As highlighted in the previous article, we are looking how the face of the club changes the way the ball behaves. Today, we are going be taking a look at playing shots with the club face open.
When addressing the ball, an open club face is when the line of the face of the club is pointing to the right of the target for right handed players and to the left of the target for a left handed player. We are going to be using right handed players in the description below but it is easy to reverse this for left handed players.
So, whereas the square club head had the centre line of the face pointing directly at the target, an open club face has the line pointing to the right of the target.
The main problem most people face with opening the face of the club is in the set-up. You should not grip the club normally and open the face by rotating your hands while the club is on the ground at address. When you play the shot using this set-up, the grip will revert back to normal and the result will be a shot with the club face square.
You can see the problems this could produce.
The correct way to set-up for a shot with the club face open is to already have the club in the open position as you take grip of the club. If your grip strength feels the same as it does when the club face is square, you know you are doing the right thing.
So, why would you want to play a golf shot with the club face open?
By opening the club face so it is pointing to the right of the target, the ball will travel in that direction. The face of the club is what sends the ball in its initial direction. You may choose to this when the wind is blowing from right to left or you want to shape a shot to move from the right to the left .
Opening the club face also increases the loft on the club and therefore the shot will see additional loft. In addition, opening the face will also increase the bounce of the club and this can be useful when playing shots from the sand.
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