Why Do I Hit Offline Shots?
April 26th, 2012 | 
Author: 
We are all capable of hitting amazing golf shots, yet it is those mind-numbingly bad shots that ruin our day and erode any measure of confidence that we may have been hanging on to. The question we all would like to know the answer to is – why? Why was that shot so far offline when I’ve been hitting the ball straight just about all day? What is the primary cause of my inaccuracy?
My experience is that most golfers tend to look in the same place to find answers to their problems. Just like husbands tell their wives on every bad shot she might hit – “You lifted up!” Well, so to do we tend look towards the same area as a cause for our bad shots. Talking with my students it appears that far too many golfers are of the belief that bad shots are caused by a swing that was suddenly over the top or under plane – in other words the clubpath was different and thats what led to the offline shot. This is even a favorite for the golf commentators on Sunday afternoons – if a golfer hits a shot left coming down the stretch you are very likely to hear Nick or Johnny chime in with, “Well, he came over that one…”
Teaching with TrackMan has taught me that most golfers’ inaccurate shots are caused by one of two factors:
- An open or closed face at impact
- Or an off center strike (heel or toe)
Golfers tend to be fairly consistent with their clubpath. Keep in mind that this is a general statement and not all golfers are consistent, but my experience has shown that golfers that work at their game tend to have a good measure of consistency when it comes to the direction their clubhead is travelling at impact – clubpath. It may not be an ideal path or what they are looking for, but consistent it is!
Consistency to your shot pattern comes from quiet/passive hands through impact and a predictable point of contact on the face (even if it’s not in the center!)
If you would like to find out what’s causing your shots to veer offline contact me at andrew(at)andrewricegolf.com to set up a TrackMan lesson or to discuss an online lesson.
Posted in Long Game, Swing Philosophy | 
Tags: accurate golf, amazing golf shots, bad shots, clubface, clubhead, clubpath, hook, impact, inaccuracy, off center hits, off center strike, open or closed face at impact, over the top, passive hands, point of contact, pull, push, slice, straight shots, teaching golf, trackman
Hi Andrew,
Nice thought on the offline shots that one hits out of nowhere, when he’s playing well. I could not be a 100% sure at my level, in all the videos that I have recorded I have noticed that the club path and release of the club towards impact tends to be similar, but the face angle and point of impact on the club face varies. My question is what is it in the swing or posture that changes to cause this.
1. Is it the slightest of variation in the grip that causes this to happen?
2. Could it be a sudden lack of concentration or multiple swing thoughts?
Finally is there anything we amateur golfers could be to prevent this during the round or even during practice. Any Drills ?
Thanks!
Regards,
Sim
You mentioned that the face angle at impact was the primary determining factor for where the ball would finish. Did you misspeak here? Face angle is where the ball starts, but not necessarily where it finishes, correct?
Deron,
You could call it a misspeak – the ball starts primarily in the direction of the face ( left vs right and up vs down) and the face plays a far greater role in determining how the ball flies than the clubpath. Most golfers are fairly consistent with their path, and thus offline shots are primarily due to inconsistent face angle. I would still ay the face is the main (but not sole) factor in determining where a ball finishes.
Cheers,
Andrew
Ah, I see what you’re saying now, Andrew. Basically that when someone hits a push-fade, their face was too-open relative to the path. So, to fix that, the easiest option will just be to get their clubface more closed at impact (albeit still open to the target for the push-draw – assuming that’s the goal). So in the end, the ball doesn’t finish where the face was pointed (“old ball flight laws”) but the face was the main determining factor in two totally different shots – push-draw and push-fade – as the swing path was nearly identical.
Now you’re getting it!
I enjoy your weekly tips very much.Can you help me with the chicken wing? I can feel myself pulling my left arm to my side at impact and cant seem to stop it. Any ideas?
Thanks, Joe
Joe you’ve got to learn to swing from in to out…this gets the arms to maintain extension through and beyond impact thus eliminating the chicken wing. Thanks for reading.
Hi andrew,
Great post, love your site. With regards to impact location, do you believe gear effect has ANY affect on irons? I tend to heel hit my woods and barely fade them, and also heel my irons and notice a similar amount of fade (maybe 10-15 yds). Do you believe this is because of impact location or a different path to face relationship between my irons and woods?
Thanks,
Scott
Scott,
There is definitely GE with iron shots! I would think similar impact location and similar face to path…
AR