Club Path

The Launch Direction of a golf shot is defined by Trackman^® as the horizontal direction of movement of the golf ball’s center of gravity immediately after leaving the club face. It is typically expressed in terms of degrees right or left of the target line – a line projected onto the ground that extends through the golf ball to the intended target.  Launch direction does not include vertical information about the shot. Two major factors influence launch direction – Club Face Angle and Club Path.

Face Angle is the horizontal direction in which the club face points at impact. Face angle is expressed in terms of degrees right or left of the target line.

Club Path refers to the direction the clubhead is moving at the moment of impact with the golf ball. Club path is also expressed in terms of degrees right or left of the target line, but it is often described in terms of inside and outside the target line, which requires some explanation.

The golf swing isn't perfectly upright. The club swings on a tilted plane, called the swing plane. This means that if we were to observe a golfer from overhead and trace the arc of the swing onto the ground, the path of the club during the backswing would veer inside the target line, not straight back and through, along the target line.

During the downswing, the clubhead approaches the ball from inside the target line again and (in an ideal, neutral swing) returns to the target line right at the moment the club contacts the ball. After impact, the clubhead travels inside the target line again as the golfer completes the swing.  So, to clarify, inside refers the side of the ball on which the golfer stands. Outside refers to the opposite side of the target line, beyond the golf ball.

The club path controls swing direction, so if you rotate the swing plane to the right or swivel to the left, it will change where the clubhead is swinging, relative to the target. The swing path can be altered by changes in stance and alignment as well as swing mechanics. These variations from a neutral club path are often referred to as In-to-Out and Out-to-In:

Club path influences the initial direction of a golf ball's flight, but to a smaller degree than club face angle. In fact, Trackman^® data has shown that on iron shots, face angle is approximately 75% responsible for the initial direction of the golf ball. Club path is responsible for the remaining 25%.  On shots with a driver, this gap is even larger. The direction where the club face is pointed is 85% responsible for initial direction with only 15% attributable to the path of the club.