Hitting the range and practicing your swing aren’t the only ways that you can improve your golf game. Growing your knowledge of the game will help you expand your understanding of so much in the golf game. Not only that, but it can help you improve by targeting issues in your game and fixing the problem. To start we will be talking about flight paths of the golf ball and the two key factors that come to affect how the ball flies.
The two most important elements that affect the golf ball at impact are the golf clubs angle and the golf clubs flight path. The golf club angle, also known as angle of attack, refers to the angle of which the clubhead approaches the golf ball during impact. Usually the club head angle is referred to as straight, open, or closed. They are pretty self explanatory but for open your club face is going to be away from you. For a closed club face it will be angled more towards you. The golf club path is the direction of which the clubhead is moving through the ball at the impact.
Below you can find a basic image with the types of flight paths you will see when making contact with the ball.
As you see above there are quite a bit of ways that the ball can move coming off the club. Most golfers struggle with one type of ball movement and understanding how that happens is important. The main flight paths you should know about are the: Pull Hook, Pull, Hook, Fade, Straight, Draw, Slice, Push, and the Push Slice shot.
Now here comes the most important part, how the club path and angle play a part in where the ball goes. Below you can find a quick image of how the clubs flight path and clubs flight angle combined play a part in which of the flight paths your ball takes.
Let’s go through these one by one. I will be explaining each one for a right handed golfer.
A. Slice: The slice shot starts straight but curves sharply to the right. This is caused by a club path that is outside-to-in combined with a straight club-face. The resulting shot usually travels right of your target.
B. Pull: The pull shot starts left of the target and continues straight on that path. This is usually caused by a closed club face at impact and club path that is outside-to-in lining up with your club face angle. The result is a straight shot that misses the target to the left.
C. Pull Hook: The pull hook starts left of your target and then proceeds to curve sharply to the left. This shot is usually caused by a club path that is straight to slightly outside-to-in combined with a club face that is closed.
D. Straight Shot: The straight shot is the ideal path for most drives. A straight shot is achieved when the club path and club face are straight when coming into impact with the ball. This will result in a beautiful straight shot.
E. Draw: The draw shot starts to the right of the target and gently curves back to the left. The draw is caused by the club path coming inside-to-out and a club-face that is slightly open. The draw, along with the fade, are great shots to have on your belt to help navigate obstacles.
F. Fade: The fade shot starts to the left of the target as it slowly curves back to the right towards the target. The fade is achieved by a club path that is outside-to-in and a slightly closed club-face. The fade, along with the draw, are both great shots to get perfected?
G. Hook: The hook shot starts straight but curves sharply to the left the further it goes. This is caused by a club path that is inside-to-out combined with a straight/ slightly closed club-face at impact.
H. Push: The push shot starts to the right of the target and continues straight in that path. This is caused by a club path that is inside-to-out and an open club-face at impact. It results in a straight shot that misses your target to the right.
I. Push Slice: The push slice starts right of the target and then curves even further to the right. This is caused by a club path that is straight combined with a severely open club-face at impact. The result is a shot that misses your target way to the right.
As you can see the Combination of these two factors bring on many variations in ball flight paths. Understanding how these two factors work together can help you identify and correct common ball flight issues. In conclusion, the club angle & club path are crucial elements in determining the flight path of a golf ball and understanding them can make you a more consistent golfer.