[BerntR]

I personally imagine it to be a long spike or nail driven through a golf ball. It points down into the ground and to the right, my clubhead is the hammer. One visualization as the cure for the three types of Steering.

As you say at first contact.

But at separation the club face and the ball has rotated a few degrees. And hopefully both of them point in the direction where you want to start the ball. So then it will be down and forward.

The down part will lead to compression leak. Too steep impact can literally be a slice even though the ball takes a draw pattern. If we could dismiss the physical side of things (or biokinetics or whatever) - a flat path through the ball would be best. I believe shallow through the ball is a good thing if it is produced the right way.