THE "SQUARE CLUBFACE" TRAP
G'day golfers.
If you’ve ever struggled with fat shots or a stubborn slice to the right, there is a good chance you are falling for one of the most common misconceptions in golf: trying to keep the clubhead and clubface moving in a straight line.
When golfers first take up the game, their intuition tells them that to hit a straight shot, the club needs to travel straight back from the ball and straight through to the target.
The problem? That is not how you swing anything in life—and it certainly isn’t how a golf club works.
The Consequence of Trying to Swing Straight
When you force the club to travel straight down the target line, two main faults typically occur:
Hitting the ground before the ball: Trying to guide the club down an unnatural path disrupts your low point, leading to heavy, fat contact.
The weak forehand slice: Because you fight the natural rotation of the club, the clubface often stays wide open through impact, leaking the ball weak and right.
The Real Geometry: The Swing Is an Arc
A golf swing does not operate on a vertical, straight up-and-down track. Because we are bent over and swinging around our body, the club moves on an inclined plane.
As you swing back:
The clubhead naturally travels to the inside of the target line.
The clubface naturally flares open relative to the target line.
If you were looking down from a drone directly above your head, the clubface wouldn't look like a track—it would look like a hinging door. It swings open on the way back, squares up at the bottom, and swings shut on the follow-through.
The Table Tennis Feel
So, I picked my target, checked my ball position, and made my swing to get it over the trees.
What happened? I hit it straight into the bloody branches anyway.
But here is the beauty of golf. Because I had picked a smart club and committed to the shot, it blasted straight through the leaves and I got away with it. I got very lucky.
We all need a bit of luck out there. But you only get lucky when you make smart decisions that put the ball moving in the right general direction. Stop trying to hit miracle shots when you are in the trees. Play the percentages, get it back in play, and take your medicine.
How to Actually Hit It Straight
Once you accept that the clubhead travels on an arc and the face rotates open and shut, hitting straight shots becomes much simpler.
You don't hit straight by steering the club. You hit straight by positioning the ball at the exact point in the arc where the face is square to your target.
For standard iron shots, that point sits directly below your center at the base of the arc.
Key Takeaway for Your Next Practice Session
Next time you are on the range:
Stop trying to steer the club straight back along the grass.
Allow the club to work naturally around you on the inside.
Let the face flare open going back and release shut through impact.
Focus simply on skimming the turf at the bottom of that natural arc.
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The Gold Coast offers a range of options including Emerald Lakes, Palm Meadows, Hope Island, Southport, and Coolangatta-Tweed. Paul Williamson provides personalised on-course coaching that goes beyond traditional lessons, covering skills, strategy, and mental game in real playing conditions.
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One-hour lessons provide quick tips but rarely translate under course conditions. Paul’s on-course coaching uses 9-hole assessments to build a tailored plan that actually drops strokes from your scorecard.
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Paul Williamson, a PGA Professional with 30+ years’ experience, provides personalised on-course coaching at courses around Carrara, Hope Island, Robina, Southport, Coolangatta-Tweed, and the broader Gold Coast.
