Question:

TROLL

Newbie. The ball will start out almost 3 degrees to the right of the target. The initial direction of the ball flight will be where the face is pointed, not in the direction of the swing path.

This truth still stands.  You can prove it with a putter on the living room rug. — "And if you’re a miner, when you’re too tired and old and sick and stupid to do your job properly, you have to go, whereas just the opposite applies with the judges."  Beyond the Fringe

Response:

No, Jim, Barry is right on this: The initial direction is primarily determined by the club path, not the face angle.

Consider a shank.  There is no difference between hitting the hosel or the clubface, as far as the ball is concerned, just that the tangent at the point on the hosel where the ball meets it is not going toward the target. Were the face pointed in the same direction, the shot would behave pretty much like hitting the hosel. Consider this.  If there were a wall (instead of a clubface), and you threw the ball against the wall at an angle (the wall is moving toward you, in a relative sense, like the clubface toward the golf ball), would you expect it to bounce back straight at you?  Of course not. — "And if you’re a miner, when you’re too tired and old and sick and stupid to do your job properly, you have to go, whereas just the opposite applies with the judges."  Beyond the Fringe

Response:

The ball will start out almost 3 degrees to the right of the target. The initial direction of the ball flight will be where the face is pointed, not in the direction of the swing path. This truth still stands.  You can prove it with a putter on the living room rug.

it’s not really a valid experiment as the physics of a putter stroke are completely different to those of a full golf swing. i’ll propose another experiment. setup square to a target, both stance and clubface. now turn the clubface closed. and make your ordinary swing. assuming your swing is reasonably sound, the ball will start out on a line right at the target before hooking and finishing well left of the intended target. conversely you can open the club face and the same thing happens. i think this experiment is far more logical in disproving your statement than your argument of the putter is of establishing it. brett

Response:

There is an article on traditional clubs on golfweb right now <http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,910102_64,00.html.  Here is part of it: The key is the thin sole that enables the leading edge of the club to get under the ball so that the clubface "pinches" the ball off the tight Augusta fairways. Crisp contact leads to higher spin to hold the hard Augusta greens, and it leads to better distance control, which makes putting much easier. "That’s why I switched back from cast cavity-backed clubs," said Davis Love III, who changed to forged clubs about six years ago. "It was for control and to get a little more precision in the shots and to learn a little more about what I do when I do make a good golf swing." "I have always felt the better player needs a smaller-headed club," Norman said. "Otherwise, how can you work the ball when all the weight is put around the perimeter?" That’s the key. Hitting the ball a half inch off center on purpose creates desired draws and fades, which leads to that better distance control and more putts closer to the hole. Or as Love puts it: "Being able to hit a high cut to make it stop on one green and then hit a high draw and make it chase back to the pin on the next, which is what guys like Crenshaw, Olaz