What Opens the Club Face? It Started Square

Q. I was trying to figure out what was causing me to open my club face on the downswing when I’d had a nice, square face during the shoulder turn. Could it be that I’m starting my body rotation before the club has completed its backswing, causing my body to get ahead of my arms and hands and the club face to open?

A. Yes! Sometimes you hit the ball thin or leave the club face open because the arms—usually the back elbow—get stuck behind the back hip. This happens because the hips are rotating before the elbows have returned to the front of the body. You may also have a bit of an arm or hand lift right at the top of the backswing.

The fix: Shorten the backswing by using only the shoulders. When they’ve finished turning, start the downswing and visualize your body rotation bringing the arms back in front as you continue all the way to the finish.*

The body leads, but it can’t race ahead on its own; it must bring the arms and club along.

I will make many references to this in the new videos I plan to make this spring.

*Traditional golf instruction has you clear your hips first—a huge power loss. Then, to fix the club face being wide open, you’re told to release the club (roll your hands) quickly and hope you time it correctly to square the face. All you had to do was use your body rotation to bring the arms and club back in front, using the rotation of your hips and body as a major power source.