How the point of impact affects the rate of rotation, is explained in 1 minute

Welcome to Play Smart, GOLF.com’s regular game improvement column to help you play smarter, better golf.

Hitting your driver is inevitable. Unless you’re an expert (or a a lot high level ateur), the chances of you having an aging pattern in the center of the driver’s face are very small.

Fortunately for you, modern technology has made drivers incredibly forgiving. And with a larger clubface than any other club in the bag, you have more wiggle room when producing an off-center strike.

But while the driver’s face is certainly great, there are some areas that are better to hit than others. Close to the center is great (duh), but even if you’re from that sweet spot, there are some places that are better than others.

Our GOLF.com gear expert Jonathan Wall did some research on this topic over the past year, and the findings are very interesting. If you’re a club champion who likes gear work and the like, checking out the robot is worth your time.

If you don’t want to find out again away from the weeds on the gear side of things, we’ve got you covered. Top GOLF Instructor Andrew Rice recently posted a video explaining the basics of how swing quality is affected by strike position – and it’s well worth your time if you’re looking for an unusual crash course.

How the position of the charge affects the spin

Losing the center of the face and the driver is inevitable, but if you can’t miss the right places, you can reduce the damage.

The gear effect – i.e. the way the face turns after impact during the outside strike – plays a big role in your ball flight (you can read more about this thing here). The topic can be complex, but Rice summarizes how these off-center strikes positively affect pitching quality.

“If I hit the ball low on the clubface, the spin rate goes up,” Rice said. “If I hit the ball higher on the clubface, the spin rate goes down.”

The same situation is true if your strike is on the toe or heel. The ball will roll around the center of the clubface on off-center hits. You can see a good breakdown of it all below.

How can this help you in the course? Well, it’s great information to have when trying to hit a different shot shape. For example, if you are trying to hit a draw, you can try to hit the ball more from the toe, and vice versa with a fade.

Having this knowledge is key to understanding your ball flight – and can be used as a weapon to shape the ball without the ball.

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Before joining the GOLF team, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists in all instruction and covers youth and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.