Fix the face first!

If the face is open to your target line (facing right) at impact like the one below the ball will go right.

Conversely, if the face is closed to your target line (facing left) at impact like the one below the ball will go left.

The only way to compensate for the consequences of an open or closed clubface is to change the path on which the club head comes into impact.

If you swing from in-to-out (from behind you to in front of you) in the downswing and through the impact phase when the club face is closed you will restrict how far left the ball goes, as you are effectively trying to swing the club to the right (of your target) in order to stop the ball going left.

The converse is also true: if you swing from out-to-in (from in front of you to behind you) when the club face is open you will restrict how far right the ball goes, as you are effectively swinging to the left in order to stop the ball going right.

The legendary golf teacher John Jacobs claims that golfers will always compensate for a closed or open club face by adjusting the swing path (in the ways which I have described above) and that the easiest way to improve a golfer’s performance is to “fix the face”. In other words, if you can achieve a square club face coming into impact you will start to swing on the correct neutral path as you no longer need to compensate. As a result many other faults can disappear automatically.

I believe, like John Jacobs, that if you can achieve a square club face through impact you have paved the way for a golf swing which makes both your good AND you bad shots better. This is one of the first things we observe in our analysis of your golf swing.