Impact is key!

[kid2]

All these posts about ball flight laws , hitting draws or fades hooks or slices has me thinking.....
Does it really matter whats happening in the swing if the point at impact is right.....

Monty's post today about divot direction kind of echo's somewhat issues/things that have been happening with me.....

After a few tips iv been hitting the ball better than ever...The shanks are gone for the moment but im getting a nice flight with most clubs.....

My divots start straight at my target but curve left after impact....Some will even be crescent shaped at times im presuming indicating that iv swung in to in.....

I seem to struggle with driver and may have a slight out to in path with this club but the weekend iv fiddled a bit with my stance and seemed to find something that works.....

Im posting this as maybe there are some others that share similarities with me.....
My shots with irons pretty much start dead straight at my target....Ill pull the odd one if i get greedy and select a little less club than i need....

Long irons have divots straight at or slightly left of the target also but are very shallow....

Im just curious to know....Is it possible to hit a straight shot with an open clubface.......

I swing more round my body rather than up and down....Very much one plane....

How would you know a push fade from a pull fade......
Say i aim my clubface at a tree on the left side of the fairway...
Open my stance slightly and swing.....
My ball starts at the tree and fades back to the middle of the fairway.....
Is this a push or a pull fade?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My teching pro simply says substance over style and let the ball tell you how you are hitting it. You only need to control what the club head does at impact. Look at Singh, Furyk, Trevino, Daly, Bubba etc. None are text book but they have the club under control at impact

 

[Neddy]

First thing my pro told me in my very first lesson is that the impact position is basically all that counts.

Common sense when you think about it.

 

[kid2]

My teching pro simply says substance over style and let the ball tell you how you are hitting it. You only need to control what the club head does at impact. Look at Singh, Furyk, Trevino, Daly, Bubba etc. None are text book but they have the club under control at impact

Homer......In the new lessons on the one plane swing your getting do you get strong compression with pretty straight shots and the divots going left after impact?
I get this with my irons but when i try swinging the driver with similar posture to my irons i seem too bent over and feel like im reaching for the ball.....
Im wondering that if im having to stand a little taller that maybe the plane of the swing is a little more out to in over the longer club.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Homer......In the new lessons on the one plane swing your getting do you get strong compression with pretty straight shots and the divots going left after impact?
I get this with my irons but when i try swinging the driver with similar posture to my irons i seem too bent over and feel like im reaching for the ball.....
Im wondering that if im having to stand a little taller that maybe the plane of the swing is a little more out to in over the longer club.

Compression much better. I've had my posture changed to get the arms out underneath me more and it did get a bit too far out there and I was reaching for it. Once we got it sorted and the spine angle naturally rose it was much better. On Friday we started to work on staying on/behind the ball at impact as I tend to get the head too far forward leading to loads of compensatory actions.

On the ones that I hit better, with the club exiting better to the left divots were straight but I got an extra 9 yards on my 7 iron and 11 on the driver. Just need to get it locked in but for me one plane has been a revelation and that I'd wasted the last year in particular with the previous guy.

 

[kid2]

Compression much better. I've had my posture changed to get the arms out underneath me more and it did get a bit too far out there and I was reaching for it. Once we got it sorted and the spine angle naturally rose it was much better. On Friday we started to work on staying on/behind the ball at impact as I tend to get the head too far forward leading to loads of compensatory actions.

On the ones that I hit better, with the club exiting better to the left divots were straight but I got an extra 9 yards on my 7 iron and 11 on the driver. Just need to get it locked in but for me one plane has been a revelation and that I'd wasted the last year in particular with the previous guy.

Good stuff.....:thup:

 

[JustOne]

Im just curious to know....Is it possible to hit a straight shot with an open clubface.......

Yes but you have to be lined up a little to the left, it's basically the pattern for a fade that doesn't fade!

When you hit with a descending blow the true path of the clubface is a few degrees to the right so you need to line up a little left to counteract that for a straight shot. It's actually an out-to-in path at impact relative to the target line, but not to your stance/alignment. This is why divots point left if you hit a straight shot.

 

[JustOne]

I've had my posture changed to get the arms out underneath me more and it did get a bit too far out there and I was reaching for it.

....sounds familiar Kid2

 

[kid2]

....sounds familiar Kid2

Very and its working a treat.:thup:

 

[kid2]

Yes but you have to be lined up a little to the left, it's basically the pattern for a fade that doesn't fade!

When you hit with a descending blow the true path of the clubface is a few degrees to the right so you need to line up a little left to counteract that for a straight shot. It's actually an out-to-in path at impact relative to the target line, but not to your stance/alignment. This is why divots point left if you hit a straight shot.

Would this be a bad thing?

 

[JustOne]

Yes. I don't believe anyone should persue trying to hit a straight ball as a 'stock' shot, it should always contain an element of fade or draw as the alignment/swingpath dictates. By shaping the ball one way (ie, a draw) allows for a larger margin of error as you know the ball will either curve left or stay straight, it should never fade. With a mishit straight shot it could miss either way and having a 'miss both ways' is the best way to play crap

 

[JustOne]

I'd better add that the title of your thread is paramount... impact IS the key, distance and direction follow behind. If you look at any of the pros the one thing they ALL do well is HIT THE BALL, yes it misses the green, yes their tee shots find the rough but they all hit the ball WELL. If we could all focus on making a good swing with good contact and stop worrying too much about playing the perfect shot (or shape) then we'd all be better amateurs. The 1st thing you gotta take care of is hitting the ball with solid contact, that means mastering your swing (speed and balance) whilst maintaining the clubface within acceptable tolerances :thup:

 

[Foxholer]

I'd better add that the title of your thread is paramount... impact IS the key, distance and direction follow behind. If you look at any of the pros the one thing they ALL do well is HIT THE BALL, yes it misses the green, yes their tee shots find the rough but they all hit the ball WELL. If we could all focus on making a good swing with good contact and stop worrying too much about playing the perfect shot (or shape) then we'd all be better amateurs. The 1st thing you gotta take care of is hitting the ball with solid contact, that means mastering your swing (speed and balance) whilst maintaining the clubface within acceptable tolerances :thup:

Whole-heartedly agree. And it's rather less important HOW you do so.

BTW. Kid2. 'Divots' and 'after impact' are not terms I'd expect to see contiguously. 'Divots before impact' are to be seriously avoided!

 

[Stub]

As demonstrated by some tour pros e.g. Furyk and Gainay, the swing doesn't matter if you correct any faults before impact. It's just better to try and get a consistent swing as a one-off may be more liable to break down.

 

[kid2]

Whole-heartedly agree. And it's rather less important HOW you do so.

BTW. Kid2. 'Divots' and 'after impact' are not terms I'd expect to see contiguously. 'Divots before impact' are to be seriously avoided!

Im ok on that front foxy. Divots for me are usually starting at least 2 to 3in after the back of the ball.

 

[kid2]

I'd better add that the title of your thread is paramount... impact IS the key, distance and direction follow behind. If you look at any of the pros the one thing they ALL do well is HIT THE BALL, yes it misses the green, yes their tee shots find the rough but they all hit the ball WELL. If we could all focus on making a good swing with good contact and stop worrying too much about playing the perfect shot (or shape) then we'd all be better amateurs. The 1st thing you gotta take care of is hitting the ball with solid contact, that means mastering your swing (speed and balance) whilst maintaining the clubface within acceptable tolerances :thup:

That's ok so James. Important actually happy enough with how important hitting it and misses tend to be not too far away.
Pretty happy also to play a fade with the driver for now. At least i know the miss with that isn't as bad as a hook.