The Sand Trap posted an excellent article on how the angle of your clubhead can affect your shot. Pulling out some geometry, the article points out just how accurate you have to be to hit a drive in the fairway, hit a green on your approach, or sink a putt. For instance, if you hit a 250 yard teeshot on a typical course, if the angle of your clubhead is off by more than 4 degrees, you’ll be in the rough (assuming you aimed it correctly down the middle).

My take-away from the article is that you don’t want to short change yourself by being out of alignment from the start. If you aren’t holding the club square in your hands and or if you aren’t lined up in the right direction, you are making life a heck of a lot more difficult for yourself. If you don’t take the time to get your grip set properly and have your clubhead closed or open by just 4 degrees, even a perfect swing and proper aim may make your ball find the tall grass.

I knew I shouldn’t have slept through my high school geometry course.