Golf Alignment – One Of The Most Vital Lessons In Golf
Whenever I see inexperienced golfers hit the golf ball I notice that usually they are not aligned correctly to their target. The most common mis-alignment problem I see from these inexperienced golfers is that they’re aligned way too far out to the right. This is because the inexperienced golfer generally seems to have a tendency to hit the golf ball with their arms, which in turn causes the ball to pull to the left. Therefore the inexperienced golfer with this type of problem will then tend to compensate for a flaw in their swing by just aiming their body out to the right, instead of fixing the actual flaw.
The result of all this will mean that the inexperienced golfer’s bad swings will make the ball go on target, but sadly their perfect swings make the ball end up in the trees, or bunker on the right of the target. So, they are seeing their good shots as bad shots and bad shots as good shots. If this is true then these golfers will never have any desire to correct their swing problems. If they don’t correct their swing problems then they’ll never be able to reach their golfing potential. This is why I say that alignment the most important lesson in golf.
Check Your Alignment
To find out if you’re a golfer who has flaws in your swing, it is necessary for you to check your alignment. To do this, all you need to do is choose your target and then set up as you normally do. When you feel as though you’re ready, lay a club down at your heels or your toes. Then, step back about 10 paces behind the ball to see where you were actually aimed. If the club you placed at your toes or heels is parallel left of your actual target, you have properly aligned yourself. If the club on the ground points to the right of your target you are mis-aligned.
If from doing this you find that you were mis-aligned, then you’ll need to learn to square up your stance. To do this, simply find a target in the distance that you want to hit the ball to. Take out 2 golf clubs that you rarely hit (ie. 3 iron and 4 iron). Take the first club and lay it down directly at the target (you will have to step back a few paces to check this). Place the second golf club parallel to the first club on the ground. Now, take away the first club that is pointing at the target. You should have one club on the ground that is parallel to the left of your target.
Once you’ve got the golf club on the ground parallel left of your target line you have a guide to assist you in aligning your feet, knees, hips and shoulders squarely. If you aim your body squarely to the club on the ground and you hit the ball to the left of your target you have just found out that you are pulling the golf ball which means you are trying to hit the ball too hard with only your arms. If you hit the ball to the right of the target from this square alignment you are sliding your body too much laterally through impact, which is causing the ball to fly to the right.
Discovering that you’re aligning yourself incorrectly can be quite shocking at first. Do not view that as a bad thing, but rather see it as a positive thing. This discovery is positive because now you’re aware of the fact that you have a swing flaw and you can start on your way to correcting it so that you’ll be able to play even better golf in the future.
About the author: Paul Wilson is the creator of the Swing Machine Golf method. This is based on the Iron Byron swing machine. If you haven’t seen Iron Byron in action it really is an incredible machine. It hits the golf ball perfectly, time after time, using any golf club in the bag.
Iron Byron was modeled after one of the best golfers of all time; Byron Nelson, and it’s incredibly consistent, it provides you with the proof you need to finally understand how the golf swing works. Imagine going to the practice range knowing exactly what to work on! With Paul’s technique, there is no more guess-work. By relating the Iron Byron back to your own golf swing, you’ll finally know exactly why you have not been improving, and you’ll know exactly what you have to work on to finally have that consistent swing you’ve been dreaming of.
