Video:Open, Closed and Square Faces
with Todd KolbThe angle of the club face when you swing a golf club will determine the manner in which the ball travels. Here's a video guide to the three main types of club face: open, closed and square.See Transcript
Transcript:Open, Closed and Square Faces
I'm Todd Kolb with About.com. We're going to talk about a square, open and closed club face.
Angles of Club Face
The club face in golf is probably the biggest impact on the direction that the golf ball goes and there are three positions that it can be in: square, the desired position; open, which will cause the ball to go to the right; or closed, which will cause the ball to go to the left if we're a right handed golfer. So, as I get set up to hit a golf shot, when I get in here, it's based on where I want the ball to start, so I've got this club down here which is representing my target line. So my club face when it's in a square position looks like so, matches the intended target line.
Deviations From Square Club Face
If I want to hit the ball to the right, I could rotate the club face open would cause the ball to go a little higher and to the right. And, if I wanted the ball to go to the left, I could turn it down so it looks like such and it would cause the ball to work to the left. So one of the biggest impacts on the curve of the golf ball is the club face, there are three positions it can be in: square, the desired position so it's square to your target line; open, meaning it's pointed to the right of the target line; or closed, which would be pointed to the left of the target line and cause the ball to work to the left or a draw.