How Face Angle Affects Compression

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Opening or closing your club face through impact influences how solidly you'll strike the shot. In this video, I'll show you how club face angle affects compression. You'll find out how to transfer the maximum amount of energy to the ball.

  1. Square Face to Path Gives Maximum Compression
  2. Open Face in Relation to Path Will Cause Fade
  3. Closed Face in Relation to Path Will Cause Draw


So now that we've got some speed and we've got a proper path coming to the ball, let's get that face angle going where we want.

Face angle is one of the most important determining factors on how well you're going to compress the ball, and, of course, what direction the ball is going to fly when you hit it.

My favorite drill on the planet is the simplest drill in the world to teach you how to control the club face angle.

And it forms the basis for the five minutes, the perfect release drill.

And so that video, if you, if you remember, you're going halfway back, stopping.

And you start hitting these little tiny little check shots, and you start checking the position of your wrist and clubface angle.

So as I'm doing this I should see that clubface is dead square every time.

The whole key to this drill is to start training your brain what it feels like to be in a proper impact position with the clubface, angle, wrist, shoulders and hips.

Hips are going to be slightly open, weights going to be to the left, wrist is going to be flat, clubface is going to be square.

If you're not used to this, you have no idea, and you're used to coming through like this, like so many golfers are, This drill will all of a sudden help you feel what it's like to have a properly square clubface angle.

And when you do this drill the ball should fly really really low.

It's not going to really even get off the ground and you're just going to hold the clubface angle, make sure it's square.

Then, from there, we go the next piece of the five minutes perfect release video, we add the release.

And that's more important to see from up the line, because there we want to see the clubface is towed up or slightly towed in.

The greatest myth and fallacy that's constantly perpetuated on TV is when golf and analysts say, Oh, he holds the clubface square to the target longer than anybody in the game.

Nobody does that.

It costs you so much speed if you were to take that clubface and hold it square to the target.

Every single tour pro on the planet releases the toe of the club every single one.

The clubface is doing this through the hitting area every single time.

That's worth seven to eight miles an hour clubhead speed for free.

Nobody can afford to give up eight miles an hour clubhead speed.

You have to allow the toe of the club to release.

So go back and take a good look at that five minutes the perfect release video.

But then what I want you to do is take the impact cube, and I want you to do a couple things and this is another.

I love drills that I can have you guys do indoors.

These are the best, and this is another one to where we can take a club, a ball and stick it right in front of the impact cube.

And actually start working on this drill inside, still hitting balls, because I know for many of you, as a winter comes along, you know you can't get out hitting balls, but this drill allows you to still hit balls.

And get your eyes comfortable.

With that little white devil in the way, right.

So for so many of us it just causes us so many mind tricks.

So this drill allows you to start training the impact position, checking your impact position, because the impact bag is going to stop it.

So I'm going to turn this face on so you can see what I have set up here.

The ball is just a couple inches behind the bag, it doesn't really matter going halfway back and stopping.

As the bag stops my club I want to make sure it's dead square.

If it's not, and I see the club face doing this now, I know I'm in trouble and I need to understand what's causing that.

And that's what I want to go over.

Next is that if you start doing this drill and seeing the club face really open, you're almost definitely pushing against the shaft with that left thumb.

That left thumb coming down.

Causes the club face to be released in this fashion and leaves a lot of loft on the table and causes the club face to come in open.

We need to take these last three fingers and roll them under to get the knuckles pointing down so that your logo on the glove is pointing down, which also squares the club face.

As your club face comes in square now, we're going to get a way better strike than if the club face is working open.

Then it's more of a glancing, deflected blow.

It costs you a ton of compression and losing compression is losing ball speed.

Losing ball speed is losing distance.

So to get more distance we need control of that club face.

So doing this drill with your left hand, only you should be able to get to in a very short period of time.

The club face is dead square every time.

Now, let's add that pesky little right hand in there, because this is where stuff starts getting tricky for most golfers.

Same drill indoors, hitting the bag and the ball, but we're gonna put our right hand on there now.

Make a little takeaway make sure that the club face in the ball or the club face in the bag are dead square here.

If they are what we're going to start doing from here adding a little more speed to it.

Now you'll notice I'm actually even catching the bat, the ball a little bit.

If the club face is open, notice I can't catch the ball anymore.

But if the club face is square, I'm going to be able to cradle it into the face.

And that's going to be another cue for me to know when the club face is square to the target.

A square club face is the name of the game.

The best drill in the world to simplify all this stuff and get yourself re-centered when you get a little lost.

Is just this first little piece of the five minutes to the perfect take, perfect release video, nice straight, low shot, it'll get you back on track every time.

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64x64
Dugald
I"m really excited about the potential I have to be a decent golfer and enjoy the game more because of these videos. I have a long way to go but the trips half the fun. I took some lessons last year from a guy that was highly recommended. I just ended up with too many things to think about at one time and didn't do well. One thing he was big on was delofting the club and quoted Ben Hogan about turning a 7 iron into a 5 iron. I don't notice that emphasized on this site. I do cheat some times and take a full swing with my Skytrack simulator and I hit my 7 iron very high. I don't feel like I'm cupping my wrists. Any ideas and thanks. I'll send in some videos as soon as I feel I've made more progress.
May 30, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Dugald. Love the enthusiasm and keep at RST. You will get there. Take a look at Knuckles Down Video.
May 30, 2018
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Martin L
Should I feel hosel leading toe on the way down. It seems to make me release the club face at impact and makes the release work for me. What do you think?
April 5, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Martin. I think that is a feel, or thought that is working for you. But, I would try to take some of the focus off of what the face/club is doing throughout the swing. The club is always rotating and we are allowing the design of the club to do it's job.
April 5, 2018
64x64
GC
Watched all the videos on compression etc. now my plane and swing path seem decent. At the moment of impact, my right hand has an instinctive cupping move which means the club increases loft - no matter how hard i get my left hand one hand swing - my right hand will twitch just before impact and cup the club head. How to fix this?
January 8, 2018
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Chuck
Release it! Watch the vijay release drill.
January 8, 2018
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Hector
I know about logo or knuckles down but when I put my right hand in the club forget about it !!! Also the club head it is always closed instead of open at impact , any help
October 26, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Hector. That's because you are trail side dominant. I know it because I have seen it! If the club head is closed you need to check a few parameters. The lead elbow not flipping over and you are gradually allowing the release versus flipping (Flip vs. Release Video). Also, check your fulcrum point (Moving the Fulcrum Video). I would suggest a swing review of a lead arm only 9 to 3 or Step 4. Let one of us make sure that is correct and then start adding trail hand back.
October 26, 2017
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Tom
It looks like Chuck has really choked down on the shaft. I tend to move my left hand closer to the butt of the grip. Should I be choking as well?
October 6, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Tom. Choking down on the club isn't a requirement.
October 6, 2017
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Casey
Sorry about spelling error. Voice to text got me. Apologies.
October 6, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
No worries. Not the first time
October 6, 2017
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Casey
I’m currently dealing with an overly shit club face. It’s not from an overly bowed left wrist, but possibly from maintaining the connection between the left upper bicep and torso during the downswing. I look at the left elbow at impact and it’s pointing almost 30° left of the target line. If I try to bow the left wrist it only shuts the club face even more and produces more of a pull. I feel like I catch a lot of shots thin and towards the toe. I’m not sure where to go from here. I try to maintain the connection between the arms and the body but to try to get the left elbow pointing straight down the target line I have to keep my shoulders so shut I feel very handsy at impact to even reach the ball. Thoughts?
October 6, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Casey. It sounds like to may be a little steep and you are not allowing for any freedom of lead shoulder movement. Take a look at Fixing Plane and Path and the Moving from the Fulcrum Video. If no success practice the 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release with keen awareness on hitting impact shots.
October 6, 2017
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Phillip
Chuck.. If you look into the light it will give us the viewer a better view of you and what you are showing us... just a thought...
October 5, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Phillip. Thanks for the input. I will relay to Chuck.
October 5, 2017

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