on the ground. If you find yourself hitting pushes or pulls instead of draws or fades, try closing or opening the club face slightly, but NOT at the target line. Now, align the body slightly open to the left or closed to the right of the aim line, depending on which curve you're attempting to produce. Putting the ball back in the stance slightly will also encourage a draw or hook, and vice-versa for a fade, slice, or cut; I advise, when using the ball position in this way, to simply align parallel to the aim line the way Watson recommends.

If you don't use the aim line and close the club face coming through, you may hook the ball off the course (same with a fade--ball slicing off the course--if you don't adjust your alignment to the left).

In essence, the infinite, imaginary aim and target lines along with the line created by the setup (i.e., TOE LINE - imagine a straight line running from the toes of each foot) will intersect at some point behind you and the distances between those lines will increase gradually as they proceed toward the target. Once you've addressed the ball, forget the target line…concentrate on the aim line (where the club face is aiming) and swing either left of it for a fade or right of it for a draw. These are feels but in reality you can use an inside-out swing for BOTH (remember…it's the club face relative to the path that imparts spin).

As alluded to earlier, Watson teaches that the toe line should be parallel with the aim line; but we want to avoid hitting a straight push or pull, so I advise SLIGHTLY closing or opening the toe line to the aim line, depending on the shot shape desired (unless you use some other method for encouraging the correct swing path). Once again, these lines are only FRACTIONALLY offset from parallel, especially the toe line. If you're already adept at controlling the path of your swing, the toe line idea may not be useful to you. Also, don't forget the ball position: Forward encourages a fade and backward encourages a draw, so this alone may be enough for you to consider leaving the toe line parallel to the aim line. Also, don't forget the D-Plane: the club face must still be offset from the swing path to produce the desired shot shape.

Ball Flights and the D-Plane

When I started playing golf (about a year and two months ago), I was plagued by the slice like most beginners. And it still creeps in on occasion when I get lazy with the fundamentals. My slice was always (and still is when it happens) a push-slice or straight-slice…it was never a "classic" slice (i.e., ball starts left and curves to the right). Slicing is associated with open club faces relative to the path the club head is moving. At some point, I started making adjustments and got the ball to start hooking; in some cases, it hooked badly and in others, I would get a nice, tight draw. But I was able to make the ball curve the other way, and that means a lot to the slicer.

For right-handed players, a push-slice means that the club sweet spot--assuming one hits the sweet spot--is moving towards the right, and the club face is open--or pointed further right--at impact relative to that path; if the club face was closed (i.e., pointed to the left) relative to that path, the ball would hook to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the gradient or differential between path and face at impact.

The classical view of ball flight--the so called "old" ball flight laws--state that if you set up with the club face aiming at the target but align and swing to the right, the ball will hook or draw back to the target. High speed video (and good old fashioned physics), however, has put many of the old ball flight claims to bed.

The "new" ball flights laws state that the ball's initial flight is controlled almost exclusively (75-85%) by the club face position at impact (path accounting for the other 25% or so), while the curve of the ball flight is dictated by the aforementioned path-to-face gradient. In other words, setting up to hit a draw with the club face aimed at the target (using the ideas in the old ball flight laws) will most likely cause the ball to hook well left of the target. This is assuming that the club face returns to the ball at impact the way it was at setup, and that's a BIG ASSUMPTION. That assumption accounts for why the "old" ball flight laws still seem to work on occasion; in all likelihood, a player is really catching the ball with the club face slightly open but still closed to the path and drawing the ball back to the target.

A very scientific way of viewing the new ball flights laws is the D-Plane concept. The primary variables in the D-Plane are:

• The path that the impact point on the club face is moving (includes a combination of up or down along with left or right motion)
• The direction that the impact point on the club face is pointing (straight, left, or right)
• The loft of the club itself (lower loft = shorter D-Plane and vice-versa).

The D-Plane is a triangular plane, where one side is created by the direction the club face points and the other side is created by the direction the club travels (path). Each of these two sides can be imagined to originate from the same point on the club face at the moment of impact. The other side of this triangle will, therefore, demonstrate the spin and ball flight placed on the ball (including height), as the ball's axis of spin will be perpendicular to that side of the triangle. Remember, irons place backspin or underspin on a ball, so we're talking about tilted backspin (not sidespin as classically taught). Consider this video explanation:

So, a D-Plane that tilts left will produce a hook and a D-Plane that tilts right will produce a slice, with varying degrees of severity, obviously, depending on the gap or difference between face and path. The more elongated the D-Plane, the greater the loft of the club and the less effect the differential between face direction and cub path have on the ball flight.

Notice what is NOT a variable--the plane of the swing (a plane can be created by the setting up at address to encourage a swing out to the right or a swing inside to the left). The swing plane is usually related to the club shaft--not the club head or club face. However, the swing plane, tilted right or left, can still produce seemingly contradictory ball flights, because the impact point of the club face may be moving in the opposite direction of the plane. This means you can setup aimed right, swing to the right, and still hit a slice or setup left and still hit a draw (and both of those have happened to me before).

In a good iron shot, the impact point of the club face is moving forward and either left or right, but it's ALSO moving DOWNWARD. Downward angles of attack (hitting down with an iron) have the effect of closing the face relative to the plane, while upward angles of attack (hitting up with a driver) have the effect opening the face relative to the plane. These angles of attack, however, do NOT close or open the face; they actually create slight inside-out (downward) or outside-in club motions (upward).

So, how is one to make anything of all this theory on the golf course in order to shape shots usefully? Well, it's much more important to adjust ball position at setup as opposed to trying to adjust the plane (i.e., alignment) at setup. Hooking the ball requires the face impact point to be moving to the right with that impact point facing left, and it's easiest to do that on the back side of the swing arc; the club will be moving rightward on the backside as it moves downward. The contrary is true for a fade.

So you want to draw the ball but start the ball right of the target line (a "push-draw"), so that it draws back towards the target? The club face must, therefore, be OPEN slightly to the target line, but CLOSED slightly to the club head path direction. Move the ball back slightly in your stance to encourage a DOWNWARD angle of attack. As with most things in golf, a few degrees here and there go a long way. Again, this ASSUMES you can return the club face to the same condition it was at address, and this ASSUMES that you know how to get your path moving inside-out, and those are BIG ASSUMPTIONS.