If you (as a righty) have ever tried to adjust a putt by swinging more to the right, you’ve experienced how confusing ball flight can be. You make what seems like a reasonable adjustment and the ball bends even more. Most golfers have the relationship between face angle and backswing path. Once you understand this, you’ll be able to diagnose and fix your ball flight problems without needing an instructor every time.
The big misunderstanding
Most golfers believe that swing path determines where the ball goes. Clipping means swinging too far to the left; pinning means swinging too far to the right. It seems logical, but that’s not how ball flight works.
Face angle is responsible for about 75 to 85 percent of where the ball launches. The ball starts approximately where the face points to the shot and then turns based on the relationship between the angle of the face and the path. If the face is open in relation to your path, the ball bends straight. If it is closed in relation to your road, it turns left. This single concept explains every ball flight you hit
Why this matters to your part
Most cutters have an open face to the target at impact, say, five degrees to the right. Their way could be good, only two degrees left. But the face is seven degrees open to the fairway, so the ball starts right and turns more right. The cutter sees this and aims left, which causes them to move even more left. Now the face is even more open compared to the path and the slice gets worse. It is a vicious circle based on misunderstanding the real problem.
If you are a cutter, your first priority is not to fix your swing path. It’s to close your club face. Once your face is closer to square, then you can worry about the path.
Gurpi is the opposite problem
Hookers have a closed face to the target, often with a far right path. The ball starts left and turns more left because the face is closed relative to the path. The fix? Take your path more to the left so it matches the angle of your face better.
How to use this information in the course
Face-to-face understanding gives you a superpower: real-time diagnosis. The shot starts straight and turns right? The face was open to both the target and the road. Close the face or swing more to the right.
The shot starts left and turns right? The face was closed to the target, but open to the path. This is excessive movement. Fix the path first.
The shot starts right and turns left? The face was open to the target, but closed to the path. This is common among top players who take their way too far inside-out.
Discovering the range of practice
Swing 10 degrees right with face on target. The ball starts at the target and turns left. Swing at the target with your face 10 degrees to the right. The ball starts right and turns more right: same face angle, completely different flight, all because of the path.
What this means for your driver
The driver is where this matters most. The ball takes longer to turn and is the most difficult club to swing consistently.
If you chip your driver, feel like you’re closing the face aggressively through the stroke. This will feel extreme, but you’re probably just turning your face on the square. You may also need to strengthen your grip, which locks the face at impact without manipulation during the swing.
If you hook up your driver, loosen the grip a bit and feel like you’re keeping your face more open, or let your drive more match your closed face.
The numbers you need to know
In one launch monitorface angle (the direction of the clubface at impact) and path (the direction of the club at impact), both relative to your target line. The difference between them defines the curve.
For a fair shot, you want the face and fairway to match. Most good players have a slightly inside-out path (two to four degrees to the right) with a face that is slightly open to the target but closed to the fairway (one to two degrees to the right). This produces a baby pull that starts right at the target and returns to it.
Stop fighting the wrong battle
Many golfers work endlessly on the swing path when face angle is the real problem or try to manipulate the face when their path is so far that no amount of face control will help.
Sort the face first. Once you can consistently deliver the face square to your target and then improve your path to produce the ball flight you desire. This is the correct order and is the opposite of what most players do.
The angle of the face is king. The path is critical, but secondary. Get this relationship right in your mind and you’ll get better faster than you thought.
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