Still having a bitch of a time getting my club face closed at impact

[SoundandFury]

There's been a thread re whether the release is automatic or not, so I won't go into that.  However, I've been working on this for a month now, and (particularly with the driver) I'm having a hell of a time consistently squaring my clubface through impact. My miss is right/right, which I'm pretty sure means in to out path with open club face at impact.  When I do hammer it down the middle, I feel as if I'm trying very hard to hook the ball, i.e., rolling the crap out of my wrists through impact. It manifests itself a bit with my irons as well, but a lot less often and when it does happen I instantly i've made a lazy swing.

Driving accuracy is a little less than 50%, so I'd like a little more consistency.  Any advice?

[mgd150]

Right/Right would mean face angle open relative to swing path I believe. So open face with an out to in swing? Someone smart please correct me if I'm wrong.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

You're correct. If his miss is right/right, his swing is out to in (over the top).

[SoundandFury]

Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf

You're correct. If his miss is right/right, his swing is out to in (over the top).

Wouldn't that cause a pull slice, i.e., ball starts left of the target and slices back right? there's a ball flight chart on here somewhere that i swear backs me up...

[Kieran123]

If it start right and goes right - your clubface is open to the swing path

Try a stronger grip ( rotated away form target ) which theoretically allows them to turn over easier

http://www.andrewricegolf.com/2009/07/golf-grip-strong-neutral-or-weak/

[Mulligan Jeff]

I'm all for modeling a winning swing, every month Golf Digest highlights the swing sequence of a PGA Touring Pro and although every swing is different they all reach the impact zone perfect. Their backswing appears to be more upright than their downswing. A part of the swing that is uncanny to me is when their hands reach waist high on the downswing and the clubhead is pointing to the sky. That's something that I'd like to emulate.

[14ledo81]

A ball that starts right and moves right could be any one of the following: 1) In to out swing with a face right of the path. 2) Square swing with a face right of the path 3) Out to in swing with face right of the path Any of these could produce a push fade for a right handed golfer. The only thing you know for sure is your face is pointing to the right of the target at impact.

[SoundandFury]

Yup. And I'm pretty certain I'm not coming over the top. When I do get the face closed with a proper release, I get a pretty straight ball flight with a small touch of draw. I've worked a lot on being able to work the ball right or left for the past couple months, so I'm pretty aware of my swing path. Strengthening the grip sounds like a good idea, and it seems its recommended when the miss is a push slice. Anyone else agree/disagree?

[mark83]

I just had this exact sane thing with my driver. My swing coach showed me how to properly control my downswings during transition as well as release with the club face set for draw, fade, or straight. This had been a mystery to me for quite some time. Everyone says the release just happens and that's true for people that already know. About to get dinner but ill post later.

[rubch]

I have the opposite problem from time to time.

Usually, it's because when I take my grip, my shoulders or wrists are tense (even a little bit). When I then relax both, the club face will close. I just need to make sure that the club face is square when I relax my shoulders and wrists.

Perhaps, you have the opposite. After taking your grip, relax your shoulders and wrists and see what happens with the club face. If it opens, then you know that you're artificially and temporarily squaring the face at address, only to open it back up on the downswing.

[SoundandFury]

I just had this exact sane thing with my driver. My swing coach showed me how to properly control my downswings during transition as well as release with the club face set for draw, fade, or straight. This had been a mystery to me for quite some time. Everyone says the release just happens and that's true for people that already know. About to get dinner but ill post later.

Cool. Looking forward to it.

[SoundandFury]

I have the opposite problem from time to time. Usually, it's because when I take my grip, my shoulders or wrists are tense (even a little bit). When I then relax both, the club face will close. I just need to make sure that the club face is square when I relax my shoulders and wrists. Perhaps, you have the opposite. After taking your grip, relax your shoulders and wrists and see what happens with the club face. If it opens, then you know that you're artificially and temporarily squaring the face at address, only to open it back up on the downswing.

I think that might be part of it. However, the last time I took a lesson and looked at video of my swing, it was pretty clear I was really holding the face open through impact, enough so that it was making me chicken wing in the follow through. I've been doing a lot of L to L drills work on letting the club release, which has helped a shitload with my long irons. Just can't seem to get the feel with the driver.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

Wouldn't that cause a pull slice, i.e., ball starts left of the target and slices back right? there's a ball flight chart on here somewhere that i swear backs me up...

No. The ball is going to start in the direction your club face is facing (right) and continue to slice (right) bc of your over the top swing. However, it is completely possible to be missing right/right with an in to out swing, but your club face is going to need to be even more open. As one of the above posters stated...as long as your club face is more open than your path, you will fade or slice.

[PirateJim]

Push/slices with the driver are one if my issues that aren't fully resolved (sadly there are quite a few of those issues).  But for what it is worth, I have been finding that I tend to do this when I let the ball slip a bit too far back in my stance at setup.  When I move it back out toward the left toe the club seems to have a little more time to come square.  This, of course, may not be your issue at all, but looking to the simple stuff is always a good place to start troubleshooting, and ball placement at setup is easy to get a little lazy about.

[EverythingGolf]

Most of the time if the ball is starting right and going right it is an in-square-in path with an open face, if you strengthen your grip it should get the face more square.

[WUTiger]

To eliminate frustration, do a static alignment check.

Find some square floor tiles in your house. Line up the clubface square to a tile line. Does the clubface square on the tile blocks look square to you? Or, does it look closed or open?

I always do this when I switch out clubs. Everyone's eyes see things a little different. Make sure you know what "true square" looks like.

That's one of the reasons I favor Callaway clubs, and Cleveland wedges: They seem to fit my eye. What I see is what I get.

[dak4n6]

In addition to the good input so far, I would add, watch your tempo. Nothing throws off plane and path and face control (and just about everything else) like a quick twitchy swing with no transition.

[CR McDivot]

On the driver...

Try moving the ball an inch or two forward in your stance, while keeping the low point of your swing centered. This will cause the path to pass from in/out to square or out/in and strike the ball on the upstroke with a less open face.

Keep playing with the ball position, tee height, and spine tilt and you will likely soon find the combination that closes the face in relation to the path, and produces the best launch angle.