Did you know you can make a “perfect swing” – one that has the correct path and face angle at impact that should produce a straight shot but look up to see the ball curving off-line into the junk? This baffling aspect of the game is caused by missing the center of the face of the club either horizontally and/or vertically. This is one of the most important things people overlook when practicing their swing at the range and can be the root of all kinds of misapplications of time. When you hit the ball off-center it can lead to inconsistent curvature as well as a loss in distance due to the launch and spin conditions imparted to the ball when you miss the center of the face.
So, the next time you are practicing, and you feel like you are making better swings, but the ball isn’t behaving the way it should then it’s time to break out the secret weapon. The best way to “see” where you hit the ball is to spray the face of the club with Dr. Scholl’s Foot Powder. This powder will adhere to the club and leave a mark when you hit the ball, and this will help you to audit the centeredness of your contact. Don’t worry, it will come off easily with a towel so you can reapply and test your swing again.
Once you spray the face and hit a ball or two, this is what you will see. The marks on the face will help you to understand where you are impacting the ball and how you need to adjust in order to find the center of the face again. The best result is to try and hit the driver in the high center of the face just above the equator of the driver for the best results. This will cause you to launch the ball higher with less spin so the ball has the proper apex and landing angle into the fairway so you will also have some roll-out. Missing the face by even a little bit can cause major contraindications within your ball’s flight.
Impacting the ball on the toe of the club will exaggerate draws and negate the effects of a fade. While impacting the ball on the heel of the club will exacerbate fades and reduce hooks. Hitting the ball higher on the face will give you higher launch conditions and less spin and hitting the ball low on the face will cause lower launch and higher spin. The key is to manage the impact condition both horizontally and vertically so you can better predict the curvature of the golf ball, as well as understand why the ball is launching the way it is at that time.
If you are missing the center of the face horizontally then you need to focus on these keys:
If you hit the ball on the toe of the club, it usually means you are moving around too much when you swing, or your swing path is out to in. The fix here is to focus on staying stable back and through so you can find the face of the club and/or monitor your swing path. Whenever it is out to into the extreme you can hit the ball out on the toe much easier.
When you hit the ball on the heel it is usually caused by a swing path that is too in to out or you are falling forward into your toes on the downswing. Once again balance is key if you want to stop hitting the heel of the club as well as focusing on your swing’s path.
If vertical impact is the issue, then try adjusting the tee height either higher or lower at address and you might find that you can better control the height of your vertical impact.
Take your time and have some fun with the foot spray drill. You will be amazed at how easy it is to miss the center of the face when you have no impact focus, but how easy it is to find the center of the face when you have the awareness of what you are trying to do.
Happy Golfing!
