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BACK TO BASICS - ALIGNMENT
BY TOM ATKINSON, PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL
Alignment in your golf swing is absolutely crucial, put in to
perspective a one degree discrepancy could lead to a 10-15
yard miss! Your brain is essentially a computer and will make
adjustments for you if it feels that something isn’t quite right,
should you be unknowingly misaligned these subconscious
remedies can have disastrous results as your club face, club
path and ultimately strike can all be compromised.
Good alignment is essentially down to practice, this can be
accelerated on the range or on the course by using an alignment
stick. Place one on the ground pointing at your intended target
before hitting balls or taking your shot. If having done this
you feel like you’re aiming in the wrong direction then you’ve
clearly been compensating this whole time.
You can contact Tom at Heswall Golf Club on 0151 342
7431, www.heswallgolfshop.co.uk or @heswallgolfshop.
60 wirrallife.com
What is good alignment? I like to think of this like a train track,
your feet, knees, hips and shoulders are stood parallel to the left
hand rail and your ball is sat on the right hand rail. Then finally
the clubface is perpendicular to the pair of them, of course this is
reversed for a left handed player.
For me the stance should be built around the club face and not
the other way around. If you feel that your target is too far in the
distance then pick something on the ground between that and
your ball, an intermediate target that you can aim at.
Now go and practice this - watch how your brain will cope with
the changes pretty quickly, and as quick as that watch your ball
striking improve! Good luck.