Free Interactive Tool · Ball Flight Lab

Why Your Ball Goes Where It Goes.

Face Sends It. Path Bends It.

Drag the sliders. Watch your ball flight change in real time. The card on the right tells you exactly what your shot is — and what's causing it.

Want to know why this happens? Keep scrolling ↓

The Two Things You Just Moved

Those Two Sliders Aren't A Simplification. They Are The Swing.

You just changed two things and watched the ball react. That's not a toy version of the swing — that is the swing. Every slice, hook, pull, and push you've ever hit came from these two things: what your clubface was doing, and what your club path was doing. Six words sum it up: face sends it, path bends it.

Three club path types: inside out, inside-square-inside (neutral), and outside in — labeled diagrams showing swing direction relative to target line
#1
Club Path

Which Way Your Club Is Swinging

Left, right, or straight at the target.

Think of it as the road the club is travelling on. Some swings cut across the ball going left (out-to-in). Some go right (in-to-out). The best ones go straight at the target.

→ Your divot mark shows this direction every time.

Closed, square, and open clubface angles
#2
Face Angle

Where The Clubface Is Pointing

Open (right), closed (left), or square to the target.

Think of the face as the steering wheel. Even on a perfect swing, if the face is twisted left or right at impact, the ball goes that way. It's about 75% of where the ball starts.

→ This is why most slicers can't fix it by changing their swing.

Remember This
Face Sends It.
Path Bends It.
Six words. That's the entire game. Everything else on this page is just showing you exactly what they mean on the course — and on the ground.

Now keep scrolling. See what each one actually looks like on the ground ↓

Club Path, Visualized

Three Paths. Three Different Shots.

Your club is doing one of three things at impact — swinging left across the ball, straight at the target, or right of it. Each one produces a completely different shot. Each one also leaves a different fingerprint on the ground.

The three patterns below cover every miss you've ever hit. Find yours.

Club path illustration — the direction the club is travelling relative to the target line at impact
Divot Board showing an out-to-in club path — divot mark pointing left of target
Swinging Left (Out-To-In)

Club swinging left across the ball. Produces slices (face open) or pulls (face matching). Classic slice pattern.

Divot Board showing a neutral club path — divot mark pointing straight at target
Swinging Straight (Neutral)

Club travelling straight toward target. Whether the ball goes straight depends on the face — but the path is right.

Divot Board showing an in-to-out club path — divot mark pointing right of target
Swinging Right (In-To-Out)

Club swinging right across the ball. Produces draws and hooks (face closed) or pushes (face matching path).

See It On Every Swing
Your real divot disappears in 3 seconds. Divot Board captures these exact path patterns after every swing.
See It →
But Path Doesn't Explain Everything

The Face Is Why It Curves

About 75% of where your ball starts comes from the face — not the swing. The face is the steering wheel. The path is the road.

Open face to the path → ball curves right. Closed face → ball curves left. The bigger the gap between face and path, the harder the curve.

That's why fixing your swing doesn't fix your slice. The face is the culprit.

Closed, square, and open clubface angles showing how face angle determines starting direction
75% of starting direction comes from face angle
The Numbers Don't Lie

With Irons, Your Face Angle Controls Where Every Shot Starts

75%
Face Angle
Where the ball starts
25%
Club Path
How much it curves
Your Miss, Diagnosed

Pick Your Shot. Here's What's Causing It.

You've been hitting that same miss for a while. It's not bad luck. Every miss has a cause — and once you know it, you can fix it. Tap your shot below.

Slice
Curves Right
Hook
Curves Left
Pull
Straight Left
Push
Straight Right
SHORT
Fat
Hits Ground First

The Slice

Ball starts left then curves hard right. Most common miss in golf.

1
What's Happening

Open Face

Your face is pointing right of your swing path at impact. The ball curves toward where the face points. Path and face disagree — that gap is the slice.

2
The Fix

Strengthen Your Grip

Rotate both hands clockwise slightly so you see 2–3 knuckles on your left hand. This closes the face without changing your swing.

3
What You'll See On The Board

Same Divot, Less Curve

The divot direction won't change much — but as your face closes, the ball will curve less and less to the right.

The Hook

Ball dives hard left with too much curve. Hard to control.

1
What's Happening

Closed Face

Your face is pointing left of your swing path. The bigger the gap, the harder it hooks. Often paired with an in-to-out path.

2
The Fix

Weaken Your Grip

Rotate both hands counter-clockwise so you see only 1 knuckle on your left hand. This opens the face back toward square.

3
What You'll See On The Board

Divot Still Right, Less Curve

The divot will still point right of target (in-to-out path stays). But the ball will curve less as your face opens toward path.

The Pull

Ball goes straight left with no curve. Path and face both pointing left.

1
What's Happening

Everything Is Left

Your path is out-to-in AND your face is matching it — both pointing left. The ball launches left and stays there. No curve because face and path agree.

2
The Fix

Shallow The Path

Drop your trail elbow closer to your body on the downswing. This shallows the club and turns the out-to-in path toward neutral.

3
What You'll See On The Board

Divot Rotates Right

As your path shallows, the divot mark will rotate from pointing left toward pointing straight — or even slightly right.

The Push

Ball goes straight right with no curve. Path and face both pointing right.

1
What's Happening

Everything Is Right

Your path is in-to-out AND your face is matching it — both pointing right. The ball launches right and stays there. No curve because face and path agree.

2
The Fix

Rotate Through Impact

Your body is stopping its rotation, leaving the club stuck behind you. Keep your hips and chest turning through the ball so the path squares up toward target.

3
What You'll See On The Board

Divot Rotates Left

As your path neutralizes, the divot mark will rotate from pointing right toward pointing straight — confirmation your body is releasing properly.

The Fat Shot

Club hits the ground before the ball. Big distance loss.

1
What's Happening

Low Point Is Behind The Ball

Your club reaches its lowest point before the ball instead of at or after it. Weight hanging back, or scooping with the hands.

2
The Fix

Forward Shaft, Weight Forward

At impact, your hands should be ahead of the ball. Press 60% of your weight onto your lead foot and keep it there through impact.

3
What You'll See On The Board

Mark Moves Forward

The divot mark on the board will shift forward — closer to the ball or past it. That means you've moved your low point in the right direction.

The Only Problem

Your Real Divot Disappears In 3 Seconds.

On grass it vanishes before you can read it. On a mat you get nothing. You now understand what your divot is telling you — Divot Board records it after every single swing so you can actually use that information.

See How It Works →
No app. No subscription. No technology. Pick it up and swing.

Common Questions

Does my divot actually show club path?
Yes — and it's one of the most reliable, free data points in golf. The direction your divot mark points is the direction your club was travelling at impact. Out-to-in swings leave marks pointing left of target. In-to-out swings point right. Divot Board preserves that mark after every swing on turf or mat.
If my divot points left, why does my ball go right?
Because the face controls about 75% of starting direction — not the path. Your divot pointing left means your club is swinging left (out-to-in). But if your face is open (pointing right) at impact, the ball starts mostly toward where the face points and curves away from the path. Classic slice: divot left, ball goes right. See how Divot Board records this on every swing →
What's the difference between a draw and a hook?
Severity of the face-to-path gap. A draw has a small gap (4–8°) — gentle, controlled right-to-left curve. A hook has a large gap (12°+) — sharp, hard-to-control curve that keeps going left. Same direction, completely different shot. The sliders in the tool above show this clearly — drag the face angle left while keeping a neutral or in-to-out path.
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