IN A GOLF SWING, THERE ARE three
major components that must be in line to hit the
ball consistently — the clubface, clubhead
and clubshaft. To determine if you need to work
on one of these components, you must understand
each one and how they all work together.
CLUBFACE
Controlling the clubface is extremely important
in hitting the ball consistently. The clubface,
to a large degree, is controlled by the grip. The
stronger the grip, the more the clubface will close.
The weaker the grip, the more the clubface will
open.
A strong grip is when the “V” you form
with your thumb and forefinger points toward your
right shoulder. A weak grip is where the “V”
points toward your chin. Most of the time, you should
have a grip where the “V” points somewhere
between the right ear and right shoulder.
A general rule of thumb is if your ball is curving
to the right, turn your grip to the right. Conversely,
if your ball is curving to the left, turn your grip
to the left.
The clubface is also controlled with the left hand.
The main purpose of the left hand in the swing is
to align the clubface at impact. If the left hand
arrives at impact in a turned position, where the
knuckles are facing the sky, the clubface will be
open. On the other hand, if the left hand is in
a rolled position, where the knuckles are facing
the ground, the clubface will be closed. Ideally,
the back of the left hand should be facing the target
at impact to produce a square clubface.
CLUBHEAD
The clubhead is important in the swing because you
must have clubhead lag in order to compress the
ball at impact. Clubhead lag is when the clubhead
trails the grip end all the way to impact and beyond
to the low point. This allows the clubhead to strike
down into impact, which is critical to consistent
ball striking.
Clubhead lag is felt through the bend of your
right wrist and in your trigger finger, which is
the first finger next to the thumb that supports
the right-hand side of the shaft as well as the
weight of the clubhead.
From the top of the swing, it is mandatory to maintain
the bend of the right wrist with clubhead lag all
the way down to impact and beyond to the low point.
If you lose clubhead lag on the downswing, “clubhead
throwaway” or “casting” occurs,
which results in poor impact alignments.
CLUBSHAFT
The goal of the clubshaft in the swing is to stay
on plane. Here is how you can tell if your clubshaft
is on plane. At all points in the swing, the clubshaft
should be either parallel to the target line or
pointing at the target line.
During the backswing, the clubshaft should be parallel
to the target line when it is parallel to the ground.
At the three-quarters position, the clubshaft should
be pointing to the target line. This is important
because if you are on plane during the backswing,
then it is easier to bring the clubshaft down on
plane.
On the way down, the clubshaft should once again
be parallel to the target line at the delivery position.
Of course, at impact the clubshaft is pointing at
the target line. This continues on to post impact
where the clubshaft picks up the target line again.
As you learn to control the clubface, clubhead
and clubshaft, you will get a better understanding
and appreciation for what your hands, arms and body
are doing in the swing. The hands are critical in
the performance of the clubface, with the left hand
having most of the responsibility, while the right
hand manages the lag of the clubhead. The movement
of the arms and body will be felt through the maintenance
of the clubshaft and its quest to stay on plane
during the swing.
With the correct clubface alignment, clubhead lag
and proper use of the plane with the clubshaft,
you will be well on your way to more consistent
ball striking.
