Beyond Aim and Alignment

In a previous Learning Lab article, we explored the importance of aim and alignment in golf. As we revealed, aiming accurately and aligning your body properly can greatly improve your odds of hitting a successful shot. But striking a golf ball is not a static event. It’s a dynamic, athletic undertaking that requires remarkable coordination—and precise control over a clubhead that accelerates from zero to upwards of 100 mph in the span of a quarter-second.

The direction, speed, spin, height and curve of your shots can all be traced back to the moment of impact. When the club collides with the golf ball, the ball is in contact with the clubface for a very brief moment—only 1/2,000 of a second (or 500 microseconds, approximately).

At impact, the ball compresses against the clubface and they move together for a short distance (about 0.75 inches) before the ball separates and flies off the face. During this brief interval, the orientation of the clubface (dynamic loft and face angle) and the three-dimensional path of the clubhead dictate all the characteristics of the shot that is about to ensue. Control over these impact conditions is what separates elite ball-strikers from less skilled golfers.

Face and Path Control—The Primary Golf Skills

The good news is that control of the clubface and club path are skills that you can develop. And with the rise of advanced analytical tools in golf, improving these skills has never been easier. We spoke with Niklas Bergdahl, PGA Professional and Head of Trackman University at Trackman, the industry leader in launch monitor and golf simulator technology.

Niklas told us, “The advantage of practicing with shot-tracking technology like a Trackman 4 or Trackman IO unit, is that they give you real-time feedback on what the club and golf ball are doing at impact. The most important metrics to look at are Face Angle and Face-To-Path data. Together, these two numbers tell you almost everything about the shape and direction of your shot.”

A good way to think about clubface and club path is:

How to Improve Clubface Control

In the past, instructors, club fitters and golfers themselves had a general sense that the starting direction of a golf shot is a function of both face and path. But it wasn’t until we were able to capture precise impact data that we knew how much face and path each contributed to initial direction. We now know that face has the greater influence, and Trackman data has shown us that the relative influence of face angle and club path changes depending on the loft of the club.

For mid-irons, the face is approximately 75% responsible for initial direction, while 25% is attributable to the club path. With the driver, this ratio shifts to 85/15 percent, face vs. path.

Because clubface is more consequential, Niklas recommends training face first. Face angle is not just about setup or swing thought. It’s influenced by your grip, wrist angles, shaft dynamics, release timing, sequencing, and even where you hit the ball on the clubface. You need to dedicate more practice time to this skill because Face Angle is hard to control!

The key is to get a baseline understanding of how you deliver the clubface currently and then deliberately make adjustments that change the face angle. When you are able to distinguish what an open, neutral and closed face condition feels like, you’re on your way to controlling the clubface. Here’s a simple, repeatable practice routine that Niklas shared to build real face control with Trackman—not just once, but on demand.

Trackman Face Control Drill

Start by getting a feel for your face—and what different deliveries do.

• Baseline: Hit 6–10 normal shots and check your Face Angle and Launch Direction. What’s your average? What’s the spread?
• Open Face: Try hitting 6 shots where Face Angle is positive (open for right-handed players)—ball should launch right of the target.
• Closed Face: Now try 6 shots with Face Angle negative (closed)—ball should launch left.
• Alternate: Switch between open and closed face—6 shots, every other one different.
• Zeroed Face: Finally, hit 6 shots with the Face Angle as close to zero as you can. Try to make the ball launch straight.

Goal: Build awareness and control. This isn’t a one-time drill—it’s a routine to revisit. As you get better, tighten your margins.

Low-Tech Face Control Drill

If you don’t have access to Trackman or other launch monitor technology, you can still work on face control, following a routine similar to the one outlined by Niklas above. You’ll just have to rely on your eyes rather than precise data for feedback.

Start by embedding an alignment rod into the ground five to ten yards in front of you, in line with your downrange target (it’s a good idea to place a foam pool noodle over the alignment rod to cushion the blow, should you hit the rod with a shot). The alignment rod should be sticking out of the ground as close to vertical as possible. Address the golf ball, aligning your feet, hips and shoulders as squarely as possible to the target line and the alignment rod.

From this setup:

• Baseline: Hit 6–10 normal shots, trying to strike the alignment rod or launch the ball directly over it. How close do you come to launching the ball dead on your target line? When you miss, do you miss left of the rod? Right of it? A mix?
• Open Face: Try hitting 6 shots where you feel like the clubface is open (pointing to the right of the alignment rod for right-handed players)—ball should launch right of the alignment rod.
• Closed Face: Now try 6 shots where you feel like the clubface is closed (pointing to the left of the alignment rod for right-handed players)—ball should launch left of the alignment rod.
• Alternate: Switch between open and closed face—6 shots, every other one different.
• Zeroed Face: Finally, hit 6 shots with the Face Angle as close to square as you can. Try to make the ball launch straight and see how many times you can strike the alignment rod or launch the ball directly over it.

How To Improve Club Path Control

As you gain command over where the clubface is “looking” at impact, you will gain control over the initial direction of your shots. But that doesn’t guarantee that your golf ball will fly where or how you’d like it to. To control the shape of your shots you need to control the spin axis of the golf ball and this is accomplished by manipulating the relationship between the clubface and the club path. When you create swings with inside-to-out and outside-to-in club paths and apply those paths to open, closed and neutral face conditions, you will be able to hit a wide variety of curving shots. As Niklas Bergdahl told us, “By exaggerating Face-to-Path numbers, and learning to hit big hooks and big slices, you’ll gain an understanding of your extremes. And once you know where these outer boundaries are, you will then be able to find the middle ground, where neutral is.”

Trackman Path Control Drill

Once you can control face angle, it’s time to manage Face-to-Path—the number that shapes the ball flight.

• Default Shots: Hit 6 shots with your normal swing. Look at Face-to-Path averages and range. Are you a natural drawer or fader?
• Fade Setup: Hit 6 shots where Face Angle is more open than Club Path. This creates a fade or slice shape.
• Draw Setup: Now hit 6 where Face Angle is more closed than Club Path. This creates a draw or hook.
• Straight Shots: Try to match Face Angle and Club Path as closely as possible—this gives you minimal curvature.

Tip: For a right-handed golfer, to curve the ball left, your Face Angle must be closed relative to the Path. To curve the ball right, you need the face to be open relative to the path.

You’re now learning to shape shots on purpose—a major step toward becoming a more consistent, confident player.

Low-Tech Path Control Drill

If you don’t have access to Trackman or other launch monitor technology, you can still work on path control, following a routine similar to the one outlined by Niklas above. You’ll just have to rely on feel and visual evidence rather precise data for feedback.

You will need something to serve as an obstacle in this drill – something like a shoe box or pool noodle that won’t harm you or your clubhead if you strike it. Start by placing this object flat on the ground a couple of inches beyond the golf ball, parallel to your target line. Address the golf ball, aligning your feet, hips and shoulders as squarely as possible to the target line and the barrier you’ve created.

• Default Shots: Hit 6 shots with your normal swing.
  • Did you contact the barrier on any shots?
  • If so, did you strike the barrier before you made contact with the ball (indicates an excessively out-to-in club path)?
  • Or did you strike the barrier after you made contact with the ball (indicates an excessively in-to-out path)?
  • Did your default shots fly relatively straight? This indicates that your clubface is fairly square, relative to your club path.
  • Did your default shots curve left-to-right? For a right-handed player, this indicates that the face is pointing right, relative to your club path.
  • Did your default shots curve right-to-left? For a right-handed player, this indicates that the face is pointing left, relative to your club path.

• Fade Setup: Pivot the barrier so that it is angled slightly left of your target line. For a right-handed golfer, this visual reference will encourage more of an out-to-in path where the club moves left after impact. Try to keep your clubface looking right, relative to this path as you hit 6 shots, avoiding the barrier and keeping the clubface open.
  
  For a right-handed golfer:
  • If the ball starts left of the target line and curves to the right, you’ve hit a Fade or Slice. You have successfully shifted your club path to the left and your clubface was open, relative to the club path.
  • If the ball starts left of the target line but flies straight, you have hit a Pull. You have successfully shifted your club path to the left, but your clubface was square, relative to the club path.
  • If the ball starts left of the target line but curves further left, you have hit a Pull Hook. You have successfully shifted your club path to the left, but your clubface was left, relative to the club path.

• Draw Setup: Now pivot the barrier so that it is angled slightly right of your target line. For a right-handed golfer, this visual reference will encourage more of an in-to-out path where the club moves right after impact. Try to keep your clubface looking left, relative to this path as you hit 6 shots, avoiding the barrier and keeping the clubface closed.
  
  For a right-handed golfer:
  • If the ball starts right of the target line and curves to the left, you’ve hit a Draw or Hook. You have successfully shifted your club path to the right and your clubface was closed, relative to the club path.
  • If the ball starts right of the target line but flies straight, you have hit a Push. You have successfully shifted your club path to the right, but your clubface was square, relative to the club path.
  • If the ball starts right of the target line but curves further right, you have hit a Push Slice. You have successfully shifted your club path to the right, but your clubface was right, relative to the club path.
• Straight Shots: Finally, return the barrier to its original neutral orientation and try to hit shots that launch on-target and fly straight. To do this, you must match Face Angle and Club Path as closely as possible—this gives you minimal curvature.

Conclusion

It’s been said that golf is a game that can never be mastered. When you consider all the precise conditions that must align when the club collides with the golf ball, it’s a wonder we ever hit straight shots at all. But physics aside, you can improve your consistency and the quality of your ball striking by understanding one simple concept—the face sends it and the path bends it.

The most important skills in golf are control of the club face and control of the club path. These are skills that you can target with proper training and the help of technology like Trackman. As you gain control over face and path, you’ll instantly start improving your command over the flight of the golf ball.

Trackman Resources

• Trackman Locator
• Get Your Own Simulator
• Virtual Tournaments