“Do I swing over the top, on plane or from the inside?”
Most amateur golfers by now will have heard of the evolution of Trackman in the golfing world. The data can be very useful when it is used effectively, however misusing the information can be equally catastrophic in some cases.
This is why it is paramount for golfers to fully understand the information and how it is relevant to their golf swing and their tendencies.
We at The Golf Room pride ourselves on educating all of our golfers on the key points they need to focus on individually, so they can become their own best coaches.
Swing Direction is a vital parameter when analyzing a swing and a golfer’s ball flight and can be an easy way to tell where you swing as a total picture is moving.
In essence, swing direction is “the direction the clubhead is moving at the lowest point of the swing.” It can also be thought of as how the clubhead is moving from your trail knee cap to your lead knee cap.
If you can imagine the swing as a tilted Hula Hoop (from knee height to knee height) the Swing direction is the direction the “base of the hulahoop” is pointed relative to the target line (for a right handed golfer) swing direction and for a fade anything between -2 and -6 would be ideal. You might be thinking, how can I have a negative swing direction and still hit a draw, we will cover this in a later session about club path.
If the swing direction becomes excessively negative (-7 or higher for a right handed golfer) the player will typically struggle with big slices and pulled shots to the left.
If the opposite is the case, the player will hook or push shots because their swing direction will be anywhere above +7 or higher (for a right handed golfer), therefore making it really hard to control the face.
During your next session at The Golf Room ask yourself the following vital questions so you can understand how you can improve your golf swing
What Ball Flight am I trying to hit?
What Swing Direction and path does this require?
What causes my swing direction and club path to become inefficient?
If any of these questions remain unanswered please don’t hesitate to contact us at the golf room or feel free to email me at mfarrer@thegolfroom.com.
Happy Golfing
Mitch Farrer – Golf Room Instructor and Golf Channel Academy Coach
