[Jeff]

Mike - thanks for replying.

Let's examine this issue of the clubface's relationship to the clubhead swingarc more closely.

Here is a photo of Vijah Singh at impact.



One can see that his left wrist is flat and that the back of his left hand is facing the target. Note that the clubshaft has forward shaft at lean at impact and that is has not yet reached its low point (when it should be vertical to the ground). So, the question becomes - where will the clubface, and the back of the left hand, be facing at the club's low point?

I presume that you agree that a neutral grip will mean that the back of the left hand is parallel to the lower edge of the clubface (or lower clubface grooves if the lower clubface edge is rounded) - as demonstrated by Brian Manzella in this photo from an article that he wrote.



Thirdly, I will presume that you agree that all clubs have a slight degree of hookface-offset built into the club.

OK. So, consider my argument. Here is a diagram showing the movement, and orientation, of the clubface through the impact zone.



The green curved line represents the clubhead arc (as seen by a golfer - when viewed from above). The dotted orange line represents the ball-target line and the intended direction of ball flight of a straight shot. The red dot represents the ball. The blue lines represent the clubshaft and its offset hook-faced clubface.

Let's presume that the low point of the clubhead arc (and therefore deepeset part of the divot) is 4" ahead of the ball position.

Point 1 is a representation of the clubface approaching the ball with a slightly open clubface. At this point, there is forward clubshaft lean because the clubhead has not reached its low point, and the hosel of the clubshaft is still moving downwards and outwards and forwards. At this point. the clubface is slightly open to the ball-target line, and also minimally open to the clubhead arc of travel.

Point 2 is the time-point of ball-clubface separation. If the ball remains in contact with the clubface for approximately 4/1,000th of a second, then the clubface will travel about 0.88" further (from the point of first ball contact) before ball-clubface separation happens. At this time-point, the clubface needs to be square to the ball-target line for the ball to go straight towards the target. However, the clubface will not necessarily be perfectly square to the clubhead arc at this time-point - because it presumably depends on the amount of hook-face offset built into the club.

Point 3 is the low point of the clubhead arc, and it is 4" ahead of point 1 (as measured linearly along the ground). It is at this point on the clubhead arc, that the hosel of the clubshaft is going to start moving forwards, upwards and inwards. At this time point, the clubshaft must be vertical to the ground, and if it is vertical to the ground, and the club has a hook-faced offset clubface, then surely the clubface must be slightly closed to the clubhead arc at this time-point. That also means that the back of the left hand must be facing slightly left of the target at the low point of the clubhead arc (if it was facing the target at impact).

After point 3 (during the followthrough phase of the swing), the clubface will surely become even more closed to the clubhead arc, and the back of the left hand will face even more leftwards relative to the target) if the golfer is using horizontal hinging, and not closed to the clubhead arc if the golfer deliberately uses angled hinging.

Finally, regarding the "fact" that horizontal hinging predisposes to a straight ball flight with a tendency to fall to the left at the end of its ball flight - I got that perception from Tom Tomasello's swing video lessons in the gallery. He demonstrated that the ball tends to roll to the left after landing when using horizontal hinging, while the ball tends to roll to the right when using angled hinging. I have presumed that the end of the ball flight is not straight (even if the clubface is square to the target at the time of ball-clubface separation) due to draw spin imparted by horizontal hinging, and slice spin imparted by angled hinging. Am I wrong?

Dariusz

You wrote-: "angle hinging (that means keeping the clubface square to the arc) brings more repeatability and consistency because it may eliminate (or better said, may limit) the timing issues and subdue the clubhead motion to the pivot much better."

First of all, angled hinging only keeps the clubface square to the clubhead arc after impact, and not pre-impact (during the release swivel phase of the swing). Secondly, from a swinger's perspective, horizontal hinging can be perceived to be the more natural hinging action, while angled hinging requires an additional deliberate effort (to keep the clubface square to the inclined plane and clubhead arc) during the followthrough. Therefore, I could imagine a person rationally arguing that a horizontal hinging action will be a more consistent/reliable hinging action for a swinger (while angled hinging is more natural for a hitter).

You also wrote-: "I am surprised you thought that square-to-the arc means a square to the target line position at impact." I didn't make that mistake! See my post to Mike above.

Finally, although I enjoy "digging dirt" in the library, I also go to my local golf practice facility 2-3x per week for 3-4 hour sessions of "digging in the dirt" Hogan-style.

Jeff.