Alignment

The first step to hitting the golf ball in the direction you desire is to learn how to aim your body in the same direction. If you don’t aim in the direction you want to play then it will be luck rather than good judgement if your ball finishes there. One of the most common remarks I hear from pupils at the start of a coaching session is that they feel their alignment is poor. Unfortunately it is impossible to know whether your alignment is correct when you address the ball as you are unable to see down your target line and you have to rely on your minds perceived direction. When alignment is adjusted it will feel as if you are aiming offline as your mind will have become accustomed to your previous alignment even though it was wrong.

From now on, every time you practice make sure that you lay clubs on the ground aiming parallel to your target. Two clubs should be laid either side of you ball parallel to one another and about 6 inches apart (slightly wider for higher handicaps). The third club is for your feet alignment and should also be parallel to the other two shafts. By practicing in this way your mind will become accustomed to the feeling of correct alignment and this will then help your eye’s perception when you stand over the ball.

Stance and Ball Position

The position of the golf ball and your stance width are very important and often overlooked elements of your set up. Both have a direct impact on the quality of strike, direction and trajectory of the ball flight and as such it is imperative that you learn how to correctly stand and position your ball in your stance.

With the short clubs you should adopt a slightly narrower stance with the ball positioned centre/right in your stance (pic.1). This allows you to strike down on the back of the ball creating plenty of backspin without altering your swing. When playing middle irons you should slightly widen your stance and position your ball half way between your left heel and the centre of your stance (pic.2). Now for the Big Dog! When playing your driver, get the ball forwards in your stance so that it is positioned between your left heel & toe. Your stance should now be slightly wider than shoulders width, and you should have the feeling of sitting slightly behind the ball with your left shoulder tilted higher than your right (pic.3). This position will promote an upward strike on the ball and help you achieve optimum launch angle. You will notice that the position of my hands relative to my body has not changed with any club and that they remain opposite the inside of my left leg. It is very important that you understand that it is the ball position that moves and not your hand position.

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Centre of Gravity

Posture and spine angle are both worked on quite extensively with players as this dictates the plane of your golf swing. What is not so commonly observed is the angle of your spine from face on. This angle is very important as your body will pivot around your body’s centre of gravity. When you set up correctly you will find that the centre of your chest is pretty much in line with the centre of your stance (pic.1). If your spine leans towards your target at set up your centre of gravity will be too far forwards in your stance causing a steep backswing and a possible reverse pivot (pic.2). Alternatively if your spine angles away from your target then your centre of gravity will be too far back in your stance causing you to remain behind the ball and have to lunge forwards on the down swing or risk topping/thinning the ball (pic.3). Try standing in front of a mirror and look to see where the centre of your chest is situated in location to your stance. Remember this is for most full shots, if you are trying to punch a shot then your centre point should be further forwards and if you are trying to really launch a driver then it should be slightly further back.

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Correct distance from the ball

How far should I stand from the ball at address? The answer is quite simple; you should try to make your spine angle around 90 degrees to the shaft of the club you are using. When in this position you will find that your arms hang about 6 – 7 inches from your body (pic.3), giving you plenty of space to clear your body on the downswing.  If you stand too upright to the ball at address then your arms will hang too close to your body causing you to get trapped at impact and restricting your follow through (pic.1). Conversely, if you lean too far forwards then you will find your arms hang too far from the body causing you to tilt your shoulders on the backswing and hit steeply down on the ball, loosing both distance and control (pic.2). Try standing in front of a full length mirror so that you can see when your spine is at right angles to your club, this will feel a little awkward at first but stick with it and I will explain next week why this position is so important.

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Good Grip Good Golf

“You won’t see a good golfer with a bad grip”. I was told this as a youngster and believe it still stands very true.

In this article I will show you how to hold the club correctly so that you can engrain this in your memory.

Your left hand should rest on the club so that your thumb lies slightly to the right of centre and there is no gap visible between your thumb and first finger. In this position you should be able to read about half the name of the back of your glove or see around 2 knuckles on the back of your hand. It is also important that your left thumb does not extend too far down the club (pic.1). When you bring your right hand to the club it should lie in the base of the fingers. When you close you right hand around the club you can let your little finger either hook in with your left forefinger or simply lay it between the first two fingers of your right hand. When in position your right hand should completely cover your left thumb, the “V” formed between your thumb & first finger should point between your chin & right shoulder and no gap visible between thumb & first finger (pic.2). The most common fault I see is players with a weak left hand grip and strong right hand grip (pic.3). If you hold the club in this way it will be very difficult for your hands to work as one unit.

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Hand Position

The positioning of your hands in relation to your body with the various clubs in you bag is something that is often misunderstood.  Contrary to popular belief your hand positioning relative to your body does not change with any FULL shots, what does change is your hand position relative to the ball but this is due to the ball position varying as opposed to your hands. Your hands should always be in line with the inside of your left leg, so when you are hitting a pitch shot (pic.1) with the ball back in the stance your hands will be ahead of the ball. When you hit a mid iron with your ball slightly left of centre, your hands will also be slightly ahead of the ball (pic.2). But when you hit a driver and the ball is now opposite your left foot you will find that your hands are either above the ball or even slightly behind the ball (pic.3). You will notice that in every picture my hands have remained in the same position.

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