Ball Address
The answer is ball address is not impact. The end. Well, almost. So many golfers that I see have this grand delusion that wherever they line the club up to the ball at address means that is where they are going to hit it. Almost all shots hit everywhere but the center of the face. Let’s talk about it and how you can understand your swing to play better.
What is missing is the understanding of how you swing your golf club contrary to ball address. Most amateur golfers have an out to in swing, which is the left illustration for a right-handed golfer. If you feel like you are hitting the ball in the toe of the club, it is likely because you address the ball to the center of the club, and then cut across the ball, meaning you are moving further away from the ball, resulting in a toe strike.
If you know you are going to hit a fade, or if you are well aware that you swing out-to-in, then line the ball up to the hosel or heel of the club. If you draw the ball, and you have a tendency of hitting the hosel from time to time, then line up on the toe of the club at address. You in-to-out swing will push the club right into center impact.
Now, if you are a left-handed golfer, the same rules apply. Fades to the heel at ball address, draws to the toe at ball address.
By visual delight it is quite off putting. “It just doesn’t look right,” it the typical comment I hear. My answer is “Outcome trumps observation.” Golf is not about how pretty the address position is and there is no metric by which to measure it in the game of golf. What matters is the results.
Toe strike after toe strike with no immediate change throughout the golf round is insanity when you are completely knowledgeable that you are swinging out-to-in and hitting fades. There is no one more responsible for understanding how they are swinging out on the course than the golfer themselves.
Even more importantly, if I have 70+ aged men and women who understand this concept, make appropriate changes, and enjoy their rounds because they identify an error and implement a correction, then you have all the opportunity to make this a part of your game.
So if you are even slightly hitting out to the toe or the heel, the compensation is just as slight the opposite direction. Through practice and repetition, you will understand exactly where that ball position needs to be for the shot shape you are executing. Ball center to club center is NOT the only way.
-David