Instruction
Impact location by handicap
I was teaching a PGA Tour professional the other day and while we were hitting drivers on the Trackman, I sprayed the face with Dr. Sholl’s Odor X in efforts to see the impact point on the club face. Just as I was doing this another student came into the learning center and asked me a question and while I was answering, the Tour pro continued to hit balls — around 10 or so until we could resume our work. Now that we could focus our efforts again, I wanted to reapply the spray to the face so that I could focus on his impact location.
As I walked over to wipe the face this is what I saw:
PGA Tour professional impact location (10 shots)
After 10-or-more shots, the impact location was VERY consistent and it led me to thinking… What did other handicap level impacts look like after just five shots?
30 Handicap
25 Handicap
20 Handicap
15 Handicap
10 Handicap
7 Handicap
5 Handicap
0 Handicap
So what does this all mean from an observation standpoint?
- The higher the handicap, the more random the impact location in general.
- Radical horizontal off-center impact locations invoke gear effect, making shot curvature prediction impossible.
- Extreme vertical off-center impact locations cause excessively high and excessively low spin rates, making driver distance vary dramatically.
- Higher-handicap players tend to have swing plane issues, causing impact to be too high toward the crown of the club, leading to a the pop-up.
- Mid-handicap players tend to have pivot issues that cause them to hit too much up on the ball, thus hitting shots that are topped, flat, or very low.
- As handicap levels go down, players tend to find the center of the face more often.
- As mid-handicap players move down to into the lower-teen handicap levels there tends to be a consistent impact location toward the toe or heel.
- At the single-digit handicap levels, centered impact isn’t that big of a problem and gear effect is very minimal.
- As the handicap lowers closer to zero, vertical impact location becomes increasingly important.
- Tour players can easily control their vertical impact location to launch the ball with more or less spin depending on what type of shot they desire.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Pingback: Contact matters! | Inclusive Golf Academy - golf lessons & tuition at the Leamington and County Golf Club
Richard
Aug 24, 2014 at 7:24 am
I’m looking for this exact same data but for irons. Do you know if it exists? If not, can you do the same thing with a mid/high iron?
Pingback: Impact tape ?? ????? ???. | ?? ??
Joseph
Apr 6, 2014 at 2:13 am
If I apply the Dr. Scholls with a Left to Right Stroke will it make my Slice disappear or make it worse?
Tom Stickney
Jun 25, 2014 at 11:40 pm
Dr scholl’s works better than impact tape which tends to skew the spin numbers and spin axis.
Mark in Louisville
Feb 20, 2014 at 9:16 pm
Finally a 70º day to try out the Dr. Scholls spray on the range. Thanks for the tip Tom. The stuff works like a charm providing me with accuracy feedback and is infinitely better than tape labels. Dr. Scholl’s better start making more of that spray because I think a lot more amateurs will be buying it up this season. Interestingly for me the majority of my impact locations are just to the toe side of center albeit not nearly as tight as the Tour Pro.
Tom Stickney
Feb 21, 2014 at 12:23 am
Thank the early TrackMan guys for the dr scholl’s idea…just following their lead.
Steve
Feb 16, 2014 at 2:54 pm
Tom, I have a big problem : shank wedges. I hit driver well, 8-9 fairway s, mid- and long irons good, but repeatedly hit 45* right off the hosel with wedges. My hc went from 10 to 13.4. Very frustrating to bomb a good drive, pull out wedge and blast a hoselrocket off into the bushes! At the range, I tried gate drill with 2 tees, blasted toe tee off 20 yds. Slow swing, no good. Lined up with ball at toe, tried to hit toe, got dead center. Don’t know what to try next. Please help.
tom stickney
Feb 17, 2014 at 11:06 am
Tough to guess without seeing you, but make sure you are not picking up your wedges and/or falling into your toes on the way down
Steve
Feb 19, 2014 at 6:21 pm
Tom, thanks. I think I was falling forward towards the ball on my downswing. I concentrated on keeping my weight over my arches, and tried to make the wedge swing much more upright. Last 2 rounds were almost shank free. I slowed down my swing all around, but kept a full shoulder turn, trying to ensure a smooth release hitting the ball in the center of the club. Making solid contact as long as I don’t rush myself. Much happier!
Sboss1
Feb 28, 2014 at 8:08 pm
The other main cause of shanks with the short clubs is the tendency to move your body too far forward on the downswing. This leads to the club running out of room and the hosel is all that is left to hit the ball. Stay behind the ball on all shots and that will go away.
Your likely moving forward on other clubs as well but because they are longer, you catch enough club to prevent a shank. What tips me off that this may be your issue is the short length of the club and the fact that you shank wedges only. Good luck…
Loz
Feb 16, 2014 at 2:53 am
I found my old steel shafted Maxfli Tour Ltd driver at my parents house over Christmas. Looking at the size of the face to these modern 460 heads some of these strikes might have been air shots or certainly off the end of the club head. I personally think my overall game has suffered since the introduction of these clubs with massive heads and overly long shafts. I used to be a pretty good ball striker (3 – 4 hcp 20 years ago) and would typically hit 10 – 12 fairways, 12 – 14 greens and shoot 72 – 75, par 71. I was never a good putter, always 34 – 36 putts per round. My long iron play was particularly good back in the time of wooden headed clubs when I could only hit a 3 iron 180 yds. These days that’s a 6 or 7 for some people and I really think my game has suffered as a result of using new technology. I’d be tempted to try my old War Bird steel driver or an older titleist, back when a Tiger used to hit it well and long, and see what the results are like.
Alex
Feb 11, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Great article!
Can you explain a little more about this: “Tour players can easily control their vertical impact location to launch the ball with more or less spin depending on what type of shot they desire”
Does hitting the ball higher on the face cause more spin and lower on the face cause less spin? Or it the inverse?
Thanks!
tom stickney
Feb 11, 2014 at 6:03 pm
The higher you hit the ball in the face the lower the ball will spin and the higher it will launch…
Denis
Feb 10, 2014 at 6:34 pm
Great article Mr. Stickney,
Wondering if you have you ever done or thought of something similar for irons?
Would be interested to see what other factors could also influence impact position on irons given the sole comes in contact with the ground and what effects ill-fitted lie angle could have as well as other factors.
Maybe that’s a project for another day.
tom stickney
Feb 10, 2014 at 7:27 pm
I have not, but it’s easy to do…grab a few buddies and get some dr sholl’s and hit balls off a dry golf mat…you’ll see some common trends for sure…especially when the irons are ill-fit
Christian
Feb 10, 2014 at 1:59 pm
The pro’s impact makes me sad and angry.
tom stickney
Feb 10, 2014 at 2:04 pm
I feel your pain…knocked my socks off as well!
Pingback: Mit Fussdeo auf die Range - dem Treffmoment auf der Spur | Soulgolfer.de
Keith
Feb 4, 2014 at 2:10 am
Fantastic article Mr.Stickney! Really opens my eyes to how good the pro’s really are..
Tom Stickney
Feb 8, 2014 at 12:34 am
Thank you!
Carter
Feb 4, 2014 at 12:11 am
Does Dr. Scholls work with putters too or is there something better for that?
Tom Stickney
Feb 8, 2014 at 12:34 am
Yes
Alex
Feb 2, 2014 at 11:12 pm
Bought a can this morning to take to the range. I may just figure out the driver problem after all..
Pingback: Desde el tee: semana 05/2014 | Golf76.com
Justin
Jan 30, 2014 at 1:51 pm
I have to say I’m the 30 handicapper. The beginning of last year I was hitting the ball consistent. As the year progress, I danced in the mid 90’s then I finished the year in the 125’s and lost distance on everything, I was driving around 250 then I couldn’t reach 200. I live in the north east is any drills I could do to help with being more consistent. Thanks
Mikel
Jan 30, 2014 at 4:38 pm
I’m an 18hc, so, ya know….
But, I just got over this literally in the past couple days, “turned” out to be that I was fake-turning. I was rotating my shoulders just fine, but not my torso. The drill (there are diff variations) that cured me was to move my back foot so that my toe was in line with my front foot heel. Gave me a pre-turn in my torso and helped me get the feeling back during my normal swing.
I think my issue came from trying to make sure my shoulders made a complete turn and at some point I stopped turning my torso too.
Good luck!
Justin
Jan 30, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Thanks I’ll try that. It was horrible. just didn’t feel comfortable swinging the club anymore.
Tom Stickney
Jan 30, 2014 at 10:00 pm
If you have had that type of turnaround within your game I would suggest finding a teaching pro in your area ASAP. Too many things it could be without seeing you but if you’ve list that kind if distance you might want to see someone.
Pingback: Impact | Golfbloggen
Tyler
Jan 29, 2014 at 10:00 pm
What would be the one characteristic of the golf swing that you would attribute to consistently finding the center of the face? Great balance throughout the entire swing perhaps? High handicaps tend to have terrible balance which would explain the sporadic ball contact locations on the face. Would you speculate that if a high handicap were to swing in perfect balance on every shot regardless of swing path they would consistently hit the same spot on the face?
Tom Stickney
Jan 30, 2014 at 2:04 am
Balance is a huge part of impact location for sure…swing plane would be a close second
Double Mocha Man
Jan 29, 2014 at 11:12 am
I tried this out yesterday on the range. Works perfect. Only downside is that yellow can of footspray sitting next to the range mat that every other golfer seems to want to stare at. That, and the voice coming from my pocket that exclaims, “Golf Sense device is now connected!?
Never knew being on the range could be so embarrassing…
Tom Stickney
Jan 29, 2014 at 5:13 pm
That’s funny!
greg
Jan 29, 2014 at 10:48 am
Any suggestions on how to ‘tighten up’ your dispersion? Shorter shaft? Slow the swing down until you can consistently hit the middle and then add speed as you improve?
Tom Stickney
Jan 29, 2014 at 5:15 pm
100% correct.
Josh
Jan 28, 2014 at 5:28 pm
Since you said all the drivers are 44″ long, would you consider doing a similar test but with different length drivers. I would be interested to see how much impact is affected for the lower handicaps when the length is increased.
Tom Stickney
Jan 29, 2014 at 1:09 am
The shorter the driver the more control…for sure.
Josh
Jan 29, 2014 at 12:09 pm
I know shorter provides more control, but how much control is actually lost by going longer. Any time you add length to a club you will swing it faster, but at what point will adding length be comprised to loss off control. Is it .5″,1″, or something longer than that. Everyone just guesses how much control is lost and no one has ever really looked at what the actual amount is.
David Smith
Jan 28, 2014 at 1:22 pm
Problem here was that it was a TMaG golf club, not the player.
In all seriousness though, why is the tour pro hitting it lower on the face? It should be higher up on the face than that.
TJ
Jan 28, 2014 at 2:26 pm
yeah I was wondering the same thing, in that first pic the impact position was at the very bottom of the face, that seems strange
Tom Stickney
Jan 28, 2014 at 2:37 pm
Creates a shot that launches too low and spins too much.
Tom Stickney
Jan 28, 2014 at 2:36 pm
Yep. What he’s currently working on!
Double Mocha Man
Jan 29, 2014 at 11:05 am
Tell him to tee it up 1/4″ higher and use the same swing. That’ll be 100 bucks, thank you.
Harvey
Jan 28, 2014 at 5:09 pm
Shut up
Harvey
Jan 28, 2014 at 5:10 pm
Does it work with normal spray?
Lou Boezi
Jan 30, 2014 at 3:52 pm
I believe the lower marking on the Pro’s image is in fact his tee!
JCorona
Jan 28, 2014 at 9:34 am
at least my driver will smell good even when my game stinks that day
Tom Stickney
Jan 28, 2014 at 12:16 pm
And it won’t get athletes’ foot either
Alex
Jan 28, 2014 at 7:47 am
good story, mate. It seems my driver’s sweetspot is far from wearing.
Tom Stickney
Jan 28, 2014 at 8:58 am
Welcome to my world…sadly we are not alone.
paul
Jan 28, 2014 at 1:00 am
This article makes me feel like a freak. I’m a 20 handicap who hits the sweet spot like a 5. Hit 13/14 fairways today, shot 95 cause I hit some second shots into the drink on a tight water course. I use the marker.
Tom Stickney
Jan 28, 2014 at 8:59 am
We all have our strengths…fix that second shot and you will be a five!
Guruhe
Jan 27, 2014 at 7:23 pm
In this most recent tourney Tiger only landed on the fairway 4 times with his driver in 1 round. Do you think he was hitting the center of the club face every time but the face angle was off? Apparently hitting a centered shot doesn’t guarantee a straight shot.
Tom Stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 7:42 pm
All depends on his face to path relationship with a centered hit.
Q
Jan 27, 2014 at 5:04 pm
Is there anything I might already have around the house that I could spray onto my clubfaces?
Kelly
Jan 27, 2014 at 4:54 pm
Tom
With the recent article on shorter length drivers, did you happen to measure the club length of the players drivers?
Tom Stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 5:46 pm
All 44″
ParHunter
Jan 27, 2014 at 4:34 pm
For readers in the UK where you don’t get the Dr Sholl Odor X spray: I am using an athletes foot powder spray. Works just as well.
snow52
Jan 27, 2014 at 2:26 pm
Another good trick is to use a marker from a dry erase/white board (make sure it is a dry erase marker, not a permanent marker). You can color the face of your club, and when you make a swing, it will capture your impact position. When you are done, it just wipes off. Might be a little more convenient that carrying around a can of spray. No matter how you do it, this is a great way to improve your ball striking.
tom stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 3:51 pm
Good call; tell your golf buddies to use a sharpie! Ha!
Duh
Jan 27, 2014 at 6:21 pm
NOT a Sharpie, doofus! With a Sharpie you’d need acetone. With a dry-erase, all you have to do is wipe.
gocanucksfan123
Jan 27, 2014 at 6:54 pm
It was a joke
Chris
Jan 27, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Golf Digest did a similar thing with putters and impact tape way back in the day – if anyone remembers it or has the article, would love to see it again!
For the best putters on tour, the spot was the size of a thumbtack.
Tom Stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 3:49 pm
Dave Pelz…in his book
Chris
Jan 28, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Yes that’s what it was! Thanks!
other paul
Dec 23, 2014 at 1:23 pm
I put some tape on a putter once and hit balls. I was shocked. As a 12 handicap I had 28 balls in a spot the size of a dime (better then i expected) and two that missed center by 1″ (oops). But it was great feedback.
roger
Jan 27, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Tom, re the last point, Tour Players can hit the ball on the face higher/lower
to add/lessen spin as desired.
Could you expand on this please!Much appreciated!
I use impact tape or marker pen on balls regularly and play shorter lengths to get Good Impact!
Mid hcper.
Chris
Jan 27, 2014 at 2:21 pm
This is a little counter intuitive but hitting higher on the face means ball hits above the COG which causes the face to “roll back” and the gearing effect of this is to reduce the backspin on the ball. Hitting lower does the opposite. This ignores the effect of bulge / roll. Watch the Trackman Maestro on youtube (look for gear effect) he does a better job explaining. All else equal, tee higher = lower backspin, tee lower = higher backspin. Once you understand gear effect you’ll see why.
tom stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 3:53 pm
Yep…Joe is right on
tom stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 3:52 pm
Because of the face design from top to bottom…impact should be higher in the face to give you higher launch with less spin. Most players hit it below the center-line of the club thus gaining extra spin.
jm
Jan 28, 2014 at 11:14 pm
actually i think (though i could be wrong) that most clubs are truly designed to be hit on the actual sweetspot, which is typically in the center of the face. it usually gives the highest ball speeds.
impact should only be higher on the face if you need higher launch with less spin. not all players need these specific changes, especially tour players. tour players need a balance of launch and spin to maximize not just distance, but accuracy as well. tour players typically require a higher spin rate than amateurs of the same swing speed in order to keep the ball in play more on the typically firmer fairways on tour.
hitting it high on the face should also not be the first or even second solution to this problem in my opinion. if you need to hit it higher with less spin there are more efficient, effective and consistent ways to achieve
Chris
Jan 27, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Thanks for a very intresting article. I always wonder how certain handicaps hit with their driver off the face. And Great idea with the Dr. Scholls spray.
Barry
Jan 27, 2014 at 10:52 am
thats weird!im off 10 and thats exactly where i connect with my drives,but i have the odd paintscraper too 🙁
Drew
Jan 27, 2014 at 10:38 am
Does this just wipe off when you’re done? If so, brilliant!
tom stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 11:34 am
yes…no residual marks
Chris
Jan 27, 2014 at 10:32 am
Interesting, yet I have read many articles on GolfWRX that have talked about the sweet spot on most drivers being higher towards the outside of the face. So …not really hitting the sweet or hotspot…??
tom stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 11:35 am
all depends on where the driver cog is located…a hot-topic as to where the “actual” sweetspot is located
Rick
Jan 27, 2014 at 8:29 am
Great article. Also, I can’t wait to try the Dr.Scholls spray to check my impact point. Thanks!
tom stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 11:36 am
THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS REGARDING THIS ARTICLE!! I HAVE RECEIVED A TON OF TEXTS, EMAILS, AND TWEETS…..
Erickson Leonardo
Jan 27, 2014 at 3:19 am
My impact zone is so much better with deep face drivers, but sprayed all over the place with shallow face? Please idea?
Tom Stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 9:44 am
Some driver design “looks” make people more comfortable…
Andy
Jan 27, 2014 at 3:10 am
Well im in the 0 handicap category but mostly leave my clubface open or close, great post. thank you.
Spencer
Jan 27, 2014 at 1:45 am
By the far the most valuable piece I got from this was the dr. scholls spray instead tape to mark impacts. I’m getting a can!
Glen Metz
Jan 27, 2014 at 9:03 am
Same here. I’m wondering if that works on irons as well.
Tom Stickney
Jan 27, 2014 at 9:44 am
Yes irons too. Better off a mat
Jack
Jan 27, 2014 at 1:24 am
Note to self: Hit the driver more accurately to break into the 10 handicap range, and also buy a can of dr. scholls odor x.