I find it incredible that most people try to learn golf, yet they learn nothing about the ball flight laws. How is it possible to learn this game without having any knowledge about what makes the ball fly a certain way?

The result is that we see all kinds of crazy swings on the driving range because people are so pre-occupied with trying to hit the ball straight, or simply trying to hit it in the air!

With that in mind, I felt that before we even get to the golf swing, we need to discuss the ball flight laws. The diagram below shows you how the golf ball will fly based upon the path of the swing and the angle of the clubface at impact.

A study utilizing the Trackman launch monitor indicates that the clubface angle is responsible for 80-85% of the initial direction of the ball.  Take note of the diagram below:

No matter what the club path is, there are three possible directions the ball may travel.

If you swing the club on a relatively square path just before and after impact, and the face is square to your target line, you will hit a straight shot. If the face is closed, it will hook to the left, and if it is open, it will fade to the right.

If you swing on an outside to in path, you can hit a pull if the face is square to the swing path, a slice if it is open to the club path, and a push slice if it is open to the target line.

If you swing on an inside out path and the face is square to the club path, you will hit a push. If it is slightly closed compared to your path you will hit a slight draw, and you will hit a pull hook if the face is closed compared to your target line.

Keep in mind, there is a difference between whether the face is square, open or closed compared to the club path compared to whether it is square, open or closed compared to the target line.

The image below shows the three typical swing paths from a top down view…

This next diagram indicates how the ball will spin based upon swing path.

Note that the clubface is kept square to the target line in the diagram.  In the outside in swing path, a club face that is square to the target line is actually open to the swing path. That will cause a slice spin.

In the inside out swing path, a clubface that is square to the target line will cause hook spin, because it is actually closed to the swing path.

This obviously just deals with the direction of the ball. The height of the shot depends upon the angle of attack of the golf club.

Most people seem to think that they somehow must lift the ball with the club in order to get the ball in the air. Therefore, the club impacts the ball from an upward angle of attack, when in fact, with most clubs except for the driver, we should be attacking the ball at a downward angle of attack. The steeper the angle attack, the higher we should be able to hit the ball.

The reason for this is that we want to take advantage of the design of the club itself. Take the pitching wedge for example. The typical pitching wedge has about 46 to 47 degrees of loft. There are also a number of grooves cut into the clubface.

The combination of the loft and the grooves will put backspin on the ball. The more backspin on the ball, the higher it will fly! However, in order to take advantage of the design of this club, it is necessary to be sure that the ball is struck with a descending angle of attack.

In other words, it is necessary to hit the ball first, and then the turf. This allows the ball to roll up the entire clubface, utilizing the loft and grooves. This is what gets the ball airborne.

Unfortunately, most beginners try to help the ball in the air by catching the ball on the upswing. By attempting to lift the ball in the air, they also move the body improperly during the swing. This will often lead to other swing faults.

The video below will give you a better visual of how the club works to get the ball in the air.

In our next lesson, we’ll discuss the golf swing sequence.