One of the most important aspects of the golf swing is ensuring correct alignment of the body to your intended target. Alignment includes your feet, knees, hips, stomach, chest and finally the shoulders. In actual fact research has shown that we generally will swing along the line of where our shoulders are pointing at address not our feet.
The difference with golf compared to many other sports is that your head and hence eyes are not looking down the line of your intended target. Our body is on one line whilst our ball to target is on another. So how do we ensure we have correct alignment?
The procedure that I always use as part of my overall set up to the ball is to start off by standing directly behind the ball in line with your intended target in the distance. Then draw an imaginary line back from your target to the ball and pick out a point or spot on that line about 2 feet in front of the ball. Now keeping your eyes on the spot you have picked out place your club “square” (at right angles) across the line to the spot. Secondly and this is the tricky bit, place your feet on a parallel line to your ball to target line. Then take your grip still keeping the spot you have picked out in your peripheral vision. Finally, and this is a key step in the overall procedure look at your target. This helps the eyes to train the brain with the correct “alignment signals”.
Practice this procedure on the driving or practice ground checking whether you are correctly lined up by placing a club across your feet once you have finished your procedure and see whether you are lined up correctly. By incorporating this into your normal method of playing out on the golf course you will very quickly find you are lining up correctly more consistently.
