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Newsletter - Issue  5  Date 01/11/07
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Golf Tip - Alignment
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NEW: my tips are pretty general in nature, but if anyone has any 
problem that they would like feedback on,  please email your 
question to: teachingpro@bataviacc.com and I'll do my best to 
answer it in an upcoming newsletter. 

This week's tip is an easy one to work into your golf game right
away, but first a relevant true story.

In 2005, one of my students - John Lonergan -  was playing a 
round with his buddies after having completed a three lesson 
package with me.  During the round with his buddies, he chipped 
in twice from just off the green, and only three putted once - and 
John's short game was bad before he took lessons. One of his 
buddies asked him what changed in his game, and he replied 
that he took lessons ( they both called for lessons subsequently). 

Now I don't want you to think I'm a miracle worker,  John was a 
good athlete to begin with, but his alignment was absolutely horrible.
The combination of correct alignment and some technique practice 
helped him a ton with his game, but the round where he chipped in 
twice and three putted only once would probably be classified as 
exceptional for anyone.

This week's tip is all about one of the main thoughts that John 
put to use after his lessons: 

Alignment 

Aligning your clubface and your body is critical for optimum results 
on every shot you take, and here are some simple thoughts on 
how to work good alignment into your game.  The information is 
for standard alignment, not for when you are trying to work the ball 
in one direction or another, and it's for a right handed golfer - 
lefties please reverse the information as necessary. 

1) at setup and impact, your clubface should be perpendicular to 
your ball-target line.  Your ball-target line is the line that you want 
your ball to travel on to get to the target. 

2) at address, your body should be aligned parallel left to your ball 
target line.  Simply stated, this means that your body is aimed left 
of the target, and the clubface is aimed at the target.  When done
for the first few times, if will seem like you are aiming left, 
but you are not.

If you were to aim your body and your ball-target line both at the 
target, you probably would be either pushing, pulling, or slicing your 
shots.  Most untrained golfers do this with regularity. 

To help getting the feel for correct alignment at the range or the 
putting green, use two wooden yardsticks to visualize yourself in the 
correct setup. First, set up one yardstick just outside the ball pointing
directly at your target, then set up the other yardstick generally where 
you will be positioning your feet during the setup. 

Follow this alignment routine:

1) set your clubface behind the ball so that it is perpendicular to your 
ball-target line THEN
2) set your body up so that it parallel left to your ball-target line

The body parts that should be parallel left for reference are your 
ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders.  Notice that I didn't say feet, 
because some people prefer opening up their front foot slightly to 
help with their follow through, and as a result if you lined up your 
body parallel left using your toes for reference, you would be aiming 
your body too much to the left.

Club shafts can also be used instead of wooden yardsticks, but I 
prefer the yardsticks because you can put a wooden yardstick pretty 
close to the ball and actually go ahead and hit shots.  Using a clubshaft 
this way is obviously asking for trouble if your swing gets a little 
wayward - and this is experience speaking!

Practice alignment this winter, and even without actually swinging 
a club I will guarantee more accurate results during this years 
golf season.