The Rules of Impact

If you want to hit better shots this year, you need to know the rules of impact. This isn’t about alignment, or how much hip turn you have, or perfect posture. The golf ball has some strict requirements in order to behave properly and here they are.

  1. Strike Location. Where the ball is struck in relation to the vertical and horizontal sweet spot has a big influence on ball flight, in some cases even more than other factors.
  2. Face Direction. Where the face points at the moment of contact has the biggest influence on the start direction of your shots.
  3. Swing Direction. The direction the mass of the club head moves in relation to the target line has a secondary influence on direction. When the patch and face are not pointed the same direction at impact, the ball curves away from the path.
  4. Angle of Attack. The number of degrees the club head is moving up or down as it approaches impact. This influences path and face strike location and solid contact in relation to the ground (fat vs. thin)
  5. Club Speed. A great strike gives maximum ball speed and distance. Higher club speed alone though causes more shot dispersion and is why shorter hitters generally are more accurate since the ball is not spinning as quickly.

There are other factors as well such as ground strike location and dynamic loft but those are generally affected by the previous. We suggest having your impact dynamics checked so that you know where to focus for better ball striking.