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What actually matters when you change your swing
The ball doesn't care how you swing
When golfers want to get better, they usually start by changing the swing.
“I need a better takeaway.”
“I should turn more.”
“My left arm isn't straight enough.”
Maybe. But before you change a motion, look at the ball flight.
The ball does not care who is swinging. It does not care how the club got there. It is a sphere meeting a flat face. Same laws every time.
Those laws show up as five things at impact.
The five things that matter
Every shot is produced by:
1. Speed: how fast the clubhead is moving
2. Face: where the clubface is pointing, and the loft it delivers
3. Path: the direction the clubhead is traveling, including angle of attack
4. Impact point: where on the face the ball hits
5. Low point: where the bottom of the swing arc sits relative to the ball
Those are the impact alignments. They are the only variables that matter.
Grip, posture, takeaway, transition, tempo, copying a tour player. All of that is either in service of changing one of these five, or it is noise.
If a change does not intend to move one of those five, skip it.
I'll talk right-handed. If you’re lefty, flip the directions.
Speed
Speed is how fast the club is moving when it meets the ball. More speed, more distance. Less speed, less distance.
Face
The clubface is the main determinant of the start direction of the golf ball.
The face has a horizontal component and a vertical component.
Horizontal: left, right, or straight. If the face points left, the ball starts left. If the face points right, the ball starts right. If the face points at the target, the ball starts at the target.
Vertical: loft delivered to the ball. That determines trajectory and height.
The club face at impact is not the same as the club face at address.
Path
Path is the direction the clubhead is traveling through impact.
The path has a horizontal component and a vertical component.
Horizontal: left of the target, at the target, or right of the target.
Vertical: angle of attack. That is the up or down travel of the club at impact.
Path is its own direction. It is not the same thing as the face.
Impact point
Impact point is where the ball hits on the face. We can hit the ball in the center, heel, toe, high or low. Or a combination of those.
This determines the efficiency of energy transfer from the club to the ball. We want the center of the clubface. That is about five grooves up from the bottom of the club.
Impact point also has an influence on the curve of the golf ball.
Low point
Low point is where the bottom of the swing arc sits relative to the ball.
Angle of attack and low point are cousins.
If the low point is behind the ball, the club is traveling upwards at impact.
If the low point is in front of the ball, the club is descending at impact.
With irons, the low point needs to be in front of the ball.
With the driver, the low point can be behind the ball, because the ball is on a tee.
Fat shots, thin shots, tops, and a lot of the short game live here.
If you are going to change something
When you change your golf swing, you should be doing it in an effort to change the ball flight.
To change the ball flight, you are trying to change one of the five impact alignments. Speed. Face. Path. Impact point. Low point.
Everything else is how you get there. A takeaway, a turn, a prettier position at the top. Those are levers we can pull to change impact. They are not the goal.
The easiest place to source a change is often address. You do not have to rebuild a fast motion to change your setup.
If a change does not move one of the five, it is noise.
The simple version
The ball does not care who is swinging the club, or how.
When you change your swing, it should be done in an effort to change the ball flight.
To change the ball flight, you change one of the five impact alignments.
If a change does not move one of those five, the only good you’re doing is burning calories.