Club Face Matters

In the following video Andrew shares information on the most common fault he sees with the everyday golfer - an open or weak club face and the effect this one element can have on ball flight and striking.

I have no doubt that the club face angle, in particular in the early downswing, is an integral element to playing good golf. All golfers need to get the face in place in the downswing in order to be able to make a quality strike and manage the face angle for accurate outcomes.

When the club face is overly weak/open:

• The weight will typically stay back as the pivot stalls

• The handle will be too far back at impact, resulting in high and weak shots

• Distance and compression will be compromised

• The strike will almost always be picky with very little club to ground interaction post impact

• Trajectory will be overly high with the prevailing misses being pulls and/or fades

When the club face is overly strong/closed:

• The hips will drive forward too far in an attempt to slow down face rotation

• The hands will be well forward at impact, resulting in low spinning and low flighted shots

• Distance will typically not be a problem

• The quality of strike will often be acceptable

• Appropriate height will be a challenge, especially with a longer iron and the prevailing miss will be a hot, low ball flight with a tendency towards blocks and hooks

What can you do to improve? Take an honest inventory on which pattern discussed above you typically fall under. Once you have an idea, start working on improving your club face angle in the early downswing. This will most commonly be achieved with improved wrist angles, but know that the grip will also play a role. Create a game plan and set about making some long lasting changes. You can do this!!

Thanks for reading and please shout if you have any questions.

Get the Face in Place!

The ability to control both the face angle and loft at impact is paramount to playing better golf! This element in the golf swing really plays a major role in my teaching philosophy. Here’s a simple, yet illustrative, video that shows what can go wrong and how it needs to work…

So much of what we do in our golf swings is dictated by the face angle in the early part of the downswing. An open face means a stalled pivot and handle to go along with too much loft and an inconsistent strike. On the other hand an overly closed face will encourage too much lateral drive in the downswing and cause the hands to ultimately be too far forward and de-loft the face too much. This image illustrates the two extremes…

If you can make, even subtle, upgrades during this all important part of the golf swing you’re going to see a marked improvement in both your ball-striking and flight. Give it a go!