How To Understand Clubface Rotation As A Beginner!!

When you're first commencing golf, there can be a lot of overwhelming information to navigate through which can make it confusing when deciding what technical aspect to work on first. The first part of becoming a better golf is obviously learning the basic fundamentals. This comprises of the set-up, alignment, ball position, grip and posture. The next element, which will dramatically improve your game, is how the clubface rotates through the swing.

When you don't have any formal training and you first attempt golf, it will feel logical to just swing the club straight back without any clubface rotation. However, in golf everything is rotating including the body and importantly the clubface. If you take the clubface straight back, you will start to find it very difficult to have any kind of loft in your shot as well lose any control of direction. Usually, the result will be a low left shot or on occasion, a shot that goes straight to the right (due to the contact being on the 'toe').

What you need is to be able to rotate the clubface on the backswing and the through swing. More specifically when the club reaches parallel to the ground on the backswing and after impact, the 'toe' of the club should be pointed to the sky. Therefore, as soon as you take the club back, you need to your arms and your hands to start gradually rotating the clubface. When demonstrating the rotation to a student, I often have them just taking their right hand and placing it on the club and then rotating the clubface on the backswing and then the follow through. While rotating the clubface, you also want to feel your body rotate as well.

Once you start rotating the clubface back and through, you also want to be mindful of what the clubface should look like at impact. The clubface should return back to square (original position) when you hit the ball. The hands should be in front of the clubface as well at impact. One important aspect to note is that you also want to make sure that you don't overdo the rotation. For example, you want to make sure that you don't rotate the clubface too much on the backswing as this can lead to uncontrollable shots left and right of the target. Just ensure the 'toe' is pointing to the sky when the club is parallel to the ground on the backswing and through swing and you will have controlled the clubface.

If you need any further help in understanding the clubface rotation, just contact myself at David Waters Golf located at Emerald Lakes Golf Coaching Centre.