Club Face Control

[Bigwill]

One of the most insightful "tips" I ever got was from Scott McCarron at a clinic at Lakeside CC. He was hitting one beautiful draw after another with his 5 iron. I asked him if he always played a draw and he said, "no, but I hit about 95% of my range shots with a draw then go on the course and hit fades until I feel confident enough to hit the draw. When I practiced all the shots, I felt like I could miss it in any direction. When I practiced fades, it turned into a very weak spinny slice on the course."
My opinion is that this is superior practice to the 9 shot drill to develop consistency.

Wow. This is exactly what happens to me. When I tried to intentionally play an exclusive fade on the course, it turned into a banana ball that (over the course of the round) cost me upwards of 50 yards (but it did stay in play). My old man was blowing it by me. Not cool...

I'm glad you posted this, Bill. Between Tiger and Rickie Fowler, I was definitely considering trying that 9 shot drill, thinking that it might give me more control over the face. What he said about feeling he could miss in any direction lends credence to something I've thought lately about guys who work the ball a lot in both directions; if you move it both ways, doesn't it make it easier to miss both ways?

 

[ScottRob]

Bigwill,

Scott McCarron knows how to move the ball around, he just does not have the need to! Can you thread a ball through a narrow gap in the woods, bending it either way with multiple trajectories?

In fact, a lot of players cite the "hit the tree I was trying to miss" syndrome prior to d-plane. There is no doubt that there is going to be a shot shape that fits your eye better than the rest (and deliberate push-slices are rare shots out on the course) so by all means hit the "go to" shot more than any other.

For me and the 9 shot drill it is a matter of knowing where the face is relative to the path on all possible shots. Most of my practice as far as the face is concerned is spent on the right hand side of the of the target line (push-fades, pushes, push-draws) My face is seldom closed to the target line. I have worked hard to eliminate the left side of the course (a lot of OB stakes on the left side of my home course...15/18 holes!)

All of this is within the context of my d-plane honeymoon period. A month ago I could not have aimed a push-slice
anywhere near a workable target...I have yet to use it on the course. So, again a drill, not a practice routine!