Club face alignment or face alignment is the primary factor, representing 85%, in determining initial ball flight. The other 15% is associated with club path. Let’s take a look at couple face alignment training aids.
There are only two contact points between a golf club and the golfer. That would be you hands.
Obviously, grip is critical for initiating a straight ball flight.
That does not mean the club face is pointing or aimed where you want it. It’s something I focus on every swing.
Grip, club face alignment and swing path have my full attention at setup.
When I grip the club, I hold the club head straight out in front of me.
I don’t set my grip until I’m convinced that the club face is square.
Having said that, I always wonder where the club face really is pointed after I set it down or hover behind the ball.
So, I bought a couple club face alignment training aids.
They are magnetic and non-magnetic.
The idea is that the magnetic club face alignment aid adheres to your metal clubs.
For my set that is for all my irons and woods. The exception is my driver.
The non-magnetic device is for my driver which is made from a composite material.
Non-magnetic
I really didn’t have anything for my driver until recently.
The product I bought is called “Drive Align” from Gentle Gator LLC.
They offer the Drive Align, Iron Align and Putter Align.
From Gentle Gator LLC:
Exclusive Align Tech
They say they have a patent pending breakthrough technology with no equal.
OK.
It’s a stick with a suction cup on the end. The key here is that no one else makes something like this.
The product actually looks and works great. It’s also $24.99.
Now, I happen to like this product and recommend it. It works great.
I have to tell you I really went back and forth about buying a dart gun and suction cup darts from Amazon when I first saw this.
You can buy the plastic gun and a half dozen suction cup darts for 10 dollars.
Magnetic
I bought my magnetic face alignment aid a long time ago.
So, I was not able to find the actual one I bought online, but there are about 25 different options starting at around 10 dollars and up.
Conclusion
I have a tendency to open or close my club face just a little at setup…sometimes.
Normally, my alignment is good, but I’d like my setup to be a good as possible as often as possible.
It doesn’t have to be off much for there to be a significant affect on initial start direction and ball flight.
There aren’t a lot of options for composite material clubs.
A suction cup device works great, except if there are grooves in the cIub face.
The grooves have a tendency to allow the suction cup to release.
I think these types of devices are really good for explaining ball flight to new golfers or for checking your setup periodically.
