Path & Face

We are
 going to keep it simple and just give you some understanding of what is Path 
and Face. This is terminology you will come across regularly on You Tube or in
coaching sessions, but there is still much confusion over what exactly they 
mean.

The path is referring to the swing path of the club and describes the direction
the club is moving through impact relative to the target. “In to out” will be
moving the centre of the club away from the golfer during impact and “Out to
In” will be moving it closer (see diagram). When using launch monitors a
number with a + or R next to it will be swinging to the right at impact and vice
versa. This is usually measured in degrees. So “In to Out”, “from the inside”
“To the right” or a “positive” path or all referring to exactly the same thing!!
Sounds confusing but it really isn’t….

The face alignment is how the front edge of the club is positioned at impact
relative to the target. For a right hander a closed clubface will be pointing left
of target and open pointing to the right.

An understanding of your swing path and where your clubface is pointing at
impact will help understand why/how your ball curves as it does in flight as the
two interact together. Good players usually have good control of the clubface
and an awareness of where and how it’s delivered at impact. Keep developing
these skills and reach out to me if you would like some more info.
Thanks for reading, next week we are going to look at short game decisions
and how it can really improve your game.