Instruction
3 keys you need to understand about impact to play better golf
Impact is the point where the golf ball is programmed by your swing to fly high or low, with curvature or dead straight. Most golfers don’t understand exactly how the relationship between the club head and the golf ball at impact determines how your golf ball flies in the air, however, so in this article I will dissect what happens at the moment of impact. After reading this, hopefully you will have a better idea of what the true goal of a golf swing is, and how you can produce greater consistency in your game.
Here are 3 keys you need to understand about impact to play better golf.
1. Your address position and impact position are NOT the same
It always amazes me how many golf magazine articles say something like, “See how the impact position mirrors the address position.” This is simply not the case.
A Tour Professional’s body at address has certain fundamental characteristics that we all know: a semi-bent left wrist, a flat right wrist, an almost perpendicular angle of their shaft to the ground, shoulders and hips that are somewhat square, and a spine that is tilted a touch to the right of center, as well as forward from the hips.
But at the impact position, all these characteristics change. The only thing that stays the same is the golf ball; it’s still sitting on the tee or on the ground. If you’re trying to re-create your address position at impact, you’re more than likely “quitting” on the shot, which will cause you to lose lag, distance, and consistency every time.
2. The Difference Between Impact and Golf Ball “Separation”
Impact is the point where the club first touches the ball. It’s during this time that the ball briefly adheres to the club face — for about 0.75 inches — as the clubhead moves in its orbit through impact. “Separation” occurs very rapidly after this.
Separation is the point when the ball rebounds off the clubface, and it’s here that the ball is programmed how to react during its flight. Most players believe you must impact the ball with a square clubface, and hit the back of the ball while the clubhead moves down your intended target line. That’s not the case. We now understand that doing so is incorrect, and will produce inadequate impact alignments. My last key will explain what’s truly important about impact: face-to-path differences.
3. Face-to-Path Differences Controls Curvature
Thanks to Trackman, we now understand why a golf ball flies the way it does. Assuming you hit the center of the club face, shot curvature is created by the difference between the club face and the club path at impact, and is highly influenced by changes in spin loft. The bigger the difference between the face-to-path ratio, the more the ball will want to curve.
As we reduce loft, and thus decrease spin loft, the ball will curve even more. This is why you can have the same face-to-path ratio with a sand wedge and a driver, and the wedge shot will hit the green while the driver shot will finish in the trees. So the key to controlling your golf ball is to:
- Make sure you’re contact shots on the center of the club face (Learn more)
- Manage the differences between your face-to-path (Learn more)
You should now have a better idea of what happens during impact. From there, it will be easier for you to envision what your teaching professional wants you to accomplish, and why.
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Instruction
Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!
Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
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Instruction
How a towel can fix your golf swing
This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.
For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.
Setup
You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.
While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.
Get a Better Shoulder Turn
Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.
In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.
Stay Better Connected in the Backswing
When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.
Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.
Conclusion
I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.
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Instruction
Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks
You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!
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John Chapman
Jul 25, 2016 at 7:32 am
Why is everyone so happy to just accept the idea of, ‘Assuming you hit the center of the club face’?
The impact location has a huge affect on how the golf ball will fly, without measuring strike you might as well ignore the rest of the club parameters, is there not a technology that measures everything including Impact Location?
RI_Redneck
Jul 22, 2016 at 11:15 pm
I agree that address position and impact position are VERY RARELY the same. However, there is a definite relationship between the two. Otherwise, we wouldn’t see master golfers being so meticulous in their address setup. For instance, I typically aim the clubface as close as possible to my intended starting line and have trained myself to return it to that same alignment (as long as I can keep my dominate right hand in a semi passive state). Had I learned to swing left handed like Phil, it may very well have been quite beneficial to my game.
BT
Dennis Clark
Jul 21, 2016 at 4:58 pm
spot on pro..
ron
Jul 21, 2016 at 4:51 pm
What are your thoughts on the DST theory of pre-setting the impact position by having the club and shaft in one straight line at address with the driver?
larrybud
Jul 21, 2016 at 2:22 pm
Tom, re: separation… how much does it really matter? 3/4″ on the arc is what, MAYBE 1/2 degree in face angle and path?
Ian
Jul 21, 2016 at 2:18 pm
What path-to-face ratio do you need for a straight ball flight?
larrybud
Jul 21, 2016 at 2:20 pm
Depends on your angle of attack, aka the “D Plane”. Take a look at Martin Chuck’s video:
http://blog.trackmangolf.com/hit-perfect-straight-shot/
Craig
Jul 21, 2016 at 1:12 pm
Nice article Tom. I wish you were back in Utah, I’d come see you for a lesson. I don’t get to where you are much…:)
WTF
Jul 21, 2016 at 12:38 pm
“Most players believe you must impact the ball with a square clubface, and hit the back of the ball while the clubhead moves down your intended target line. That’s not the case. We now understand that doing so is incorrect,…”
Really!? So you are NOT supposed to hit the ball with a square face down your intended target line? If not, then what are you supposed to do? I also don’t see how you can even explain hitting the ball anywhere but the back of the ball…Where are you supposed to hit it, the front, right side, left side, on top or below?
Other than that, nothing new in ground breaking moment of impact analysis. Only thing that you really explained well was how the side spin is impacted more by the difference between the face angle and swing path than anything else. That easily explains why a closed face with an over the top swing produces pull hooks, snap hooks, or just a pull.
larrybud
Jul 21, 2016 at 2:21 pm
Read the Trackman “fundamentals”. If I swing 4 degrees left with approx 4 degrees down with a face square to the target, the ball will generally go straight.
Snoopy
Jul 22, 2016 at 3:44 pm
I think his explanation just came out wrong. If the club is moving straight and the face is square, the ball obviously goes straight. But if you make it your “goal” to swing straight like that, you might not get very far because we naturally swing the club in an arc, so things aren’t aligned for long periods of time. Plus, if you keep trying for a perfectly square impact, you might get a two way miss since if you’re “early” or “late”, the club might end up both open and closed. I think his point was that if you consistently attack from one side of the ball (inside or outside), you’ll get a consistent curve direction, which you can then iron out into a pretty straight shot.