Learn golf fundamentals

If you want to truly improve your golf game, you need to understand fundamentals first. Even if you are a seasoned player, you'll find gems in this page you never knew before. These are the building blocks. Come back and review from time to time.

Let's start with ball flight laws.

In short, the starting direction of the golf ball is determined mostly by the club face angle at impact. If this comes as a bit of a surprise to you, you aren't alone. The curve of the shot—whether it bends left or right—is caused by the difference between the club path and the club face angle. This creates side spin that causes the curve.

Most golfers who just hit a push-slice would be surprised to learn that their swing path was actually from inside to out, not over the top. The slice happened because their club face was open to the path—just a few degrees away from producing the perfect draw.

REMEMBER: The club face angle starts it, the path curves it. Whichever wins the fight is whether it goes left or right.

Where the ball finishes depends on how far the face and path are from the target line—and how open or closed they are relative to each other.

If you've ever suffered from a "two-way miss", it’s simply because your face-to-path relationship changes from swing to swing. Fix that combination, and your consistency will skyrocket. See? It’s not so hard to understand after all.

Have a look at this colour-coded image and table to see the 9 ball flights (not including chunks, duffs and that sh*nk of which we will never speak again).

REMINDER: It is the clubface angle at impact controls roughly 80–85% of the ball’s starting direction, while the club path influences the remaining 15–20%. The longer the club, the more the face angle is critical.

The curve or spin axis tilt—what makes the ball draw or fade—is caused by the difference between the face angle and the swing path, not the path alone.

And yes, because the ball travels much farther forward than it does sideways, those small differences in face and path can still send the ball well off target!

There is no doubt the draw is the pin-up boy of golf, probably because it is favoured by most Pros as every bit of distance makes a difference at Tour level.

In most (good) swings:

• A fade comes from a face that’s slightly open relative to path. That increases spin loft — the difference between dynamic loft and attack angle — which increases backspin.
• A draw usually has a slightly closed face relative to path, which reduced spin loft and therefore backspin.

The result? A draw typically flies a bit lower, penetrates more, and rolls out farther. A fade flies slightly higher, lands softer, and is easier to control.

Both shots have backspin, but their spin-axis tilt and spin magnitude differ — that’s what makes one curve left and the other right.

At the elite level, imagine the precision: a player might know that their fade will fly half a club shorter than their draw — and plan accordingly.

Some people want to change their natural swing, and full points to them. But ask yourself if it's necessary. Will you be a happier golfer by crushing 1 in 4, or missing 1 in 4? Know your swing faults and aim to "tame" them, not eliminate them.

• Aim for 1–3° difference between path and face.
• Let the ball curve gently one way; don’t chase zero.
• Small curves are predictable, perfect “straight” shots are not.

Imagine you’re standing inside a giant hula hoop tilted so it runs through your shoulders and down toward the ball. That hoop represents your swing plane — the flat surface your club travels along throughout the swing.

If the hula hoop is tilted more upright (more vertical), that’s a steeper swing plane — common with shorter clubs. If it’s laid down flatter, that’s a shallower plane — more like your driver.

The goal is to keep your club moving along the same angle the club shaft naturally sits at when the sole of the club is flat on the ground. That’s why you stand closer to the ball with shorter clubs and farther away with longer ones — each club is designed with its own built-in swing plane.

Now imagine rotating that hula hoop left or right. It's not much different to changing your feet alignment, BUT it changes your path in relation to the target!

The direction the hoop points = your swing path.

When your swing plane and path are both in harmony with your setup and club design, the clubface naturally returns to square at impact — that’s when everything just feels right.

Every golf club is designed with a specific lie angle — that’s the angle between the shaft and the sole of the club when it sits perfectly flat on the ground. This lie angle isn’t arbitrary; it’s built to produce the right angle of attack and low point position for that club.

Shorter clubs (like wedges) have more upright lie angles because they’re meant to strike the ball with a steeper angle of attack, hitting down and compressing the ball. That requires you to stand closer, with a more vertical swing plane.

Longer clubs (like your driver) have flatter lie angles because they’re designed for a shallower angle of attack, brushing the ball off the tee rather than hitting down on it. That means you stand farther away, with a flatter swing plane.

So the built-in geometry of the club dictates your ideal swing plane.

You don’t decide it — the club does. Your job is to match your posture, distance from the ball, and swing motion to the angle the club was designed to sit at when its sole is parallel with the ground.