why straight?
 

Many of my shots are weak fades/slices. But from time to time I feel that I have made a good shot. It's long and straight. But the divots go out to left as usual - maybe as much as 20-30 degrees. Why does then the shot go straight? What determines whether a shot is a slice or straight when swing path is the same? I'm not talking about pulls - that I understand - it's the straight one that puzzle me.

But does hitting it off the toe of the club feel like a good, powerful shot?

Pulls go too far to the left. Slices too far to right. There must a point where it does not go to the left or the right - and that should be straight?
I guess that some kind of combination in 2-D-1 (with an out-to-in swing path) gives a straight shot? But it's nothing that I can count on - it's just pure luck. Nice when it happens though.

I would expect that this is an issue of club face control, that you are not consistent getting the face squared up in your swing. It may be open at impact much of the time, causing the weak fade/slice. Occasionally, when you get the face squared, the ball goes straight. Maybe working on clubface control would eliminate the inconsistency.

The problem is that a straight clubface hitting the ball on this out-to-in swing path dosen't make it go straight, but results in a pull. So I guess the clubface has to be a little open, but not so much that it results in a slice? Maybe it's the D-plane that makes it go straight occationally ?(Which I don't know anything about).

In this instance, you club face needs to be square to the line of flight, not your plane line. I assume that you are speaking of iron shots, where you hit the ball before low point. If the face is square to the plane line traced on the ground, you will get a pull, probably a pull hook. In any case, you have to square the face up more than you have been in order to eliminate the fade/slice.

I am by no means an expert and am speaking from my experience. I play with an open plane line and hit the ball straight when I get my face squared to the target line (not the plane line), and hit fade/slices or pulls when I don't. Another fault of mine is to allow my head to move forward in the swing resulting in a plane line that is even more to the left than I intended and moves everything forward. That will also keep me from squaring the club face as needed, resulting in either weak fades or pulls.

I probably have the same problems as you mention here (and some more). Yes,it is mostly with irons, but I have a couple of shots with a 2 hybrid that were "wonderful" allthough the divot said otherwise.

A list of possibilities....
 

Ok, so here are the most likely outcomes:

1) As I mentioned before, An outside in swing that hits the toe. Does it feel like a powerful shot? Hard to answer. Put some dry erase on the ball and check the marks on your iron face so you can see.

2) Assuming a centered strike, a ball hit before low point, need a low point plane line that points left of the target(for righties) and a face pointing at the target. This is because when the ball is actually struck, the club head is still moving downward, outward and forward. That's the direction we need to be at the target for a straight shot.

I can assure you if your divot is 'actually' 20 or 30 degrees to the left, the only way you are going to get a straight ball at the target will be to hit the ball on the toe.

Just Not Gettin' It
 

Having a really hard time here. Please help.

In your example:

1. The ball is struck before Low Point.

2. Low Point is Down Plane from Impact Point (assumed for practical purposes to be on the Target Line, though actually slightly inside it).

3. Impact and Low Point both lie in the same Clubhead orbit and on the face of the same Inclined Plane. In fact, "Plane" lines may be drawn through each that are parallel, the Low Point Plane Line being further "down" than the Impact Plane Line (and therefore further "out"). In which case . . .

4. The Low Point Plane Line lies below the Impact Plane Line.

Here's my question:

If Impact occurs prior to Low Point, how can the Low Point Plane Line (tangent to the orbit) be "inside" -- Above Plane -- the Impact Plane Line (chord across the orbit)?

:confused1

Ok. To be more clear, I should have said impact separation would be on the target line. Fair enough.

The reality is that the impact separation line is not parallel to the low point plane line.

Here are a couple pics:





It's quite possible that I am using the phrase plane line incorrectly. If the ball is struck before low point under all the conditions you mentioned, the direction of the club into the ball is to the right of the low point plane every time.

Hopefully the pictures help and if my use of terminology is incorrect, I do apologize.