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Started By
Message
Closing the Face
Posted on 10/12/21 at 10:47 am
Posted on 10/12/21 at 10:47 am
Dear Facebook, for the 3 years I've been playing, have been a super strong grip, keep the face closed on the back swing, over the top hack. Worked fairly well for me but knew it was never going to get me into any kind of decent scoring.
Went and had a few lessons and the teacher changed my grip and has me opening the face and pointing it more to the target at the top along with coming more inside out.
Certainly understand the concept but executing/closing the face is really challenging for me on a consistent basis. Even with a ton of work on the range.
How do you guys think about it/practice it? There's really not a whole lot of stuff out there and even my instructor more or less says "swing is looking better, just close the face!"
Any drills or concepts you guys think about if you've struggled with this move?
Went and had a few lessons and the teacher changed my grip and has me opening the face and pointing it more to the target at the top along with coming more inside out.
Certainly understand the concept but executing/closing the face is really challenging for me on a consistent basis. Even with a ton of work on the range.
How do you guys think about it/practice it? There's really not a whole lot of stuff out there and even my instructor more or less says "swing is looking better, just close the face!"
Any drills or concepts you guys think about if you've struggled with this move?
This post was edited on 10/12/21 at 10:48 am
7
Posted on 10/12/21 at 10:53 am to STLhog
if you're right handed.....use or pretend there is a watch on your left wrist.
start your back swing with a "show me the face" approach, taking only 1/4-1/2 swings, then start the downswing with a "roll the face away from me" through impact.
i can do it pretty well all day long on 1/4 or 1/2 swings. i'm learning to do it on more of full swing.......and when you do, you feel like you need to re-calibrate your iron distances.
the biggest part of my lesson was on the downswing of a full swing, getting that club parallel to the ground before the "closing of the face" happens, and rotating all at once....but it has helped.
start your back swing with a "show me the face" approach, taking only 1/4-1/2 swings, then start the downswing with a "roll the face away from me" through impact.
i can do it pretty well all day long on 1/4 or 1/2 swings. i'm learning to do it on more of full swing.......and when you do, you feel like you need to re-calibrate your iron distances.
the biggest part of my lesson was on the downswing of a full swing, getting that club parallel to the ground before the "closing of the face" happens, and rotating all at once....but it has helped.
Posted on 10/12/21 at 10:59 am to caliegeaux
quote:
n you do, you feel like you need to re-calibrate your iron distances.
My distance really cratered, especially on wedges, but yes, when I noticeably execute correctly, distance is much, much better. Irons are a work in progress, I'll go from hitting a high 190-200 5 iron to hitting a dead arse 160 yard turd that pushes and dies a slow death to the right.
Posted on 10/12/21 at 11:12 am to STLhog
Message board golf tips are a mixed bag especially depending if you're a 'feel' or a 'mental image' or a 'mechanics' learner.. but based on your instructor getting you to let the clubface open naturally on your backswing, which is good: the closing of the clubface on the downswing should never be a conscious thing.
It sounds like your hands/wrists are just way too tight. The old advice is "hold your club no firmer than it would take to squeeze toothpaste out of a tube."
Loosen your hands and wrists. The 'closing' of the clubface will happen without any effort on your part. It's the by-product of the force of your downswing. It just happens if you let it.
It sounds like your hands/wrists are just way too tight. The old advice is "hold your club no firmer than it would take to squeeze toothpaste out of a tube."
Loosen your hands and wrists. The 'closing' of the clubface will happen without any effort on your part. It's the by-product of the force of your downswing. It just happens if you let it.
Posted on 10/12/21 at 11:47 am to STLhog
quote:
Went and had a few lessons and the teacher changed my grip and has me opening the face and pointing it more to the target at the top along with coming more inside out.
Certainly understand the concept but executing/closing the face is really challenging for me on a consistent basis. Even with a ton of work on the range.
Why is he changing, i.e. is he changing just because that is “the right way”?You can easily play from a closed club face position and rotate more. Adding face rotation may be tough, especially since it sounds like now you’re rolling it open and keeping it open. Then you’ll start flipping it closed
This post was edited on 10/12/21 at 11:49 am
Posted on 10/12/21 at 11:52 am to hehateme2285
He's pretty pragmatic actually. Not doing it just to do it and he's not being overly aggressive about it.
Whatever it is, I struggle to naturally close the face and am looking for some tips or ways of thinking about it differently. More rotation, whatever it may be.
The way I'm swinging right now, the most natural/powerful feel is leaving it open and causes shitty, weak shots right.
Whatever it is, I struggle to naturally close the face and am looking for some tips or ways of thinking about it differently. More rotation, whatever it may be.
The way I'm swinging right now, the most natural/powerful feel is leaving it open and causes shitty, weak shots right.
Posted on 10/12/21 at 12:59 pm to STLhog
Did you pull your irons left a lot previously? If so, I struggled/ still struggle with this periodically. But it is something I've been working on this season. My iron swing was all jacked. Ball in the back 3/4 of my stance, lined up right, and swing path was left. It was mostly consistent, but not where I wanted.
On irons, to keep it from fading right, you have to really focus on pushing the club toward the hole on impact. To keep from pulling, my backswing feels like I'm wrapping it around my hip and after impact, it feels like I'm sweeping it out to the right a lot. But when you record the swing, it looks more like a pendulum than it feels. Very difficult to make it a habit, and when I'm having a bad round, I'm bad about slipping back into my old habit.
If you're opening the face, you'll lose SOME distance, but not an astronomical amount. Not 200 max to 160 max. More of a 10 yards or less.
On irons, to keep it from fading right, you have to really focus on pushing the club toward the hole on impact. To keep from pulling, my backswing feels like I'm wrapping it around my hip and after impact, it feels like I'm sweeping it out to the right a lot. But when you record the swing, it looks more like a pendulum than it feels. Very difficult to make it a habit, and when I'm having a bad round, I'm bad about slipping back into my old habit.
If you're opening the face, you'll lose SOME distance, but not an astronomical amount. Not 200 max to 160 max. More of a 10 yards or less.
Posted on 10/12/21 at 7:13 pm to STLhog
quote:
The way I'm swinging right now, the most natural/powerful feel is leaving it open and causes shitty, weak shots right.
So the hosel is beating the face to the ball. Growing up I always had an inside to out swing with my irons & wedges and was forced to open my club face just to hit straight shots and not pull it left. What fixed it for me was a combination of things: having the club face square at address, focusing on the first 1/3 of my takeaway/back swing, and finding the right shafts. Stiffer and heavier shafts eliminated the majority of my pulls left. Once I know I've taken the club head back on the correct line, I just try to swing my swing and focus on impact.
This post was edited on 10/13/21 at 9:52 am
Posted on 10/12/21 at 7:17 pm to STLhog
I dont like this swing thought, square to square is the way to hit a golf ball, but you have to get the feel of rotating through impact from a shallow plane. You dont need to "close" the face it should always stay square to your spine angle. If anything you wantbto hold it off for more shaft lean as you rotate through impact. Almost all elite ball strikers do this.
From DTL their hands/arms will start to disappear but you can still see the shaft and club
From DTL their hands/arms will start to disappear but you can still see the shaft and club
This post was edited on 10/12/21 at 7:24 pm
Posted on 10/12/21 at 7:42 pm to STLhog
quote:
the closing of the clubface on the downswing should never be a conscious thing.
Facts
Posted on 10/12/21 at 8:56 pm to nobigdeal69
So if I’m having issues, what would that imply? Too open going back? Not enough turn? Out of sync?
Posted on 10/13/21 at 9:16 am to STLhog
It's critical you get this concept. Closing the face (or rather, bringing it to square at the bottom of your swing) happens naturally, but only if you set yourself up to let it happen. You do this by properly 'hinging' your wrists on the backswing, then letting that hinge release at the proper time on the downswing.
Before watching this drill, know this: the hinging on the backswing is a conscious move, but the only conscious move on the downswing is WHEN to let your hands & wrists unhinge. Generally, the later the better. The force of your swing will take care of the rest. This drill is only intended to get the feel of this concept.
LINK
From what you've described, your right hand may be gripping way too tightly, be aware of that. Again this is the most critical part of your swing so avoid gimmicky "fixes" or tricks for this part of your swing.
Once you understand the mechanics of the hinge/release, here's some drills to ingrain it into your swing:
LINK
LINK
Before watching this drill, know this: the hinging on the backswing is a conscious move, but the only conscious move on the downswing is WHEN to let your hands & wrists unhinge. Generally, the later the better. The force of your swing will take care of the rest. This drill is only intended to get the feel of this concept.
LINK
From what you've described, your right hand may be gripping way too tightly, be aware of that. Again this is the most critical part of your swing so avoid gimmicky "fixes" or tricks for this part of your swing.
Once you understand the mechanics of the hinge/release, here's some drills to ingrain it into your swing:
LINK
LINK
Posted on 10/13/21 at 9:24 am to Naked Bootleg
Best tip is to not listen to any of this. Unless you post your swing these are all guesses.
This post was edited on 10/13/21 at 9:25 am
Posted on 10/13/21 at 9:30 am to TDTOM
Good point, seeing his swing would help. But He’s got an instructor who’s urging him to intentionally “close the club face” …. some external advice probably won’t hurt
This post was edited on 10/13/21 at 9:34 am
Posted on 10/13/21 at 9:39 am to Naked Bootleg
A coach should be able to communicate what he wants based on what the player is feeling vs what is actually happening. In other words, he should be able to manipulate his student's swing without telling him to "close the face." To a student, that may not mean anything or the feeling of it would cause other problems. A good coach will use tools, visual or physical, to force the student to make a change. A couple of alignment sticks could be all that's needed.
Posted on 10/13/21 at 9:55 am to TDTOM
I took it as the OP looking for an tips that he may have never known that some of us used to fix an open clubface and not so much a diagnosis of what he's doing wrong.
Anywho...I had it fixed through lessons that corrected my path into the ball. I was obviously coming into the ball from the outside. To get to an inside path FOR ME, was to close my stance a touch allowing room for the inside path to the ball. Obviously ball inside the left heel if not a little farther and working on Flight Scope, just keep concentrating on "hitting it out to right field" to use a baseball analogy.
When the path got to ~1.5-2 degrees to the right (which means I'm coming in to the ball from the inside), a straight - baby draw ball flight was achieved. I couldn't consistently do it but the fix removed the banana ball slice and at worst, I was hitting a 5yd fade.
Another swing thought he gave me was to think about making contact with the bottom inside part of the golf ball. That's what worked for me. Not saying it'll fix you but who knows? Good luck with it.
eta:
Forgot about these. My coach placed one on the ground angled out to "right field" for a visual to follow.
Anywho...I had it fixed through lessons that corrected my path into the ball. I was obviously coming into the ball from the outside. To get to an inside path FOR ME, was to close my stance a touch allowing room for the inside path to the ball. Obviously ball inside the left heel if not a little farther and working on Flight Scope, just keep concentrating on "hitting it out to right field" to use a baseball analogy.
When the path got to ~1.5-2 degrees to the right (which means I'm coming in to the ball from the inside), a straight - baby draw ball flight was achieved. I couldn't consistently do it but the fix removed the banana ball slice and at worst, I was hitting a 5yd fade.
Another swing thought he gave me was to think about making contact with the bottom inside part of the golf ball. That's what worked for me. Not saying it'll fix you but who knows? Good luck with it.
eta:
quote:
A couple of alignment sticks could be all that's needed.
Forgot about these. My coach placed one on the ground angled out to "right field" for a visual to follow.
This post was edited on 10/13/21 at 9:58 am
Posted on 10/13/21 at 10:58 am to STLhog
You want dbls down the left field line every downswing. Roll that right hand over.
Posted on 10/13/21 at 3:42 pm to redfish99
ha. This action will probably give me some major over the top.
rip doubles down the left field line but swinging to right field.
What a game.
rip doubles down the left field line but swinging to right field.
What a game.
Posted on 10/13/21 at 4:14 pm to STLhog
quote:There are tons of videos out there.
How do you guys think about it/practice it? There's really not a whole lot of stuff out there and even my instructor more or less says "swing is looking better, just close the face!"
- Sounds like a swing path issue to me. Fix that and lose the strong grip.
- I always have played a slight fade, and frankly I've never generated enough swing speed from my core, so I was leaking distance.
- I've done some core/twisting work, and looked at a bunch of online tutorials on swing path and found two range exercises that work for me and keep me inside the ball. One of the exercises is learning how to turn the right hand over through the swing, particularly at contact.
- Now I'm a slight draw to straight and am not leaking any distance, and I had to also adjust my grip to be more neutral like you.
- I'm a 9 handicap from the tips so no expert.
Posted on 10/13/21 at 4:58 pm to alpinetiger
All good thoughts guys, thanks.
Enjoy your trip to Fayetteville Alpine. I expect it close but Yall owe us a W.
Enjoy your trip to Fayetteville Alpine. I expect it close but Yall owe us a W.
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