Face to Path
The single number that explains why your ball curves.
In plain English
Curve comes from a mismatch: face pointing one way, swing travelling another. Face open to path → the ball curves toward your fade side. Closed → your draw side. Matched → straight.
Going deeper
Face-to-Path (FTP) = face angle minus club path. Every slice, hook, baby draw and hold-off fade is just an FTP number. Fix the mismatch, not the symptom.
The advanced view
Curve scales with FTP AND loft: the same 4° FTP hooks a 4-iron more than a lob wedge because lower spin-loft converts more of the mismatch into axis tilt. This is why long clubs expose face problems that wedges hide.
Why it matters for scoring
It's the diagnosis behind ShotIQ's Face Control flag — the most common stroke-costing issue in amateur data.
How it shows up in your ball flight
FTP positive (open to path) = fade-family curve; negative = draw-family. Bigger number, bigger bend.
How it shows up in launch monitor data
ShotIQ derives FTP from face minus path (or spin axis when face/path aren't recorded). Persistent FTP beyond your tolerance band is what triggers Slice/Hook patterns in the Live Range coach.
Typical values: ±2° for a playable one-way shape.
Symptoms
- Predictable one-way curve
- Ball won't stop cutting even with a 'good' path
- Curve grows with longer clubs
Common causes
- Grip biasing the face
- Release timing (early = closed, late/held = open)
- Path changed but face didn't come along
How to improve it
- Train face and path TOGETHER — a gate for the start line plus an exit feel for the path
- Measure after every change; FTP responds within a session
- Pick a stock shape and own a small, repeatable FTP instead of chasing zero
Drills that train this
Related concepts
- 🛤 Club PathThe direction the club is travelling at impact — the engine of curve.
- 🎯 Face AngleWhere the face points at impact — the boss of the start line.
- 🛰 Ball Flight LawsThe physics decoder ring for every shot you've ever hit.
- ↪️ Shot ShapeOwning ONE reliable curve beats chasing straight.
- 🔓 ReleaseHow the face squares through impact — timing, not flipping.
Metric deep-dive: the full guide to this number.
Ask the ShotIQ coach
Questions this concept answers about your data, one tap away in the app:
- “Explain face-to-path”
- “Why does my ball curve so much?”
- “Teach me to hit a draw”