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Impact Golf-Clubface
Alignment
By William Kipp, Teaching
Professional
Colorado Golf Schools at
Estes Park
Does your golf ball seem to
always curve off target toward the right or the left? In
the first column I briefly introduced the four basic
impact factors which make your golf ball behave as it does
– clubface alignment, clubhead path, angle of approach,
and clubhead speed. Today I will discuss the first of
these impact factors, clubface alignment (the reason your
ball curves) and how to better control it.
Clubface alignment
is very likely the most important of the impact factors in
that mistakes here often cause swing adjustments that lead
to mistakes in clubhead path and angle of approach. The
way you aim the club, align your body, and swing is often
in reaction to the direction your ball has curved off
target in the past due to incorrect clubface alignment.
Your clubface can only be
aligned in one of three ways at impact – SQUARE, OPEN, or
CLOSED. It is square if it faces in the same
direction it is moving (the “path”). It is open if
it faces to the right of its path (for right-handed
players), and it is closed when it faces to the
left of its path. When your clubface is square, your golf
ball will have very little curve in its flight. An open
clubface will curve your ball to the right, and a closed
clubface will curve your ball to the left. The amount of
curve on your shot depends on how much your clubface is
open or closed in relation to the path of your club at
impact, and also on the club you are using to hit the
shot.
The curve on your golf shot
is caused by sidespin. You will find that your shots curve
off line more with a driver than with a more lofted club
such as an iron. This is because a less lofted club like
your driver contacts the middle of the ball, applying more
sidespin than backspin if the clubface is misaligned,
while highly lofted clubs like your nine iron make contact
more toward the bottom of the ball, imparting more
backspin than sidespin. This relationship between clubface
loft and sidespin is the reason you may drive straighter
with a three wood than a driver. For this reason, to get a
true read, you should use the less lofted clubs to tell
you if your clubface alignment is square to your swing
path.
Your grip is a very
important fundamental because the way you place your hands
on the club has a direct effect on the clubface alignment
at impact. Finding a grip that will consistently produce a
square clubface at impact requires some experimentation,
and often feels uncomfortable for a time when you change
from the “comfortable”, but often incorrect, way you have
been holding the club to swing. First, try a standard
overlapping grip (little finger of the right hand
overlapping and curving around the forefinger of your left
hand). Try to see the knuckle of your left hand middle
finger when the club is behind the ball and you are ready
to swing. If your ball is curving to the right, turn both
hands to your right on the grip until the ball flies
straight. If your ball is curving to the left, turn both
hands to the left. If your hands are small or if you have
trouble hanging onto the club as you swing, you may want
to try the interlocking grip (little finger of the right
hand locked around the forefinger of the left hand).
The overlapping grip (or
“Vardon” grip as it is called) is the most popular, but
the interlocking grip has been used by many great players
including Jack Nicklaus. The right grip for you will
depend on which feels and performs the best. The knowledge
and ability to change your grip as needed to produce a
square clubface alignment at impact is probably the most
important step toward improving your golf ball’s
behavior!
William Kipp has played
on several regional professional golf tours, and was a
collegiate player at Kansas University. He is an employee
of the Estes Park Golf Courses, and is the Teaching
Professional for Colorado Golf Schools at Estes Park
www.coloradogolfschoolatestespark.com
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