the following pages as clearly as I know how. If you gain nothing else from this book, learn it well and use it wisely.
When the clubhead swings from out to in
THE SLICE: ball starts left of target line then curves right.
The swing path is from out to in across the target line.
The clubface looks to the right of, or is open to, the swing path, resulting in an oblique or ‘cutting’ impact with the ball that creates clockwise sidespin.
The flight of the ball reveals everything about your swing.
As the ball’s forward momentum decreases, the clockwise sidespin curves the ball more and more to the right.
The more open the clubface and/or the more out to in the swing path, the stronger the sidespin and the more pronounced the slice.
Also, the more out to in the clubhead path, the steeper the angle of attack, thus the more oblique the impact in a perpendicular as well as horizontal plane.
The combination of clockwise sidespin and additional backspin produced by the open clubface and/or the steep angle of attack makes this the weakest shot in golf, flying excessively high if the ball is contacted at the bottom of the arc, or excessively low if the bottom of the arc is sufficiently forward for the ball to be thinned or topped.
THE PULL: ball flies straight but left of target.
The swing path is from out-to-in across the target line.
The clubface is square to the swing path, but closed to the target line.
Because the clubhead path and clubface alignment ‘match’, the impact is flush rather than oblique. Thus good distance is obtained.
THE PULLED HOOK: ball starts left of target line and then curves more left.
The swing path is from out-to-in across the target line.
The clubface looks to the left of, or is closed to, the swing path resulting in oblique impact with the ball that curves it even more in its starting direction, i.e., to the left.
At its worst, this shot is literally ‘smothered’ to the extent that the ball fails to rise sufficiently off the ground to go any appreciable distance.
When the clubhead swings from in to out
THE PUSH: ball flies straight but right of target.
The swing path is from in-to-out across the target line.
The clubface is square to the swing path, but open to the target line.
Because the clubhead path and clubface alignment match, the impact is flush rather than oblique and good distance is obtained.
THE HOOK: ball starts right of target then curves left
The swing path is from in-to-out across the target line.
The clubface looks to the left of, or is closed to, the swing path resulting in an oblique contact with the ball that creates anticlockwise sidespin.
As the ball’s forward momentum decreases, the anticlockwise sidespin curves the ball more and more to the left.
The more closed the clubface and/or the more in to out the swing path, the stronger the sidespin and the more pronounced the hook.
Also, the more in-to-out the clubhead path, the shallower the angle of attack, thus the greater the risk of the clubhead catching the ground before the ball, resulting in either fat or thin contact.
Assuming clean back-of-the-ball impact, the combination of lower flight and additional roll resulting from a slightly closed clubface and slightly in to out clubhead path – i.e., a draw as opposed to a full-blooded hook – produces more distance for a given amount of clubhead speed than any other impact configuration.
THE PUSHED SLICE: ball starts right of target then curves more right.
The swing path is from in-to-out across the target line.
The clubface looks to the right of, or is open to, the swing path resulting in oblique impact with the ball that curves it even further in its starting direction, i.e., to the right.
The type of in-to-out swing path necessary to produce this impact geometry invariably results in reduced clubhead speed and, therefore, poor distance.
It should be noted, as an aside, that today’s excessive fear of swinging ‘over the top’ makes this type of shot very common at most levels of the game. The cure lies in allowing the clubface to square automatically at impact by swinging the clubhead through the ball from in-to-in, relative to the target line.
When the clubhead swings on target
THE STRAIGHT SHOT: ball starts and continues on target line.
The swing path at impact matches or exactly coincides with the target line.
The clubface looks squarely or directly at the target.
Because the clubhead path and the clubface alignment ‘match’ perfectly, i.e., there is no obliqueness, the impact is flush and the trajectory is correct, resulting in optimum carry and roll for the amount of clubhead speed delivered to the ball.
THE FADE: ball starts slightly left of the target line then curves back to target towards end of flight.
The clubhead path at impact is slightly across the target line from out to in.
The clubface looks squarely at, or very slightly to the right of, the target. This slight mismatching or obliqueness of clubhead path and clubface alignment produces just enough clockwise sidespin to drift the ball to the right, while delivering the clubhead at a sufficiently shallow angle for the blow to be forcefully forward rather than weakly downward or upward, as in the slice.
Extra height and fast stopping, for relatively little distance loss, make the fade a popular shot among stronger tournament-level golfers.
THE DRAW: ball starts slightly right of target line then curves back to target towards end of flight.
The clubhead path at impact is slightly across the target line from in to out.
The clubface looks squarely at or very slightly to the left of the target.
The slight mismatching or obliqueness of clubhead path and clubface alignment produces just enough anticlockwise sidespin to drift the ball gently to the left late in its flight, as the strong forward momentum resulting from the shallow angle of clubhead delivery diminishes.
The lower flight and
