EYES: Setting up for alignment starts with the golf club: the club face must be square to the target. But if the golfer does not see a square face as square, the rest of the set-up is doomed. To train their eyes we use two parallel alignment rods, placing the ball in the middle. As long as the clubface grooves are perpendicular to the rods the club face is square. Most of the time the error is a club face pointed to the right, or open.
BODY: Once the golfer is able to square up the club face the next step is to square up the body. We use the alignment rods to make sure that both feet are the same distance from the rods. But we don’t just look at the feet. We also make sure the hips and shoulders are square and in line with the feet. The most common mistake we see is the feet square but the shoulders swung out to the left. These “open” shoulders typically create a slice.
BRAIN: Lastly we make sure the golfer knows where the target is. We test target awareness by having golfers get into their stance, close their eyes, and point to the target. It is not unusual to see students pointing 20 and 30 yards away from their target. Fortunately they quickly grasp the importance of knowing where the target is, and in short order figure out how to memorize the location.
The great news is that perfecting your alignment is a lot easier than changing your swing. A few practice sessions focused on alignment will soon find you hitting better shots to more fairways and greens.
