Words to Golf by.
In golf, the saying goes, “The face sends it, and the path bends it.” What exactly does that mean? The ball’s flight will begin where ever the club’s face points at impact. The curve in the air depends on the path of the club.
Straight is Just too Hard.
The club face must be square to the target line, and the swing path has to be exact to hit a straight shot. It’s impossible to do consistently. That’s right, impossible. It may happen from time to time, but only sometimes. You are trying to be perfect, and, as Voltaire said, “Perfect is the enemy of good.” When you aim straight at your target and attempt a straight shot, sometimes it will fall left, and sometimes it will fall right. Which will it be, and by how much? You never know.
So, Now What?
What to do? Embrace the curve. Most of you know, but to be sure, let’s define a couple of terms. A fade is a ball that curves from left to right. A draw is the opposite, turning from right to left. These directions are for a right-handed golfer. The reverse is true for lefties. So, if you tend to fade the ball, learn and understand why it takes that path and how to control it—the same for a draw. Attempting to hit a straight shot is an exercise in futility. The ball is going to curve, period. The goal is to get the ball to bend in the same direction every time.
That’s Easy for you to Say.
How do you make the ball bend? It’s about the swing path relative to the club face. What about the swing path to the target line relationship? Of course, it’s important, but it needs to be clarified. Let’s address the swing path to the target line relationship first. For the most part, we want the club face to approach impact with the ball from inside the target line. Coming into the ball from outside the target line is rarely a good idea. Common knowledge says you must swing from inside the target line to hit a draw. It is one factor, but it’s easy to hit a fade or even a slice with an in-to-out path! Why? Because the curve of the ball depends on the path relative to the club face, not the target line.
Could you be more Specific?
The illustration below is a representation of what I’m saying. Notice that the swing path is coming from the inside. However, the club face is open, pointing to the right. The thin blue line is the initial direction the ball will take. The red curved line shows the flight of the ball.
The figure shown could be a better display of what is going on. The swing path is an arch, not a straight line, etc. The point is to show that even though the club head is coming from inside the target line, the club face is wide open. That combination of factors will result in a fade or slice. I hope that makes sense. If not, let me know. Or, come and see me for a lesson!
Take the Pressure off!
Take the pressure off yourself. Trying to hit every shot straight as an arrow is just too difficult. You should experiment with making the ball curve. Learn what works best for you and stick with it! It will make the game easier in the long run.
Seems to me the catch is you know how consistent you either draw or fade? I hardly ever hit a big draw, but my big miss is a huge slice. I seem to pick targets to shoot at that will tolerate a bit of either. I seem to recall wether it’s true or not, good players only bend the ball a couple of yards. I still have that much dispersion left and right when aiming straight at a target. Where accuracy counts the most for me, like on wedges/short irons I seem to have best results when my club face is directly down the target line as those clubs bend the ball much less for me. Long irons and fairway woods are still a bit of a crapshoot. Lol probably why I take lessons 🙂