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Eric Alpenfels
Director of Golf Instruction /
Golf Academy at the Pinehurst Resort
The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc is privileged to
have Eric Aplenfels as one of our contributers.
Eric Alpenfels is the Director of the Pinehurst
Golf Academy and Golf Instruction at
Pinehurst Resort. He is a Class A Member
of the PGA of America and has been part
of the Pinehurst family since 1985. His
expertise has earned him recognition
from Golf Magazine as one of the “Top 100
Teachers in America,” Golf Digest as one of
“America’s 50 Greatest Teachers” and U.S.
Kids Golf as one of the “Top 50 Teachers for
Kids.” Eric’s activities beyond the fairways
of Pinehurst are extensive, and include
speaking engagements, contributions to
industry publications and participation as
an Adjunct Facility of the PGA of America
Education Department. In partnership
with Dr. Bob Christina, The Golf Academy
is conducting research to pioneer the
development of new practice techniques
and innovative drills. He recently
coauthored “Instinct Putting” with Dr. Bob
Christina and Dr. Cary Heath.
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Improving Impact
Part II
by Eric Alpenfels
In the first article of this series, I highlighted
the five impact factors that influence the ball’s
flight. These five factors include clubface
position, clubhead path, centeredness of
contact, angle of approach and clubhead speed.
The goal of the first of four articles was to give
a basic overview of the five impact factors and
their influences on the ball’s flight. This article
will focus on one of these impact factors and
highlight two of the most effective drills that I
have found to influence the clubface position
at impact. In my opinion, the importance of
the clubface position at impact might be (in my
experience) the most important impact factor
for the amateur golfer to control for enjoyable
golf. Future articles in the series will individually
address the factors of clubhead path and
centeredness of contact. As a reminder, the
definition of clubface position at impact is as
follows:
Clubface Position
There are three clubface positions that are
possible at the moment of impact. The first and
most common clubface position at impact is
open to the target line at impact. In this case,
the open clubface will curve the ball to the right
(for the right-handed golfer) in various amounts
influenced by the degree of loft of each club. For
example, an open clubface will curve the ball
very little (typically called a fade) with a seveniron
but will have a greater amount of curve
(typically called a slice) when hitting a driver. A
general rule of thumb is that the lower the loft of
the club, the greater amount of curve possible.
A closed clubface at impact will produce a draw
or hook depending on the degree of closed
clubface and the club being hit. Ideally, the
clubface is square to the target line at impact
which will eliminate any curve. Recently, the
term “clubface override” has become popular
when describing the situation where the face
position being extremely open or closed can
actually override the influence of the clubhead
path. In short, the significant influence of the
clubface position at impact is why it is being
discussed first in this series of articles.
The following drills can be used to neutralize
the clubface position at impact.
The “L to L Drill” begins with the golfer
addressing a teed ball with an eight-iron. After
addressing the ball with correct posture, the
club swings back and stops when the left arm is
parallel to the ground and the shaft is pointing
up. This “L” position created by the left arm and
shaft should be held for a moment to allow a
check of the correctness of the position. From
this point, the clubhead is returned back and
through impact and stopped at waist height
in the follow-through where the right arm is
extended and the shaft is once again pointing
up. In both cases, the wrists have been fully
hinged in the backswing and unhinged in the
post-impact position. Gradually, the speed of the
motion is increased through impact while the
positions are monitored. The overall objective
of this drill is to help the golfer develop a feel
of arm rotation and extension through impact
and the influence of this motion on the clubface
position at impact. If the ball curves to the right,
more rotation (closing of the clubface at impact)
is needed, and less rotation is needed if the ball
curves to the left.
One of the most effective drills that I can
suggest to help one square an open clubface at
impact is called the “Toe-In Drill.” The “Toe-
In Drill” begins with the golfer addressing an
imaginary ball with correct posture and an eightiron.
After swinging the club to waist–height in
the backswing, the club is swung back to the
imaginary ball where the toe of the club is ahead
of the heel. This exaggerated closed clubface
position helps one develop the feel of the
amount of arm rotation necessary to square the
clubface at impact. After rehearsing the motion,
attempts to hit the ball, recreating the same feel
through impact, should be attempted. As the
feel develops of what to do in the downswing
to square the clubface at impact, the length
and speed of the motion should be increased.
After creating the desired ball flight, full motion
swings with longer clubs such as hybrids and
drivers should be made while alternating back to
the shorter motion eight-iron. If the golfer tends
to have a closed clubface at impact resulting in
a hook the opposite approach should be taken.
In this case, the heel of the club should be ahead
of the toe at impact, thus eliminating a closed
clubface at impact.
No. 130 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.9
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