Accurate Drives - Lesson by PGA Pros Pete Styles & Matt Fryer
Accurate Drives - Lesson by PGA Pros Pete Styles & Matt Fryer

In this video tip PGA golf professionals Pete Styles and Matt Fryer will explain how we can all improve the accuracy of our drives by understanding how the face to the path relationship of a golf club reduce the curvature that is imparted onto a golf ball. Once you have a good understanding of this face to path relationship we can then turn our attention to focusing on an accurate strike of the golf ball coupled with a balanced follow-through. This should all result in nailing your driver straight every time.

One of my favorite questions to start any golf lesson is “If I could give you a magic wand and you could wave that over any club in your bag make that club better which club would you choose?” You've already chosen which will he choose, he's already gone for the driver, and I think that's what I see sort of 95 percent of the time it's not driver it's putter by the way. So 95 percent of the time it's I just want to drive it straight I just want to stand on the tee outside just like it's an easy thing but I just want to stand on the tee and know that I'll drive it down the middle each time, Finally it's the one that's remembered in the bar afterwards and it's always talked about the satisfaction of having good drives and it's that feeling of going home and even if you shot a score that was slightly over your handicap but I nailed my driver and that will bring me back the week after and the week after that because I just want to hit this straight such a big hit for you. So Matt how can we nail driver? OK so to get straight shots we're going to need one key thing definitely and that is a good face to path relationship. So I want to talk face and path we're talking something that's relative to our target line so if we were setting up to the driver now it be something where we have a target line which is all that you are intended finishing point you. And then what we need is something where these 2 things match up so firstly the face where the club face is aiming relative to our target line still have something to sometime that may be open to the target line. So I'm looking right for the right and player will have something that's closed left for the right handed player and then a neutral one the face is looking straight down target.

Yes a square face and then what we've got is actually the direction the club will be traveling in. Is it coming you know we will have heard terms of out to in, in to out now relating to the ball so is it coming from inside the golf ball inside this way or is it coming from outside over there and we want to blend those two things together the face in the path. We're going to see curvature of the golf ball if they're different to correct me if I'm wrong but the face and the path need to be as close to neutral as possible definitely see a perfectly straight shot now if you've got a consistent draw or a consistent fade face in the path might not be the same but the balance yes that you know the numbers you know with trackman's and flight notes and things like that we're obviously able to analyze it in greater depth. Nowadays and the closer the numbers are the less curvature we're going to have the numbers the balance the numbers work together but if we've got a path that's like face that's it's going to spin the a lot and likewise that's right is good in a ball a lot. Matt is describing there a path and a face relationship that is in harmony quite close to neutral and that takes a bit of a spin off the golf ball which helps us with hitting the ball straight, but there's more. Definitely yes so one of the things I see from a lot of my lessons when they're coming into it they get the driver It's like you said earlier you know we want to hit it long we want to hit it far a bit of bravado comes in we're going to smash the ball all of a sudden we've been swinging our irons in a nice controlled manner, and then we swings we finish we're holding the finish. All of a sudden the driver comes out of the bag and we turn into Speedie Gonzalez who looks like it out a few drinks and can't stand up after he's hit it. So if we can make a swing where A you know we've got a good face to path relationship if we are balanced it is going to help us strike out the middle as well. So something where we're trying to get the most centered strike we can get the ball out of the middle of the club is going to help us as well. So although this club face is big and I'm told it's really forgiving still a middle yes definitely we have a sweet every club has a sweet spot with the driver it's located obviously towards the center and just slightly above the equator of the driver. If we're getting out of the heel and the toe the way drivers are designed with the faces with rolling bulge which it's going to impart a different spin to try and help us out so we can center our strike more often going to help get it close to target and see straighter shots.

What follow through position do you think you would see most often with someone that has nail striking on the ball. Oh the straight one you know if you think of any driver you see being hit on tour ladies tour gents tour whatever it is. Everyone is stood holding the finish in a balanced position they don't look out of control you know they look like they got exactly that so they could stay or could stand there all day would literally stand yeah could stand there all day they'd make a swing good solid set up make the swing. Like that one nice solid controlled swing you know they don't look like they've swung to fact they swing within themselves that you look quick on tour obviously but the holding the finish. What do you think the amateur club golfer is more off balanced? Yes definitely you know give you one of those it's like we said a minute ago but a bravado comes in I'm going to give this a whack in front of my mates I'm going to look fantastic and it's well that's not so good that one there not the best not the best but again falling off a straight away the first one I hit it right up the middle and I've got a big scuff mark there down at the bottom of the club from where I've not managed to deliver that centered strike. So we're looking for nailing tee shots waving that magic wand over the bag it's going to be centered strike it's going to be that good big balanced follow through nice, but that commitment particularly understanding that path to face relationship getting those numbers nice and neutral and possibly employing some help from a P.G.A. golf professional in your area to understand that face to path relationship to some golfers don't quite get it right. I think you know my father's been a pro said to me if you can get a good understanding and give the client a good understanding of that if you understand your face and your path going to have so much more success with your golf it relates so much back to the ball flight. So once you've got a good understanding you are going to see better shots. So if you have a good understanding crack on see if you can nail your drives. If you're not too sure understand face and path centered strikes a balance finish positions and hopefully those great tips from Matt will help you nail your driver.

2018-11-09

In this video tip PGA golf professionals Pete Styles and Matt Fryer will explain how we can all improve the accuracy of our drives by understanding how the face to the path relationship of a golf club reduce the curvature that is imparted onto a golf ball. Once you have a good understanding of this face to path relationship we can then turn our attention to focusing on an accurate strike of the golf ball coupled with a balanced follow-through. This should all result in nailing your driver straight every time.

One of my favorite questions to start any golf lesson is “If I could give you a magic wand and you could wave that over any club in your bag make that club better which club would you choose?” You've already chosen which will he choose, he's already gone for the driver, and I think that's what I see sort of 95 percent of the time it's not driver it's putter by the way. So 95 percent of the time it's I just want to drive it straight I just want to stand on the tee outside just like it's an easy thing but I just want to stand on the tee and know that I'll drive it down the middle each time, Finally it's the one that's remembered in the bar afterwards and it's always talked about the satisfaction of having good drives and it's that feeling of going home and even if you shot a score that was slightly over your handicap but I nailed my driver and that will bring me back the week after and the week after that because I just want to hit this straight such a big hit for you. So Matt how can we nail driver? OK so to get straight shots we're going to need one key thing definitely and that is a good face to path relationship. So I want to talk face and path we're talking something that's relative to our target line so if we were setting up to the driver now it be something where we have a target line which is all that you are intended finishing point you. And then what we need is something where these 2 things match up so firstly the face where the club face is aiming relative to our target line still have something to sometime that may be open to the target line. So I'm looking right for the right and player will have something that's closed left for the right handed player and then a neutral one the face is looking straight down target.

Yes a square face and then what we've got is actually the direction the club will be traveling in. Is it coming you know we will have heard terms of out to in, in to out now relating to the ball so is it coming from inside the golf ball inside this way or is it coming from outside over there and we want to blend those two things together the face in the path. We're going to see curvature of the golf ball if they're different to correct me if I'm wrong but the face and the path need to be as close to neutral as possible definitely see a perfectly straight shot now if you've got a consistent draw or a consistent fade face in the path might not be the same but the balance yes that you know the numbers you know with trackman's and flight notes and things like that we're obviously able to analyze it in greater depth. Nowadays and the closer the numbers are the less curvature we're going to have the numbers the balance the numbers work together but if we've got a path that's like face that's it's going to spin the a lot and likewise that's right is good in a ball a lot. Matt is describing there a path and a face relationship that is in harmony quite close to neutral and that takes a bit of a spin off the golf ball which helps us with hitting the ball straight, but there's more. Definitely yes so one of the things I see from a lot of my lessons when they're coming into it they get the driver It's like you said earlier you know we want to hit it long we want to hit it far a bit of bravado comes in we're going to smash the ball all of a sudden we've been swinging our irons in a nice controlled manner, and then we swings we finish we're holding the finish. All of a sudden the driver comes out of the bag and we turn into Speedie Gonzalez who looks like it out a few drinks and can't stand up after he's hit it. So if we can make a swing where A you know we've got a good face to path relationship if we are balanced it is going to help us strike out the middle as well. So something where we're trying to get the most centered strike we can get the ball out of the middle of the club is going to help us as well. So although this club face is big and I'm told it's really forgiving still a middle yes definitely we have a sweet every club has a sweet spot with the driver it's located obviously towards the center and just slightly above the equator of the driver. If we're getting out of the heel and the toe the way drivers are designed with the faces with rolling bulge which it's going to impart a different spin to try and help us out so we can center our strike more often going to help get it close to target and see straighter shots.

What follow through position do you think you would see most often with someone that has nail striking on the ball. Oh the straight one you know if you think of any driver you see being hit on tour ladies tour gents tour whatever it is. Everyone is stood holding the finish in a balanced position they don't look out of control you know they look like they got exactly that so they could stay or could stand there all day would literally stand yeah could stand there all day they'd make a swing good solid set up make the swing. Like that one nice solid controlled swing you know they don't look like they've swung to fact they swing within themselves that you look quick on tour obviously but the holding the finish. What do you think the amateur club golfer is more off balanced? Yes definitely you know give you one of those it's like we said a minute ago but a bravado comes in I'm going to give this a whack in front of my mates I'm going to look fantastic and it's well that's not so good that one there not the best not the best but again falling off a straight away the first one I hit it right up the middle and I've got a big scuff mark there down at the bottom of the club from where I've not managed to deliver that centered strike. So we're looking for nailing tee shots waving that magic wand over the bag it's going to be centered strike it's going to be that good big balanced follow through nice, but that commitment particularly understanding that path to face relationship getting those numbers nice and neutral and possibly employing some help from a P.G.A. golf professional in your area to understand that face to path relationship to some golfers don't quite get it right. I think you know my father's been a pro said to me if you can get a good understanding and give the client a good understanding of that if you understand your face and your path going to have so much more success with your golf it relates so much back to the ball flight. So once you've got a good understanding you are going to see better shots. So if you have a good understanding crack on see if you can nail your drives. If you're not too sure understand face and path centered strikes a balance finish positions and hopefully those great tips from Matt will help you nail your driver.