Club Path
The direction the club travels through impact. The direction of the strike mark gives you a practical clue about that path.
Free interactive tool
The Ball Flight Lab
Change club path, face angle, and strike location. See where the ball starts, how it curves, what contact adds, and the next change to make.
- Face
- Mostly controls where the shot starts.
- Face to path
- Helps determine the direction and amount of curve.
- Strike
- Can add gear-effect bias and influence distance.
Interactive simulator
Read the whole impact picture
This right-handed model is an educational estimate. Use the controls with a mouse, touch input, or keyboard arrow keys.
Impact controls
Build your strike
Out-to-inIn-to-out
Closed / leftOpen / right
ToeHeel / hosel
Fat / behindThin / high
Predicted shot
Slice
- Shot start
- Starts 4° right
- Curve
- Strong curve right
- Face to path
- +8°
- Contact
- Centered contact · minimal gear effect
- Strike
- Pure · 100% distance
Diagnosis
Slice: out-to-in club path with the face 8° open to the path.
Corrective guidance
- Reduce the open face-to-path gap first. Check grip and face delivery before making a larger path change.
What to look for on your Divot Board
Expect a centered mark pointing left of the target line, starting at the ball and extending forward.
Quick scenarios
Load a common miss
How ball flight works
Your ball does not lie. It reports impact.
Start direction, curve, launch, and contact quality all carry information. Learn the three relationships below and a miss stops feeling random: it becomes a diagnosis you can test on the next swing.
Face Angle
Where the clubface points at impact. It contributes most of the ball’s starting direction in this right-handed model.
Face-to-Path Gap
The difference between face and path controls curve. An open gap curves right; a closed gap curves left for a right-handed golfer.
The fourth dimension
Contact changes the flight, too.
Especially with a driver, toe contact can add draw bias through gear effect and heel contact can add fade bias. An extreme heel strike can bring the hosel into play. The point where the club first reaches the surface also helps distinguish fat, pure, and thin contact.
Shot Shape Dictionary
Every flight has an impact pattern.
These nine common results combine start direction and curve. Use the simulator to see how face, path, and strike can move a shot from one family to another.
On line
Straight
The face is square to the target and the path is nearly neutral, so the start line holds and curve stays minimal.
Controlled right to left
Draw
For a right-handed golfer, the face is slightly closed to an in-to-out path and produces a playable left curve.
Strong right to left
Hook
A larger closed face-to-path gap creates a sharper left curve that is harder to control than a draw.
Low and sharply left
Snap Hook
An extreme closed face-to-path relationship sends the ball rapidly left with very little room to recover.
Controlled left to right
Fade
For a right-handed golfer, the face is slightly open to an out-to-in path and produces a playable right curve.
Strong left to right
Slice
A large open face-to-path gap creates excessive right curve, added spin, and often a meaningful loss of carry.
Starts and stays right
Push
An in-to-out path and a matching face point right together, so the ball launches right with little curve.
Starts and stays left
Pull
An out-to-in path and a matching face point left together, so the ball launches left with little curve.
Blocked to the right
Block / Push
A strongly in-to-out path with a face close to that path launches the ball right without enough curve to return.
Fix Your Miss
Turn the diagnosis into one clear task.
Choose the miss you see most often. Each guide separates the impact cause, a focused correction, and the mark to watch for on your Divot Board.
Miss guide
The Slice
Clubface open to path
What is happening
Face is open at impact
The face points right of the club path and creates rightward curve for a right-handed golfer. The wider that gap becomes, the harder the ball curves.
The fix
Square the face before rebuilding the path
First test a face that returns closer to the path, then make smaller path changes instead of automatically swinging farther left. If the pattern persists, use a qualified coach to identify the swing-specific cause.
What to see on the board
A left-pointing mark often appears
The mark may show an out-to-in path. As face delivery improves and the path neutralizes, the ball should curve less and the mark should point closer to the target.
Goal: a mark at or just right of the target line with controlled curve.Miss guide
The Hook
Clubface closed to path
What is happening
Face is closed at impact
The face points left of the club path and creates leftward curve for a right-handed golfer. An over-active release or a path too far from the inside can widen the gap.
The fix
Quiet the face rotation
Test a smaller face-to-path gap without assuming one universal grip or hand fix. Keep rotating through the shot, and use a qualified coach to identify the swing-specific cause if the pattern persists.
What to see on the board
A right-pointing mark is common
The mark may confirm a strong in-to-out path. A smaller face-to-path gap should turn the hook into a controlled draw while keeping contact centered.
Goal: a mark at or slightly right of target and a ball that curves back gently.Miss guide
Fat Shot
Low point behind the ball
What is happening
The club bottoms out too early
The club reaches the ground before the ball, so turf or mat contact removes speed before impact. Hanging back, casting, or early extension can move the low point rearward.
The fix
Move the low point forward
Shift pressure to the lead side before the downswing and rehearse brushing the surface beyond the ball. A tee or towel placed safely ahead can provide a clear forward-strike goal.
What to see on the board
The mark begins behind the ball
The first disturbed sequins appear before the yellow ball position. Use each rep to move that starting edge forward instead of judging the strike only by sound.
Goal: the mark starts at the ball and extends toward the target.Miss guide
Thin Shot
Club delivered too high
What is happening
The leading edge catches the ball high
The club is already rising or never gets low enough, so the leading edge meets the ball near its equator. Loss of posture, hanging back, and scooping are common contributors.
The fix
Keep the handle moving through impact
Maintain posture and let the hands stay ahead of the ball as the club continues down and through. Trust the club loft instead of trying to lift the shot.
What to see on the board
The mark is shallow or missing
A thin strike leaves little feedback or begins too far forward. Compare repetitions until a clear mark consistently starts at the yellow ball position.
Goal: a clean mark beginning at the ball with a visible forward extension.Miss guide
The Pull
Out-to-in path with a matching face
What is happening
Path and face point left together
The ball starts left and stays there because the face is close to square with an out-to-in path. There is little curve to bring the shot back.
The fix
Neutralize the swing direction
Let the trail shoulder work down and rehearse sending the club less left through impact. Keep turning while giving the club room to approach from inside the target line.
What to see on the board
The mark points left of target
The board makes the across-the-ball direction visible. Track whether the mark rotates toward the target line as the delivery becomes less out-to-in.
Goal: a mark pointing at, or only slightly right of, the target line.Miss guide
The Push
In-to-out path with a matching face
What is happening
Path and face point right together
The ball starts right and stays there because the face follows an in-to-out path. The miss often appears when rotation stalls and the arms become trapped behind the body.
The fix
Keep the body rotating
Clear the lead side and keep the chest turning through the shot. Rehearse a slightly more neutral exit so the club does not remain excessively inside-out.
What to see on the board
The mark points right of target
Watch the right-pointing mark rotate toward the target as rotation improves. A neutral mark paired with a centered strike should produce a straighter start.
Goal: a mark on the target line and a ball that starts straight.Miss guide
The Shank
Hosel or extreme-heel contact
What is happening
The ball misses the center of the face
The hosel reaches the ball before the usable face and sends it sharply right. Crowding the ball or moving the club outward during the downswing can shift contact toward the heel.
The fix
Move contact toward center or toe
Check spacing and posture, then make small rehearsals that intentionally find the toe side. Build speed only after center contact returns consistently.
What to see on the board
The contact trace shifts heel-side
A heel-biased surface trace can show how the sole is arriving. Use the next swings to move that trace toward center while keeping the path direction stable, then confirm face contact separately.
Goal: centered contact with a clean, repeatable path mark.The Divot Connection
Your strike mark is already telling the story.
A mark pointing left or right shows swing direction. Its heel-toe position shows where the sole crossed the surface. Where it begins relative to the ball shows low-point control. Read together, those clues connect the simulated flight to what the club actually did.
Grass feedback can disappear quickly, and many ordinary mats hide the strike trace. Divot Board keeps the mark visible after each repetition so you can make one change, swing again, and compare the evidence.
The board is a surface-contact aid, not a launch monitor: use ball flight or face spray to confirm face angle and exact heel-toe impact.
Make the feedback visible
See what your strike is actually telling you.
Keep the surface mark visible long enough to compare path direction and low-point location from one swing to the next.
Ball flight questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes a slice?
For a right-handed golfer, a slice appears when the clubface is open relative to the club path at impact. The face largely controls the start line, while the size of the face-to-path gap controls how strongly the ball curves right.
What does my divot tell me about my swing?
Divot direction offers a practical clue about club path: left usually indicates out-to-in and right indicates in-to-out. Where the mark begins also shows whether the club met the ground before, at, or after the ball.
What is club path?
Club path is the direction the clubhead travels through impact relative to the target line. It combines with face angle to determine the shot pattern, and the direction of the strike mark provides a practical path reference.
What is the difference between a draw and a hook?
Both move right to left for a right-handed golfer. A draw is a smaller, controlled curve; a hook comes from a larger closed face-to-path gap and curves more sharply. A snap hook is the most severe version.
What causes a fat shot?
A fat shot happens when the club reaches the ground before the ball. That early contact removes speed and moves the visible strike mark behind the ball position; moving pressure and the low point forward addresses the cause.
What is gear effect?
Gear effect is additional curve created by off-center face contact. Toe contact tends to add draw bias and heel contact tends to add fade bias, with the effect modeled more strongly for a driver than an iron or wedge.
What are ball flight laws?
Ball flight laws describe how face angle, club path, and contact combine to shape a shot. In this educational simulator, the starting-direction estimate weights the face more heavily than the path, then uses face-to-path and strike location to estimate curve.
What is heel and toe contact?
Heel and toe describe where the ball meets the clubface. Center contact minimizes gear effect, toe contact adds draw bias, heel contact adds fade bias, and extreme heel or hosel contact can produce a shank.