How Swing Path Affects Compression

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Club path is which direction the club is moving through impact. A bad club path not only may be the cause of wayward ball flight, but it also results in a loss of power. This video tells you how swing path affects compression. Follow the advice and you'll see an improvement in both power and direction!

  • Clubhead Path Moving Toward Target For Most Compression
  • Learning How to Move Path to Right and Left Through Impact Will Improve Path Control


All right, the next critical phase to getting proper compression on the ball after we have some speed in.

There is our path.

Our path is huge in order to get the club to hit the ball properly.

And what so many amateur golfers do is as they start rotating from the top, from the right side, they throw the club out over the top and so the club starts working across the ball.

And so you start putting this slice spin on it and you start sliding the ball across the face.

Instead of getting a direct strike, we obviously want to get that direct strike, but I'm also that's pretty obvious.

But I'm going to show you a little secret that I use to get a little more boost out of it.

And so I have a tee drill here that I commonly use with my students, especially those who are coming from the in from over the top, and it's a visualization drill.

I have two tees straight down the target line, so these two tees represent where we want the ball to go, and these tees represent a visualization of the path.

Now, this is an exaggeration.

I don't want you to come this far from the inside, but this visualization gives you an idea that you want to start swinging more from this direction to let the club approach the ball from the inside.

Because this is the secret.

If you want to cheat a little bit and get a little more speed out of your driver than what it's legally allowed to do, totally legal to do this, of course, but what it does?

If the clubface is struck perfectly square on a clubface with a modern driver with a modern core, it can come off at Ratio So, in other words, if the club swung at 100 miles an hour, the ball is legally allowed to come off at 150 if if the ball comes off faster than that.

When it's shot out of a cannon, straight into a square clubface, then the clubface is illegal, and so it doesn't pass the core test and the USGA rules that club illegal.

Now again, the parameters for this test are a ball is shot out of a cannon at 100 miles an hour.

To a perfectly square clubface, which means the clubface.

Designers, the engineers that make these things.

Set it up in such a way that if the clubface is perfectly square, the ball will come off at 150 miles an hour.

But what they don't test is what if the clubface is slightly closed, in other words, de-lofting it while approaching on an inside path?

They don't test that, so what you can do is alter your path to be a little bit more from the inside.

As much as six or seven degrees, that's pretty extreme.

You're going to hit a pretty good draw doing that, but as you do that, this Degree driver, in order to be squared back up enough to bring the ball back around to the target, is now going to be degree driver which means if the ball if the clubface was tested on the core machine at a 7.

5 it would be way way too hot but at 10.

5 If it's true Loft, it's perfectly legal.

So the trick is you start creating a more in-to-out path with a positive angle of attack.

With a clubface that's slightly closed.

And that's how I get 1.

55 smash factor on my tee shots now I don't do this every time because like I said this is going to be a pretty decent draw depending on how much you come from the inside how close the clubface is but it's a great thing to have in your bag when you really want to murder one and get everything out of the ball that you can but it's also helpful for anybody who tends to swing a little bit over the top because this drill again it's exaggerated but it's helping you visualize coming more from the inside so one of a a couple techniques that I use is with my students I tell them that as once they turn their chest back to me if I'm standing behind them I want you to feel like you keep your chest pointing at me as long as humanly possible while you just shift your weight and turn your hips and keep your chest parallel to this line so you can see the little line of T's from the inside path as I'm coming down I don't want my chest to be parallel to these T's I want my chest to be parallel to these this allows me to feel the club working more from the inside which allows me to deal off the club a little bit more and start getting some more speed now of course the the trick to this is if you're just hucking the club with your right arm straight over the top any visualization drill is not going to help you've got to still work on the fundamentals of RST which is shifting your weight keeping your chest closed and turning your hips rather than turning your shoulders which is what you can see the first thing that's going to happen if I turn my shoulders the club's going to come straight over the top and work across the ball and create this weak slappy shot so if you want to start getting the most out of your driver or if you're just trying to stop coming over the top lay some T's out on the ground and this is another simple technique especially we have this new bag is that we have the ability to give you another simple little visual with the impact cube you can actually have this hang over and put it at an angle slightly at an angle like this because that will also force you to swing more into out if I swing over the top I'm going to whack the bag first so putting the T drill and the the impact cube here together I can put these two drills together and start getting myself to start learning to swing more from the inside and it's okay if you do this as an exaggeration it doesn't matter if you start whacking them way out to the right a little bit if you've been coming over the top and you start learning how to hit a draw all of a sudden it's not going to be a bad thing but the cool thing about these two drills is you can do this indoors all all winter long all summer long you can practice shifting keeping your chest parallel to these tees letting the club work back out and release and swing underneath the impact bag and you'll start getting a path that's going to allow you to compress the ball like never before just like that

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Gary
Not sure if this is the right place to post this question - hand path - can u please explain proper hand path backswing to downswing to follow through?? I don't see a video on this topic
February 22, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Most of the videos talking about plane and/or transition discuss the hands more or less drop straight down in the downswing. However, all of the movement should be mostly dictated by the body. A player shouldn’t worry about trying to create or manipulate a hand path. If the body works right all will be well. There is too much going on in the swing to try and rub your head and pat your belly at the same time.
February 23, 2019
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Frank
I’d still like to know about hand path! I’ve had many swing reviews and do not get any suggestions that help change hand path. At top of swing my hands drop straight down instead of out as shown by your model golfers. Love to hear discussion about hand path in down swing.
July 11, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Frank. We don't have much discussion of hand path in the downswing. As I was relating too Gary all of the movement should be mostly dictated by the body. If a player is worried about trying to create or manipulate a hand path they will end up like a dog chasing it's tail. There is too much going on in the swing to try and rub your head and pat your belly at the same time. Very hard to control what is going on in the periphery. The hands will feel as is they move vertically down in transition. Trying to guide the hands is why most players fail at creating a proper plane. Shifting weight, increase in axis tilt (secondary axis tilt) and gravity will move the hands to the proper positioning for you.
July 11, 2019
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Frank
Unfortunately, I developed a bad hand path habit long before rotary swing. Now I need to break the habit. I get in right positions per my reviewer and have a nice looking swing real close to the ideal except for my hand path following the top of the backswing. ( I drop hands down and back instead of slanting forward). I get onto the right swing plane but am a little stuck and club goes too vertical). Trying to figure out how to break the bad hand path habit.
July 13, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Frank. Glad to hear the swing is close to being in the proper spot. Do you tend to spin the body leaving the arms and hands deep? Or, do you make a proper sequence and tend to push them behind you?
July 13, 2019
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Frank
I do not spin if anything I need more hip turn. Yes, I tend to push behind and straight down. This causes shaft to go from good position to too vertical. My hands do not initially follow the swing line. They go from above the line straight down to the swing line and then follow the line.
August 13, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Frank. The hands will tend to seem like they fall more vertically down. Sadly, without seeing you swing it would be hard to diagnose the culprit, or proper drill for your ailment. I would take a look at the Frisbee Drill however because it may help get the arm/hand back in sequence with the body. Also, use the legs more.
August 13, 2019
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James
Is your stance a bit closed to target for this drill?
January 29, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. If you are setup for a max launch driver. You would need the slight setup adjustment.
January 29, 2019
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w
Thanks...very helpful as I did some of the drills today. Could you please point me to a video that best describes how not to "flip" the wrist as one is try to release and what is the proper wrist angle at contact for the irons and the drive. I have a suspicion that perhaps my wrist angle may be incorrect as I move the club toward the ball which makes me tend to scoop and often hit behind the ball. Thanks again.
December 2, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gerrie. Take a look at Flip vs Release to understand the difference. Also, Fix Your Release and 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release for wrist angles. The driver you will be catching at a different time in the swing which will necessitate it to not be as bowed like a normal iron strike. But, with a stock release you shouldn't have to think about it too much since the ball position will be different (Proper Tee Height Video).
December 3, 2017
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w
Ok, I get that the weight shift and torso rotation initiate the downswing. At the risk of being overly technical, how would you describe the feeling in the shoulders and arms as the weight shift/torso rotation is initiated. I've heard terms such as totally tension free, or using purely gravity, etc. but have found it difficult to implement and coordinate with a gradual rotation of the hips followed by the shoulders. It seems that there has to be some degree of tension in the arms as they are allowed to lower or fall as the torso and hips are rotating. How does one get muscle memory to this correct degree of "tension" if that's the right term? Is there a specific drill/video to help me develop that feeling in the arms and shoulders at the beginning of the downswing? Thank you!
November 30, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gerrie. I prefer Step 3 or the Frisbee Drill to help with the training of proper tension. Or, even Reshaping Your Swing for Lag. You do engaged and tension free enough to allow motion. There is a difference of being relaxed and allowing for gravity versus off. I think you are trying to turn off as Chuck describes in Re-Shaping.
December 1, 2017
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w
What is a good trigger for when you would want the shoulders to start to rotate at an accelerated speed. I have trouble staying "connected" and sometimes when I try to stay closed (shoulders) on the downswing, I feel like my arms and hands race out ahead of my shoulders and I usually loose lag in the process. Thanks
November 30, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gerrie. If you are having to spin the shoulders coming down something must be in error. If you are unwinding with the torso properly (Step 2). The shoulders if relaxed will have to start to get pulled through.
November 30, 2017
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Trevor
Hi team, I have the exact opposite problem I come too much path from the inside and the ball typically ends up left. My average Trackman path is around plus 5-10, whereas my face is somewhere between -2/+2. When I am at the plus 10 path i know I am standing up on the ball. In this situation I feel trapped, my shoulders are very closed at impact and my hands are being thrown at the ball. I am happy to be able to turn the ball from right to left (right handed golfer) but how do I control it?
October 12, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Trevor. Take a look at the Trace the Plane Line Video and the Chair Drill. A combination of the two will help with the standing up and zeroing out your path.
October 12, 2017
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Paul
Yes, Craig. This is the best way. I would love to be able to do this shot after shot. It would make live so much easier.
October 6, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. You can. Just have to get those movement patterns correct and ingrained.
October 6, 2017
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Paul
I shall keep trying Craig. I did also send you a email which I hope you get to read. My two sons are keen to improve their golf.
October 11, 2017
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gary
Could watch that swing all day!
October 5, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. You can! Self Analysis Tab .
October 5, 2017
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Stephen
Does this drill work as effectively for iron play as it does with the driver? RST has helped/is helping! me immensely with my golf swing but I still suffer from getting very little compression with my irons. I am submitting swing reviews which is helping with backswing (stacking my right side) but also looking for a drill to help me get a more consistent strike with my irons.
October 4, 2017
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Chuck
The compression affect is the same with the irons but it sounds like we need to dive deeper on why you're not compressing your irons properly. Had you submitted video for a swing review?
October 4, 2017
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Stephen
Hi Chuck, have just this minute submitted a new swing review. Look forward to either yours or Chris's comments...
October 11, 2017
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Stephen
Hi Chuck, yes I have although not for a few months. I am due to submit another this month...
October 4, 2017
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Lars
I have been absorbing your material for quite some time now, and it has helped me to get my handicap down to 9 from 17 in two years. It really takes a while to make your body move the way you want it, but I am getting there. There is a lot of truth in this video, as holding back the shoulder movement (and teeing up a little higher) is exactly what I hold responsible for a driving consistency over the last weeks that I thought I would never be capable of. Before that, some drives would go straight or even leak right even so I planned and set myself up for a draw. Just because the shoulders would fire too early and rather face slightly left at impact. Not only does it give better consistency, but also more distance! Suddenly I can reach the green of every par 4 of my course with the second shot, which is a great, great feeling. What I would like to learn next is how to fine tune my drives from slight draw to straight and slight fade.
October 1, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lars. Fantastic. Happy to hear the good news. Take a look at the 9 Days to Amazing Ball Striking Section to start understanding ball curvature and shot shaping.
October 1, 2017
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Paul
HI Chuck, Craig, Great video and will work on this in my practice sessions. One question - I notice that Chuck rotates his head behind the ball during his takeaway and backswing, it looks like he is looking about a foot behind the ball, is this the camera angle or something we could incorporate into our swings to encourage an inside path?
September 20, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. Chuck's neck is fused in C1 and C2. The movement is not necessary.
September 21, 2017

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