Golf Ball Flight Rules

Knowing the ball flight laws can help take the guesswork out of diagnosing cause of errant shots.

What are the Ball flight laws? The ball flight laws are the 9 absolutes of how the direction of a golf ball will travel when hit from the three possible swing paths the club can take, as well as the three possible club face positions. Knowing what they are can greatly help a player better understand what has taken place when they see their ball travel a certain way and hopefully lead to self correction.

Let’s begin with the swing path. The club can follow three types of paths into and through the ball Here they are. 1-Inside to Out   2- Inside to inside 3-Outside to In.   The club face can arrive at the ball three ways 1-Square 2-Open 3-Closed.

A ball hit from inside out with the club square will result in the ball to go right -PUSH.

A ball hit from inside out with the club open will result in the ball right to right PUSH SLICE.

A ball hit from inside out with the clubface closed will cause the ball to start right of the target then curve left HOOK.

A ball hit from inside to inside with the clubface square the ball will go- STRAIGHT.  

A ball hit from inside to inside open will result in a shot that drifts slightly right -FADE.

A ball hit from inside to inside closed will result in a shot that stays slightly left- DRAW.

A ball that in hit from the outside in with the clubface square will result in the ball to go left- PULL.

A ball that in hit from the outside open will result in the ball to start left the curve right -SLICE.

A ball that in hit from the outside closed will result in the ball to start left and curve more left. PULL- HOOK.

So there you have it the 9 ball flight laws. The next time you witness your  buddy hit that common shot that starts left then curves right (SLICE) you can say to him, “Hey Joe you are coming outside in with the club face open.” He will think you are a competent teaching pro.  The fact is most people do not know the ball flight laws. Simply knowing the ball flight laws though doesn’t qualify you as such. Fixing the ills that result in these improper swings however does. This is where an experienced PGA Teaching Professional can really save people much time and confusion that often comes from when a person   tries to fix their problem without understanding the proper cause and effect.

For anyone who wishes to learn more about the ball flight laws as well as how to self diagnose their common shots more accurately you can call the Conte’s Palm-Aire Golf Academy and one of our experienced , friendly and knowledgeable staff of PGA/LPGA Teaching Professionals would be happy to help you improve your game. Until next time keep it in the fairway.

Fort Lauderdale Golf Pro