In the last post we discussed how the position of the clubface at impact is a determining influence on the flight of the ball. We also discussed that your grip has a direct influence on the clubface position at impact.

Today we will discuss swing path and it’s influence on ball flight. The rule is that the path the club follows determines where the ball will start out, the clubface will influence where it will end up. If you do not put yourself in the correct starting position, you will not have a chance to swing the club along the proper path. Much like your golf grip influences the clubface, your stance influences your swing path.

Over the many years of playing in pro-ams or just out playing with friends, I find that most golfers do not start the process of addressing the ball properly and therefore have to make some kind of (usually) awkward compensation in their swings to try to get the club to swing back to the ball on the proper path. Your first thought, when addressing the ball should be to aim the clubhead. If you aim the clubhead properly, aligning the rest of your body will be alot easier. If you set your feet first and then try to line up (aim) your shot you have a less then 5% chance of doing it correctly. This will explain the, not often enough, good shots. Once you have the clubface properly aligned you then can set your feet parallel to the target line.

Posture is also important to your setup. Not everyone is 6″ tall so there is not one posture perfect for all golfers. Tall players will stand closer to the ball in the setup than shorter players. How tall the golfer is will determine how far away from the ball the golfer should be in the setup. It is important that you bend slightly at the waist, giving your arms room to swing in front of your body. You want to flex your knees some as this will become more important as we progress through ball flight instruction in future posts.

I suggest you put your left hand grip first ( right handed golfers). When gripping the club the left hand is above the right hand. Because the left hand is above the right in your golf grip, there is a natural tendency to open your shoulders to the target line (point them to the left of target). Attempt to keep your shoulders parallel to your target line by lowering your right shoulder slightly. This will also move your head slightly behind ( to the right ) of the golf ball. Now your feet and shoulders are parallel to your intended target line and you will be able to swing the club on the proper path.

Now you should be in the proper position to swing the club along the proper path with a grip to return the club to a square position at impact. To experience the proper swing path, try this little exercise. Standing erect with both hands on the club, swing the club back around your body and the forward around your body the other way. In relation to the target line the club takes an inside path on the way back. On the way forward it approaches the imaginary ball from the inside, travels down the target line a short distance and the returns back to the inside. This is the correct swing path. It is easier to visualize in the exercise than when actually swinging at a golf ball.

I can’t stress how important it is that you practice your setup. It will not feel right at first and you have to learn to trust it. Practice your setup until it becomes automatic. If a really good player starts to play poorly it usually can be traced back to their setup.

I touch on only basics in these blog postings. I am working on a membership site on this blog, that if you join, you will be able to send me video of your swing for a critique. It will probably be 45 days before this is available. In the meantime I will continue to post free content for you to absorb. In the next post we will cover the 3rd influence on the fight of the golf ball, Angle. In the meantime.

Good Golfing,

Doug