Third, things change a little bit when you miss the sweet spot.
For example, let’s say you hit the ball in on the heel. What happens then is that since the center of mass of the club is not moving directly in to the center of mass of the ball, it causes the club to close down which, much like how a gear works, makes the ball turn the other way. So a heel hit can cause a ball to curve away from you.
Conversely, a ball hit on the toe of the club can cause the ball to curve towards you.
This phenomenon is actually why there is a bit of horizontal curve on drivers, fairway woods, and some hybrids. The bulge, as it is called, causes toe hits that will curve back towards you to actually start the ball out further away from you to help…
Read the rest of what Jaacob has to say about Missing the Sweet Spot in the May 2014 Monthly Handicap Improver here:
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