What Is The Most Important Part of the Golf Swing?

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

Clubface and Swing Path! The golfer that can control the relationship between the clubface and the swing path can control their golf ball and play more consistent golf than most golfers.  The best golfers have great confidence in their start line and the curve of the golf ball which is most significantly impacted by the clubface at impact and the direction of the swing path.

The golf swing can be really complicated.

First, the golfer must worry about setup.  Are they aimed properly?  What about the posture? And the grip?

Next, he or she must get the perfect backswing before transitioning to the downswing in the golf swing and finding the right position at impact and into the follow through.

Sounds complicated doesn’t it?

What if we could simplify the golf swing down to the most important part of the golf swing?

What Is The Most Important Part of the Golf Swing?

Update: For far too many years, golf instructors spent way too much time with the backswing in golf. If you study the greatest swings (which I have) of highly successful golfers, you will find various swing positions on the backswing, they then even transition different, but end up at a similar impact position, which allows them to control the club face and swing path. Take your game to the next level and control the two most important parts: club face and swing path!

Bottom Line: The golfer must control their clubface and the swing path.

If you do a review of some of the golf swings of all time, you will notice a variety of setups, postures, grips, swing paths, positioning of hands at the top of the downswing and the shifting of the weight in the swing.  The moment of truth for all golf swings is what takes place at impact and the relationship between the clubface and the swing path.

Check out these two post below for greater insight on the greatest swings of all time the weirdest swings of all time!

All of the golfers in the weirdest golf swings of all time, have really strange backswings, but ultimately they found a quality impact positions and controlled the relationship between the clubface and the swing path.

It is all about the club face!

Why Does the Clubface Matter in Golf?

We have learned a great deal from the ball flight laws that have been clearly identified in the past decade or so.  What we know:

  • The ball will start relative to the direction of the clubface at impact.
  • The ball will then curve away from the swing path.

For example: if your clubface is 2 degrees open with a 4 degree to the right swing path, you will hit a shot that starts to the right and draws towards the target (push draw)

2nd example If your clubface is 2 degrees closed with a 4 degree to the left swing path, you will hit a that that starts to the left and fades towards the target (pull fade)

There are hundreds of combinations that golfers can have and they vary throughout a round of golf.  The best golfers are able to control their clubface within 1-3 degrees and their path within a range of 1-3 degrees.  Sometimes the shot might fly a bit straighter or with a little more curve, but generally speaking the ball moves in a predictable pattern.

If you want a shot that starts right you must have an open face at impact.  If you want a shot that starts left, your clubface should be closed at impact.

The ball will then curve relative to the path.  The ball flight laws tell us it wil curve away from the swing path.

What is a draw shot in golf?

Why Does The Swing Path Matter in Golf?

The more your path is to the left or to the right, the more likely you are to hit shots that curve more significantly or have big misses left or right.

For Example: If your swing path is 10 degrees right with a club face that is 10 degree open, you are going to hit a big shot to the right (Block or Major Push)

2nd Example: If your swing path is 10 degrees right with a club face that is 2 degree open, you are going to hit a shot that over draws left of the target after starting slightly right of the target (overdraw).

Once again, there are plenty of combinations, but the more your swing path is extreme in one direction, the more you are going got push, pull, overdraw (hook) or over-fade (slice) a shot.

Modern Golf Swing vs Classic Golf Swing

The Skytrak is a great feedback tool to help you control the club face and the relationship with the swing path in golf.

Ideal Relationship Between Clubface and Swing Path?

Some golfers might be thinking, well I will just strive to have a perfectly square clubface with a straight path?  And perfect the straight shot. The problem with this approach is that if one or two of the factors are slightly off, the ball will constantly be curving away from the target.

Instead, the golfer wants to hit a stock draw or stock fade, aim appropriately and work the ball towards the flag.  While we could debate if a draw or fade is the better option.  At the end of the day, pick one shape and perfect that shape shot that matches your eye and your swing.

For example: if you want to play a stock draw, you could have a club face that is 1-2 degrees open with a swing path that is 3-5 degrees to the right.  This stock shot will be a pretty push draw that starts right and draws towards the hole.

2nd example: if you want to play a stock fade, you could have a club face that is 1-2 degree closed with a swing path that is 3-5 degrees to the left.  This stock shot will be a nice pull fade that starts left and fades towards the hole.

Both of these examples provide a quality margin or error and lets you control your misses in the right spots when you don’t hit the perfect numbers to hit the perfect draw.  Instead the ball might over curve or not curve enough, but it will be within a certain range.

Fade Shot in Golf (Overview)

How To Develop Clubface and Swing Path Control?

I would highly recommend our stock shot drill below.  Once again, the best golfers can control their clubface and then the relationship with the swing path.

Stock Shot Drill

  • At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
  • If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
  • Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target.  Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
  • The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.

If you start to struggle with curving the ball too much or being inconsistent with your shot shape, return to this drill and train your clubface and swing path to develop the shot that best fits your game.

Some of the best of all time at controlling the club face and the curve of the ball.

What About Everything Else (Grip, Stance, Alignment, Swing Plane, Transition, etc)?

As we touched on before, the best golfers of the world have had a variety of grips, alignments, postures, swing planes, transitions, impact positions and follow throughs.  Some have played a fade, while others have played a draw.  

Some have hit it high, while others have hit it lower.  But what they do have in common is the ability to control the clubface and the relationship of the clubface to the swing path.  They strike the ball solid, control the curve of the ball and have plenty of speed to play the game.

Too many golfers spend too much time worrying about every little detail in the backswing, when in reality they should be worried about the matchups and movements in the swing that bring the clubface and swing path to and through the right spots.  While the picture perfect swing might be most efficient, spending years trying to build this swing and never getting there can really take the joy out of the game.  

One of my favorite golf swings of all time is Lee Trevino.  He aimed way left and hit a push fade for most of his career.  

Final Thoughts

Golf is a great game and one that becomes really fun when you can play a stock shot all day around a golf course.  You find that consistency you are seeking and can manage your game all day long!  

The stock shot drill is my favorite drill in all of golf and helps a golfer reach certain levels!  The clubface is indeed the most important part of the golf swing as it tells the golf where to start.  The swing path then tells the golf ball how to curve based on where the clubface is at impact!

At the end of the day, the golfer must control three things:

  • The low point in the golf swing (quality impact)
  • The start line and curve of the ball (stock shots)
  • Enough speed to play the course

These stock shot drills take care of the 2nd item listed above and controls the start line and curve of the ball.  If you need help with low point control or speed, check out the links below:

Play the best courses in the world even during the winter months on a golf simulator! See below for more details with plenty of links.

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently.  About four years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.  I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer.  I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.  I can practice or play rounds of golf.  I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you?  I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor.  Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed.  Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier.  Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system?  It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

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