When you don’t hit the center line of your driver, you lose distance and direction control. I recently watched a video that summarized the problems that we cause when we mishit our drivers. Gene Parente, the president of Golf Laboratories and the designer of the golf swing robot (often call: Iron Byron) shared some amazing test results.
His lab tests all brands of golf clubs to determine the distance and direction that you can expect when hitting a ball in the dead center of the club face as well as ¾” to the inside and to the outside of dead center.
Iron Byron tests clubs for the perfect swing to determine the problems caused by the point of impact on the club face. Center Line is perfect. Anywhere else can be a problem.
When the Robot is setup with a Swing Speed to hit a 200 Yard Shot (with a right handed driver):
1/ Dead Center impact provides the straightest and longest hit.
2/ An impact at ¾ of an inch to the OUTSIDE of dead center will lose about 9 yards in distance and the shot will fade to the right by about 10 yards. Faster club head speeds create worse fads.
3/ An impact at ¾ of an inch to the INSIDE of dead center will ALSO lose 9 yards in distance and will push the shot left of center and then fade back to the target line.
Of course if the club face is crossing the ball from the outside to inside or inside to outside you will add more fad or draw respectively.
This explains why it is so hard to control a driver. Hitting on the center-line and half way up the face creates a dead straight shot. Mishits inside or outside of the center-line will BOTH add fade to your ball. That’s also why it is so critical to swing from the inside and up the target line WITH A SLIGHTLY CLOSED FACE to add a draw spin to your drives. Any swing mishitting the face of your driver with extra swing speed and especially an over the top swing will exaggerate your fade into a killer slice.
Your driver may give you the opportunity to get further down the fairway but that extra distance can all be wasted when you land in the rough or behind trees. Because a mishit driver on the outside or inside of the center-line will create a fade, you should either setup to create a draw (with your trailing foot lightly back from your target line) or line up your aim for the left side if every fairway and accept the fade is it happens.
Understanding the natural fade of a mishit driver is critical for every round of golf. You really should test your driver marking the face with a powder marker or by spraying the face with Dr Scholl’s Foot Powder. Knowing where your ball impacts on the face of your club and seeing the result can be a real wake-up call for corrective action.
Practice for a consistent swing with every club in your bag. Use your GOLFSTR+ to help you focus on the control of your straight leading arm to impact on the center-line of every club. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com
I found the biggest thing affecting my driver was mobility. My body wasn’t physically capable of getting into the right positions and move properly. I did a quick assessment at https://golf-swing-mechanic.com/ and the report confirmed I was restricted. I felt better about my swing because it wasn’t me it was my body.