how does the sole of your club look like..

[pierlo]

Hi,

 

Am new here in golfwrx and a high handicapper trying to improve (but seems that the more I play, the worse I get)

Anyways....

I was at the driving range today and was looking at my sole of the club with the mat marks.

I was wondering how it is supposed to look like.

I can see there my club is hitting the mat at a certain angle, and in my case not 90deg.

I would assume that when the club hit square, the marks should be perpendicular, no?

 

So i've been trying and trying... but lately realized that the club trajectory isn't perpendicular to the ground either, so maybe that is normal to have this angle...

 

OK, my explanation is maybe too vague and maybe am over thinking the entire thing.. but just by curiosity, how does the sole look like in your case?

 

Oh, and yes, the club here on the photo is a left-handed club.

 

 

[Blakester]

Looks like you are swinging from out to in. Most likely coming over the top. The marks on the bottom should look fairly straight or angled slightly the opposite direction (which would be an in to out path).

I suffered (and still do sometimes) from the same thing.

There are a few things that can cause this:

1.) Check your alignment by putting a shaft or rod down aiming to your target. Setting up too closed can make you come over the top.
2.) Swinging too hard from the top of your backswing. Fight the urge to hit it hard from the top and let your swing speed build as the club approaches the ball. (this is the hardest thing for me to do).

One drill that can help is to place a headcover just slightly behind and outside of your ball at address so when you swing you have to come from the inside so you don't hit the cover. There are lots of videos online, too.

[braby33]

Looks like either your club face is open when you contact the mat, or you are swinging outside to in, or some of both. What you see on the club will always be the sum of those two, with no way to determine which on happened from the marks. But your initial trajectory should tell you.

[pierlo]

Yes, thanks a lot!
The ball start straight but then has a really nasty slice (I mean really really).
And also from the fairway (when I hit it haha), the divot is clearly showing a outside-inside path.
I've been so far been able to control that trajectory by compensating and aiming at the right side of my target, but I'm committed now to change that and get my swing proper.

I realized lately that as I was aiming right with my shoulders only (my feet and club face still aiming at the target), the swing path was getting even more outside-inside.

I'll take some lessons with a pro so he can correct my swing plane and my tempo (am an ex baseball player so my backswing is waaaaay to fast)

The more I practice, the more I realize golf is really bizarre: you aim right, the ball goes left, you hit up, ball goes low...

[Blakester]

It's a counter-intuitive game for sure. Ball flight is all about spin put on the ball, which is opposite of swing path. Hit down to go up!