X out Your Hidden Tendencies

Concept   Spotting swing problems.

Accomplishing a better swing is a life-long process for every serious golfer. Becoming skilled enough to spot and fix a specific swing problem is part of the process.

Even professional golfers have coaches to help them with swing problems.

Actions:  First, use your ball flight as a guide. Keep in mind that the less lofted the face the less backspin it imparts to the ball (which, of course, is why a long-iron flies so much lower than a pitching-wedge).

For a true reading of your club face alignment at impact, hit some shots with your driver. Any curvature indicates how you tend to deliver the club face at impact: looking right of target (open) if the shots mostly curve to the right; looking left of target (closed) if the shots mostly curve to the left.

To assess your club head path, hit some shots with your 9 iron. The strong backspin created by its steeply-pitched face negates any sidespin imparted on the ball. The shots will continue to fly in their starting direction with little or no curvature. If they start to the left, your club head path is from out-to-in. If they start to the right, you are swinging from in-to-out.

The interaction of backspin and sidespin is the answer, of course, to one of golf's great mysteries for many golfers:

"Why do my driver shots finish to the right and my short-irons finish to the left of the target?"

The truth is that the attack on the ball-out-to-in and open-faced-remains constant, while the countering of sidespin increases backspin as the clubs become more lofted, thereby disguising the club face error.

In short, just another example of golf's single most important fundamental: the flight of the ball always tells you everything you need to know to become a better player.