Club-face direction is one of the most important impact variables in golf.
If you cant control your club-face, you can’t control your ball.
This post dives deeper.
You’re Kidding Me!
Present the face just 1 degree more open/closed with a driver and that can be around 12 yards off-line at 240 yards!
This is what 1 degree looks like….. One of these pics is square and one is 1 deg more open. Can you tell which one??
Tour Average Window
To hit a tour-average shot with an iron, you have to present the face within a 3.4 deg window.
Want to know what that looks like? Check this out –
It’s that little pink sliver. And they have to do that while swinging it over 90mph!
A 3.4 deg window means 1.7 deg either side. This is what 1.7 deg open vs 1.7 deg closed looks like.
Face Square???
These “face windows” might be shifted more left or right, depending on a player’s club-path.
YOU DO NOT NEED A SQUARE FACE AT IMPACT!!!
In these images, we see where a fader (top) vs drawer (bottom) might have to present the face to hit a functional shot.
Different Strokes For Different Clubs
Also, if your PATH is not square, you will have to present the face differently for various clubs. What does this mean/look like?????
Here’s an example of a player with a left path. Here’s how they would have to present a
- W = Wedge
- 7 = 7 iron
- D = Driver
To hit an on-target shot
Lie Angle Matters Too
Most golfers obsess over the leading edge position – trying to make it perpendicular to the target (left).
What most don’t realize is that, if the club comes into impact with a different lie angle, this also affects the 3D face plane.
Address is NOT Impact!
The average pro golfer starts with the club face about 4 degrees closed at address!
Starting position differs from impact position — pros vary widely in both. And a “perfectly square” start isn’t necessary.
Things change a LOT throughout the swing, anyway.
