[rwh]

Remember the old Ball Flight Laws, by Gary Wiren? One of them had to do with the Path and Face. It goes something like this...THE INITIAL DIRECTION THE BALL TAKES OFF IN IS A RESULT OF THE PATH, AND THE EVENTUAL CURVE OF THE BALL IS A RESULT OF THE CLUBFACE AT IMPACT.

How true do you think this is? If the face is open or closed enough... will the face over-ride the path?

The book says in 3-F-7-A... to "Depend on Clubface alignment for direction control."

What do you think?

Wiren has it exactly backwards.

The initial direction the ball takes off depends more on clubface orientation than path; The Search for the Perfect Swing, Cochran & Dobbs, Chapter 20 (1968 ). The amount of curve in the air is the direct result of the size of the angle between the swing path and face aim; ibid.