Club face at address

[Williamevanl]

In general do you guys error on having an *slight* open club face at address or a *slight* closed one? I know ideally you would want it to be square as possible but I recently bought into the whole aligning up left/square of the target and play a ever so slight open face with bit of push or just straight. I usually find the green 85% of the time from 135 and in with a lot more spin this way and I'm happy with that.

Unfortuntely it seems to have bled into my my mid 8-3 irons as well and I seem to be losing yardage all of a sudden. It seems silly to change the face position at address with each club but maybe thats wrong. Does anyone do this on routine shots?

On a side note, it seems like you could release your hands freely through the ball without worrying about a hook if you had the above mentioned face angle. I've read in stories that if you want to hit a draw you would try to roll you forearms together to the point of almost touching but for most golfers I think that would be 100% closed. This and other things have me straying away from a closed stance/strong grip/face slightly shut at impact, in hopes of becoming a better golfer in the long run. Thoughts?

Thanks.

[ks8829]

In my mind your thinking is advance and a bit complicated but I have tried to do the same thing but in my case to counter a draw. I also aim left and open the club face to take distance off a club, so most time you need to take one more club.

Ideal if you can work the ball both ways it will help you in the long run but play with what is natural for your swing and do not be afraid to try different swings and experiment. you can control your swing by the line you take your club back whether an inside or outside line also.

[RC]

Agree fully with ks8829. I usually want a square face, but when I feel a draw coming on that I don't want, I'll take an extra club and do what he does, aim left, slightly open, and try to hit a push cut -- hey, doesn't always work, but when it does, it is a very controlled shot. I do this a lot when I have a full wedge, and decide to hit a nine iron instead. This is because I have more success with changing club face alignment with short irons. With mid and long irons, I try to shape the shot more with alignment and body swing, with a square face.

[ks8829]

one of my new swing is to take the club back with my usual back swing and at impact and after impact to keep the club face square and stay square as long as I can towards the target, my wrist breaks but with a square face.

I hit this shot with all my clubs: wedges, mid, long irons, fairway and even driver for controlled shots.

[jorruss]

In general do you guys error on having an *slight* open club face at address or a *slight* closed one? I know ideally you would want it to be square as possible but I recently bought into the whole aligning up left/square of the target and play a ever so slight open face with bit of push or just straight. I usually find the green 85% of the time from 135 and in with a lot more spin this way and I'm happy with that.

I see most higher handicap golfers have an open face at address, and they compound the issue by aiming too far right to boot. Use an intermediate target to line up the clubface, like a stick or grass spot a few meters in from of the ball, then take your stance on parallel lines to your clubface alignment.

Another good way to feel a release is to think of pointing your left thumb (for righties) towards your target as fast as you can on the downswing. That's how I learned to hit a hook as a kid.