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alignment issues

nikkoplease

nikkoplease

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hey freddie,

i have alignment issues on the course. i use sticks on the range that help, but when i get to the course it doesn't translate well for me. my alignment issues become very apparent on par 3s. i have a repeatable swing and i know my distances, i hit it straight but right. it's my understanding that most RH golfers naturally aim right of their target, but i'm even more right than that.

my playing partner stood behind me one par 3 and i asked him to align me to point at the center of the green. needless to say my original set up was nowhere near where he set me up (which was correct).
 
I was always told to look over my left shoulder(right handed golfer) and whatever you are looking at should be where the ball goes (considering you hit it strait) Inaddition you might also need to check to make sure you whole body is in alignemt i.e. feet hips and shoulders are all lined up square to you're intended line.
 
Your shoulders, hope, knees and feet should all be on the same line that is parallel to the line the club head is on. A very elementary way of looking at it is you are standing on railroad tracks and the club head is on the other rail.

To attain this in the course. Find your target and then find an intermediate target three feet in front of the ball. Set the club square to the intermediate target. Now set your body perpendicular to the sole of the club face. The line created with the leading edge of the club should bisect you in the middle of your body, a cross of sort. If you look down and you are at an angle to the leading edge, adjust until you perpendicular to that edge.
 
Great explanation Freddie. About as easy as it gets, yet so many golfer's have issues with their alignment.
 
Yep. No point in pounding balls to get a great swing if you can't hit target
 
thanks freddie. i'll try the intermediate target thing you explained. i also watched some of the golf last week. i noticed everyone had some sort of preshot routine that aided in their alignment
 
hey! it worked pretty well. i kind of modified it though. basically i stand a couple feet behind the ball. make a line with my club to where i want to hit it. then i walk that line to my ball. place the clubhead down on the ground and make it perpendicular to the ball. then i line up my feets, hips, and shoulders and let it rip. thanks friends
 
Glad to know it helped
nikkoplease said:
hey! it worked pretty well. i kind of modified it though. basically i stand a couple feet behind the ball. make a line with my club to where i want to hit it. then i walk that line to my ball. place the clubhead down on the ground and make it perpendicular to the ball. then i line up my feets, hips, and shoulders and let it rip. thanks friends
Click to expand...
 
I've been having some pretty serious issues with this lately. After my round yesterday, checkered told me I was aiming way right of my target in most cases with my feet - which would explain the pull hooks I kept hitting with my hybrids. My problem is, I FEEL like I'm aimed at the target, and the correct line feels way left. So, I think it comes down to getting the time on the range and convincing myself that the correct line doesn't feel weird.

Not sure if I'm even asking anything, but just needed to get it out there and see if anyone has comments. I think my swing itself is getting pretty sound, but I need to get the lines sorted. Is the key alignment sticks, or will that not help since I can't bring those to the course?
 
I struggle with the same SBG. Lining up correctly appears to be very, very left to my eyes.
 
I think i was having the same issues this weekend. I was losing a lot of tee shots to the right and I think it is because I was set up way too open on the tee. I went to the sim during lunch today where it is really easy to stay aligned properly and I was hitting some of the straightest drives I have seen. Just need to figure out what the proper alignment looks like on the course.
 
No joke, guys. When set up correctly, it feels like I'm setting up for a big fade or sand shot or something - when, in reality, I'm right on. Sounds like you have the opposite problem, Alek - the correct line looks like a big draw line or something.
 
There was something I took from here a while back that helped me.

Set up one foot line stick. Then, two parallel sticks about 8-12 inches apart that are a ways in front of your ball. Some people stand the two sticks up like a gate. Line up correctly and aim so that your ball will start between the sticks. Then take the time to look and feel how your body is in relation to the target. Always something that crops back up for me, but that has helped.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
No joke, guys. When set up correctly, it feels like I'm setting up for a big fade or sand shot or something - when, in reality, I'm right on. Sounds like you have the opposite problem, Alek - the correct line looks like a big draw line or something.
Click to expand...

Usually when you change something that has been ingrained really deep like grip or stance it always feels odd at first. To me thats how I know I am doing it right when I make a change.
 
captaincaution said:
I think i was having the same issues this weekend. I was losing a lot of tee shots to the right and I think it is because I was set up way too open on the tee. I went to the sim during lunch today where it is really easy to stay aligned properly and I was hitting some of the straightest drives I have seen. Just need to figure out what the proper alignment looks like on the course.
Click to expand...

Been working on my alignment for the last couple of weeks and has been the focus of my last 2 lessons with my instructor. I was setting up so right of the target and then had my shoulders facing left, I was crossing my body up.

My instructor has been huge in showing me ways to get myself aligned while on the course. We did a playing lesson and it was eye opening and frustrating for me all at the same time.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
No joke, guys. When set up correctly, it feels like I'm setting up for a big fade or sand shot or something - when, in reality, I'm right on. Sounds like you have the opposite problem, Alek - the correct line looks like a big draw line or something.
Click to expand...

i too tend to set up closed. something that helps me is how i look at the target once i'm in my stance. if you "pull" your head to look at the target by turning your chin into your left shoulder (for a righty), you're not looking directly down your alignment lines. i try to "swivel" my head by turning my chin up to the left along my alignment lines, kind of like how you look down your line to putt. when i do this, it very often shows me that i'm closed to the target.
 
amsmith61 said:
Been working on my alignment for the last couple of weeks and has been the focus of my last 2 lessons with my instructor. I was setting up so right of the target and then had my shoulders facing left, I was crossing my body up.

My instructor has been huge in showing me ways to get myself aligned while on the course. We did a playing lesson and it was eye opening and frustrating for me all at the same time.
Click to expand...
I think, for reasons other than alignment, a playing lesson would really benefit me. I'm not taking any lessons right now, but I think I'd get the biggest bang for my buck out of a playing lesson.
 
captaincaution said:
I think, for reasons other than alignment, a playing lesson would really benefit me. I'm not taking any lessons right now, but I think I'd get the biggest bang for my buck out of a playing lesson.
Click to expand...
Playing lesson was other reasons as well, but alignment ended up coming up and opened my eyes considerably.

I plan on doing another playing lesson in a month or so. I personally found it more beneficial at this point then being on the range with her.
 
caeleric said:
i too tend to set up closed. something that helps me is how i look at the target once i'm in my stance. if you "pull" your head to look at the target by turning your chin into your left shoulder (for a righty), you're not looking directly down your alignment lines. i try to "swivel" my head by turning my chin up to the left along my alignment lines, kind of like how you look down your line to putt. when i do this, it very often shows me that i'm closed to the target.
Click to expand...
Hm interesting. I knew there was a parallax that was screwing my alignment over, but for some reason I never though of this to fix it. Will have to try this at the range tonight.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
I focused more on my alignment today on the course and had much better results. I think i was setting up too open which was leading to my rights. Just have to remember to concentrate on it in the future.
 
My instructor recommends always using alignment rods when practicing on the range, because it helps you get used to what "correct" looks like.
 
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