Definitions: Open & Closed

Video Transcript

One of the things that PGA Professionals do when we get together is we try to talk about our lessons and what are some of the things that are working and being effective. One of the things that comes up a lot is terminology. We will often use golf terms that we understand but that the student is often confused about what we mean. Anytime there is confusion between the student and the instructor there is going to be problems. I would like to go over a couple of terms that you probably heard and I want to make sure that you understand what the meaning of those words are. The first one is open. If a clubface is open that means that it is aimed to the right of the target. If it is closed it is aimed to the left of the target. That seems pretty simple but here is what is confusing. When you are talking about the body open has a different meaning, in fact the opposite meaning. If I am lined up to the target in a square or parallel position and I open my body to the target now I am aiming to the left. So open in terms of the target is aiming to the left. Closed in terms of the body to the target means my body is Closed to the target and I tis aiming to the right. Be careful when an instructor says open make sure whether they are talking about the clubface or the body because it will make a difference.