Help getting my clubface back to square

**Andy_Mac** · June 16, 2008

I have recently moved away from a weird strong grip that I had somehow developed and went more neutral. My hands arent quite as torn up after a round but my ball striking has never been worse. My short irons are going off at a dead push right and my long irons and driver are either pushing or push-slicing. If I try to hard to rectify this I am getting a nasty duck hook.

I am guessing that most of my troubles are due to an open face at impact with an inside out swing path (except for the push/slice... I can feel the outside-in on those). No matter how hard I try I can get the club face back to square. What drills can I try to resolve this?

**Avid Golfer** · June 16, 2008

I have recently moved away from a weird strong grip that I had somehow developed and went more neutral. My hands arent quite as torn up after a round but my ball striking has never been worse. My short irons are going off at a dead push right and my long irons and driver are either pushing or push-slicing. If I try to hard to rectify this I am getting a nasty duck hook.

While its not an absolute without seeing your setup and swing I would suspect the following:

Many players who (have/do) play with a strong grip also tend to try to clear the body quickly and drastically (in order to have the hands and club reach impact square). If you have changed your grip, but not your body motion then you may now be having your arms get stuck trailing the body (blocked). If your body slows down nearing impact then your arms may flip over, shut the face, and cause your duck hook. If the body continues to outrace and block the hands and arms near impact then the club face may remain open and result in the block and slice shots. You probably had the same blocked arms with your strong grip, but then because of the strong grip the club face was arriving square at impact instead of open. I suspect your swing path is far less of a factor then you are giving it credit. The chances you are making an in-to-out swing one moment and then the complete opposite the next are unlikely. Thats my thoughts (without seeing your swing).

**DavidFehertysBike** · June 16, 2008

I dunno, i could be a little decontructive here, but ive found that attempting to steer clubface sqaure at impact is pointless. You're talking about milliseconds here. You set the clubface properly for impact at address and during the backswing. I dont worry about the face once i take the club back. Whatever happens, happens.

**tm22721** · June 17, 2008

The best drill I have found for engraining the feel of a square clubhead is to practice the impact position. Get an impact bag and practice getting to the 'reverse K' that the tour pros all achieve. Make sure that your hands are ahead of the clubhead, shoulders square, clubhead square and hips 45 degrees open.

I have seen Annika Sorenstam use this drill during a tournament using her caddie's braced foot as the impact bag.

I don't have a caddie but I still use this drill as my practice swing before every shot on the course.

**lolzzlolzz** · June 17, 2008

I dunno, i could be a little decontructive here, but ive found that attempting to steer clubface sqaure at impact is pointless. You're talking about milliseconds here. You set the clubface properly for impact at address and during the backswing. I dont worry about the face once i take the club back. Whatever happens, happens.

That's the way there. You can't have a swing that relies on conscious hand action, that is impossible. On the downswing I think of two things: starting my hips then hitting the ball with my arms and shoulders. I don't worry about how the club face hits the ball because that was all decided at address and with the waggle.

You need to be sure of your grip, stance and posture, and waggle. Have these three and you can forget about the rest of your swing. The reason for this is: -The waggle will determine your back swing and downswing. It will also determine how the club face meets the ball. -A correct grip activates the correct muscles in your arms. -A correct stance and posture activates the correct muscles that run along the inside of the legs, core, and chest.

**Packerfan** · June 21, 2008

I would suggest slowing your swing down a bit. For me I have found that this can help me correct my mistakes. Once I have figured them out, then I swing a little faster and eventually back to normal.

**fusioncal** · June 21, 2008

I have recently moved away from a weird strong grip that I had somehow developed and went more neutral. My hands arent quite as torn up after a round but my ball striking has never been worse. My short irons are going off at a dead push right and my long irons and driver are either pushing or push-slicing. If I try to hard to rectify this I am getting a nasty duck hook.

I have a friend who exactly has the same problem as yours. At address, the back of his hand faces almost the same direction as his head. Regardless, he hit the balls high and mostly straight with that grip.

I told him that he's showing too many knuckles and he needs more neutral grip. He was willing to listen and literally change his grip to neutral, a little change but the result was catastrophic. He was barely able to hit balls, let alone straight. They're all push or push-slice. His timing and rhythm were all messed up. I knew he had to change the way his swing for that minor change and it's gonna take a whole lot work and time. So I said to him that his previous grip produced much better result than what I think is "right." "If it's not broken, why fix it?" Now, the question is why do you need the change? Edit: One thing I noticed from my friend is, he didn't roll his hand and I believe that's the reason of those push and push-slices when he changed to neutral grip. But if it were strong grip, the clubface would be actually squared at impact. Go ahead try with your old grip, swing and then immediately stop before impact. Take a look at where your club head is facing.

**Andy_Mac** · June 23, 2008

thanks for the replies, everyone. Fusion, im making the change basically because I had a very strange grip that was hurting my left hand something aweful...even with a glove.

Ive made a few strides and my shots have straightened out quite a bit. Ive made makeshift impact out of an old duffle bag and found out I was all out of whack when clubface met the impact point....

**sonicblue** · June 23, 2008

I've been working on this as well, and I'll let you know what I've found. The notion that your hands "roll over" and through square is wrong. I think I had been trying to do that, but that often leads you to feeling like there's only a split second where the club is square. That is, it's open, it's open, it's open......it's square......it closes, it closes, etc... The club opens and closes as the body turns. The hands/wrists only have two positions: hinged and released.

There's an old adage that says, "don't hit AT the ball, hit THROUGH it." I think that's partly true but partly misleading. I think better stated is, "the hands hit AT the ball, but the body carries them THROUGH the ball."

You want to delay the release of your wrist cock as long as possible. In that sense, there is the notion that you hands wait and wait and wait, then......BAM. They release, and when they do, they release TO square, they don't approach, close down to, hit square and then roll over past square. They just go TO square. It is your torso and shoulder turn that then carries the clubhead through the impact zone.

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Help getting my clubface back to square

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