Finding A More Consistent Ball Flight
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I think we all agree golf is a difficult sport to play and at times can be very frustrating. The number one complaint I hear from amateur golfers is "I just want to be more consistent." And trust me I feel your pain. For argument sake let's say we are talking about becoming more consistent with the pattern of your ball flight. For some golfers it's getting rid of the snap hook or the weak push. Others just want to make better contact and get the ball in the air. I think it's fair to say most of us want to consistently hit solid golf shots, find more fairways and approach greens with laser precision.
So here's the secret. There is one important moment in the golf swing that matters more than anything else and it is the Moment of Impact. Yes it's that important. The club head is the only part of the golf club or your body that actually makes contact with the golf ball. So it only makes sense to know how the ball flight is affected by the club face and club path.
Thanks to the latest technology, Trackman, we now have more information on the moment of impact and how the club face and path affect ball flight. Here's the scary part. Golfers have been taught for years that the path of the club head at impact is more important than the direction the face is pointing. For instance, if you want to draw the ball you would need to "roll" or "release" the face through impact to curve the ball. Unfortunately the data from Trackman reveals the moment of truth (impact) shows us a different story. Here are a few interesting facts you need to know. Please keep in mind for purposes of this article I am assuming contact happens right in the center of the club face. Off center hits bring in a new variable we will discuss at a different time.
Impact occurs in 4/10,000th of a second. The blink of an eye is 4/10th of a second. Impact happens faster than the blink of an eye! And yet we continue to look for perfection. Now we know why golf makes us crazy.
The golf ball spins in ONE direction on a tilted axis. At the moment of impact the golf club grooves grab the golf ball and cause the ball to spin backwards. This is what launches the ball in the air. The curve of the ball comes from the relationship between the club face and path at impact.
Watch the video below demonstrating contact in slow motion. Notice how the higher lofted club at the beginning of the video spins the ball more than the driver.
The club face is responsible for the initial start line 75% of the time with an iron and 90% of the time with a driver. When evaluating your ball flight always look at the initial direction the ball starts when it leaves the club face. The initial direction will come from the direction the club face is pointing at impact in relation to the target line.
The golf ball will curve in the opposite direction of the club path. If your path is moving right (inside) of the target line the ball will curve left. If you path is moving left of the target line (over the top) the ball will curve right. The amount of curve is the degree of difference between the face and path at impact. For example, if you ball keeps curving to the right you do not want to keep swinging left to try and make the ball go left. You need to actually swing more right to get the ball to curve left.
To hit a straight shot the club face and club path need to be perfectly aligned at the moment of impact. What! How often will that happen? It's a good thing we all agree we cannot be perfect! So if you are looking for more consistency, pay attention to your ball flight. Watch your ball flight and image what the face and path were doing at impact. Please feel free to contact me with questions!
