Sometimes a golf shot may call for a slightly open or closed face. There may be a tree in your way and the only shot is to go over it. Adding loft by opening the clubface is a good way to attempt to hit the ball higher in the air, but you must be sure that the clubface is still square to the target. So, how do you open the clubface but still keep it square? That was what Samuel Vasquez wanted to know, and today I'm going to teach you all how!
Surge,I am confused when you mention opening the clubface and still pointing towards your intended target. Can you visully show what you mean? Thanks.
Pitching around the green, flop shots, lob shots, and chip shots are all potential strokes that may require you to open or close the clubface. But, let's first define what a square clubface is. It's square when the leading edge of the clubface is dead square to the target. The scoring lines on the club are another good visual to use. They must be square to the target also. They will form a right angle to aiming line.
Now, turning the club away from your body is opening the clubface. If I turn it open, I'm adding loft so the shot won't go as far. Conversely, if I shut the clubface, I'm delofting it which will cause it to fly farther. I believe you should open up the face the amount in which the shot calls for. I've been golfing for a long time, so it's easy for me to decide how much that will be. You may want to practice on the range before you try a shot for the first time during a round.
One of the keys here is that your grip does not change. It remains the same even though the clubface has opened. I always set the face with the club in the air because it's easier to keep it square with the target line when I walk into the shot.
The difference between the PPGS and other methods is that they say aim out to the right and cut across the line with an open clubface. But, we must never break the rule of "on, on, on, square and solid." The club has to approach the ball on the aiming line, strike it on the line and be square, and leave on the line
accelerating all while hitting it in the sweet spot. Even if we have an open clubface on purpose, we still have to follow this general rule. So, if I'm hitting it in the sweet spot and I'm cutting across it, it's likely going to start right and keep moving right.
Every club has a limit to how much you can open it or close it. If I open it up too much, I'd have to open my feet that much more to make sure the clubface stays square to my target line, but I can't make a swing that way. We always swing "on, on, on" straight up and down the line. We don't cut across our body, we swing in front of our body. If I wanted to get the ball even higher, I would simply under release to keep the face open longer after impact which would add more height to the ball flight.
So, whatever bit we open up the face, we open up the body a little left to keep the face square and we swing up and down the line. That's the secret to opening and closing the clubface and still maintaining "on, on, on, square and solid," which is the way to control your ball's distance and direction.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
If you can't view the YouTube video above try CLICKING HERE. You must allow popups from this site for the link to work.
Blog Tags:
Comments
At last
And I thought I was the only one to be confused about this. Thanks, Surge, for a very clear illustration of how to set up and swing an open club face.
What was I doing right then?
Will give this a try and see if it alters anything in my wedge play. It is one part of my game which has not been a problem since taking up the PPGS swing. So what was I doing right or wrong? Tomorrow may give me the answer.
Enjoyed the explanation Surge. It was very clear indeed and may well help many in improving their game. Hit them straight consistently lads and lassies. DH [scratching his head, wedge in hand ; - ] heh heh heh.
Open Club Face
Happy to see it hasn't been a problem for you, DH. Wish I could say the same as I'm hot and cold with this issue on any given round. Surge spells it out clearly in today's video and I think the point about opening the stance is something I need to work on.
One suggestion if I might, DH. Scratching your head with a wedge in hand is NEVER a good idea. ;0))
Open Club Face
Hahahaha! Wedge in hand hahaha! love it.
May get the opportunity later to try out the Surge technique. In all fairness I don't have too many shots that would require my 60* LW very often. Like Steve Smith, I often leave it out of the bag and take another club in it's place.
Some years ago while playing in Auckland, I hit my 2nd shot down the wrong side of a very tall tree line with the green close on the other side of the trees. Had read a tip by Jack Nicklaus on high shots. From memory, it said, "Ball as far forward as you can, open stance, open clubface and 'fling' the club underneath the ball", or something like that. I used to say to myself, "If Jack can do it, I can do it"! The ball seemed to climb almost vertically straight up, over the trees and landed on the green about 12' from the hole!!! Have never managed to repeat it since, b*mmer!
One club I used to play well a dozen years ago, and was recently re-united with, was a "chipper". Yesterday I chipped briefly on the deck with it, ended up putting it in the bag and removing my 5iron. It will be interesting to see how it performs.
Watched the 73* wedge advert, hahaha. What next? The long driving dude certainly whales the bejaysus out of the ball, wonder what his wedge play is like though ; - ] thanks Surge and Surgites, have a great day.DH in sunny, whaaaat! NZ 'Fore'!
open stance
When you have an open stance and take the club back on the aiming line, does then not go the club into the sacred burial ground?
SBG
Opening the club face to hit higher shots or flops is a specialty shot. Specialty shots by their nature don't always follow the rules. Other examples of that are hitting hooks (where the club is more laid off in the back swing) and hitting the ball with a much steeper angle of attack when the ball is in the rough or other bad lies in a hole or depression.
In effect on a flop shot the SBG becomes behind an imaginary line behind the right toes extended parallel to the target line. The left foot becomes irrelevant in establishing the "toe line". The same applies for those of us that use a more extreme flare of the left foot (which also causes the "toe line" to not be an actual line along the toes of both feet but a line from the right toes through where the left toes would be if we were in a normal stance).
In short, anytime you vary from a normal square set up with the left foot to hit a flop shot, the toe line for the purposes of the swing stays where it would have been if we hadn't opened it.
If anything, inside out.....
Cowboy, I think I understand your confusion but let's reconsider. If you re-watch Don's explanation you will see that his club swing PATH is following his chosen aiming line and he is squaring his club FACE is also coming in square to that aiming line in spite of being OPEN relative to his feet. So if anything this becomes an in to out swing and not an out to in as you suggest. It seems to require just a bit of a hold off move to maintain the face square and the on on on path. In fact he demos that at the 8:45-8:48 point calling it "under releasing" to hit it higher. Other key places to see the in to out swing (that is in to out relative to the feet) can be seen at 8:27-8:29 and 8:33-8:34. Or you could just re-watch 8:25-8:50 to get all these key demos. When you do, focus on the swing PATH. If you don't look at his body but simply follow the club and swing path you will see the swing is actually on on on relative to the aiming line, intended target and camera.
As Steve says, it is a specialty shot and so it does not follow the other wise usual advice of the swing matching the foot line. If you have been following Don and all his set up and swing thoughts for very long, one thing you will see is that he always sets the club face square to the chosen aiming line first then arranges his feet and body accordingly. He will do this irregardless of whether he wants to draw, fade or high low the intended shot.
Hope that clears it up for you.
Open stance
Thanks for the clarification Steve, hopefully it also helps me to make good explosion shots from the bunker.
Not invited back!!!!
Ha ha ha!! Did ya'll see this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiGW9JA_aPg&feature=share
OMG
For crying out loud!!