Open or shut face

[rothkin]

Over my years of obsession of this great game, I have received many swing tips that have benefited me greatly and propelled me to shoot some great scores. However, I have recently been put in a dilemma with too much swing advice. An open face with a neutral grip or a closed face with a stronger left hand grip. I have been off and on trying both swings and receive success in both swings. An open faced swing for me promotes a tiny cut with high ball flight and distances around 130 for my pitching wedge. However, with a close face I can hit my pitching wedge up to 160 but my ball flight is a little lower, not much, than an open faced. Both are fairly consistent as I work with both, but with the closed face I get the occasional hook when I am not careful. So please, tell me what you think and if you have tried both swings, tell me what swing you decided on and why. Was it for distance or accuracy?

[shortstop20]

I know I would pick the slight cut shot because for me it's far more controllable vs. a draw which seems it can turn into a nasty hook easier. Not to mention even if you do end up cutting it a little too much, the slice spin will reduce rollout and keep you out of trouble more than a hook will(all depending on the situation/enviroment though).

Right now I am fighting a big draw/hook with my irons and I HATE IT!

[BirdIsTheWord]

It seems everytime I hear a piece of advice, I can draw from memory hearing the complete opposite. While not all of it is bad, not all of it is meant for you personally. If you incorporated every tip you ever heard, you would literally be doing 100 different things . Many of them opposites, and that's impossible. It always comes back to instincts and tendancies. Millions of years of evolution. You can't out run yourself.

Having extra shots in your bag is never a bad thing. That is the whole game, actually. Your post sounds like the cut shot versus the stinger. You need them both out there. Naturally, you're going to lose distance w/ the cut, and gain w/ the stinger. If you found neutral, you'd probably have a yardage in the middle.......you sure your a 2? this is Golf-101 kinda stuff...;^). LOL j/k.....