The Importance of Impact

Every golf shot ever hit is the result of how the golf club contacted the golf ball. In the .0004 seconds the golf ball is on the club face, it receives its marching orders- spin, trajectory, initial direction, curve etc. If that is the science or the ballistics of impact, and it is, then it stands to reason that it should be our only concern. Everything else we see or hear about the golf swing is a suggestion of how to get there. And when we look at the very best players in the world, we know there are MANY ways to get there.

• The club face angle will determine roughly the initial direction of the shot.
• The path of the club in relation to the face angle will determine the curve on the shot.

The angle of "attack" will determine the trajectory and spin of the shot (as well as the low point of the swing arc).

• The "centeredness" of contact will determine the solidity of the shot.

As I mentioned earlier, everything else in golf instruction is a suggestion of how to arrive at a square club face, correct path and angle of attack. In other words, we cannot lose sight of the forest for the trees. These days we have learned so much more than we used to know, but all the new evidence does not change the reality of impact. It was true for Old Tom Morris and is still true for Tiger Woods, you and me. And always will be true!

As an example, much of the new information we are discovering has to do with force and the ways to maximize it; how the optimal force (that one's own physical constitution allows) can be applied. Personally, I find these discoveries interesting and share them with my students when necessary. The data does not, however, create different impact, simply more dynamic impact. It does not alter what takes place during the time of collision. I make note of this because I work with a lot of senior golfers, who simply cannot create a lot of force. But that does not mean they have to hit poor golf shots. "Poor" golf shots are undesired outcomes. That is, they are shots not appropriate for a given situation - slicing, hooking, topping, shanking etc. They are not short shots; lack of power does not have to slice the golf ball - it simply means the golf ball flies shorter than it once did.

The reference I made earlier to golf instruction being a suggestion is precisely that - a suggested set of motions and positions designed to achieve good impact. All swing recommendations must be made for that reason and that reason only. A teacher should never make a swing suggestion randomly. I would never change something because it doesn’t “look right”!!! (Who would change Jim Furyk’s swing)? It's not unlike getting in your car, programming a destination in the GPS, and it offering several possible routes. One without tolls, one for less traffic, perhaps one more scenic, but the commonality is the destination. The destination in golf is proper contact at impact.

When your golf shots start to fly offline or roll instead of fly at all, the very first question should be: "what did the BALL do"? Next “what did the CLUB do at impact”? Lastly, what might I, the swinger, have done to misdirect the club”?  If you learn the club/ball impact rules, you'll answer your question straight away. Too many times when I ask a student what went wrong, they answer the SECOND question first: "I came over the top, I was too quick, I didn't keep my head down" etc. The answer to all those observations is...maybe!  What is definite is the position and direction of the golf club at impact. Long ago, I stopped referring to golf shots as good or bad or “terrible”.  Yes, they might have an outcome that is not appropriate for the required shot at hand, but it is more instructive, in fact more accurate, to describe them as left, right, topped, hit-off-the-heel etc. These shots should be learning experiences, not frustration provoking!

Remember, it’s not what the teacher COVERS in a lesson, it is what you, the student, DISCOVERS that matters!

Dennis Clark is a PGA Master Professional and a seven-time PGA award winner, including Golf Professional of the Year and Teacher of the Year. Dennis now teaches at Bobby Clampett’s Impact Zone Golf Indoor Performance Center in Naples, Florida and Eagle Lakes Golf Club. Some articles have previously appeared in Dennis’ popular column on GolfWRX.com.