Good day fellow golfers. This week our e-mail comes from Jason in Edmonds. He writes that he is having trouble hitting the fairway from the tee. He says that he is either hitting his drives straight right or hooking the ball all the way across the fairway.
Obviously there could be a number of reasons. However, the main cause is alignment. The reality is the straight shot right is exactly where he is aiming. The basic fundamental that golfers overlook the most is proper alignment. It does you no good to have a great swing if you are aimed in the wrong direction. Most people make the mistake of aiming their body directly at the target. To achieve correct alignment you must have your shoulders, hips and knees on a line parallel to your target line. This should result in your body pointing left of your target (for right handed players).
When properly aligned, a good swing will hit the ball to the target and it is important to get that positive feedback. You don’t want your mind saying that your perfect swing was incorrect simply because you were not aimed correctly and didn’t know.
A good image to think of is a pair of railroad tracks. You are standing on one track and the ball is on the other track. The two tracks are parallel and never converge. This is proper alignment. When you practice, always have an extra club on the ground that represents your target line. This will allow you to have immediate feedback.
If you have a chance to watch a PGA Tour event, go to the driving range and you will notice that most of the players will have something on the ground reminding them of their target line. If it can help tour pros it can help all of us. I hope this helps.
Please send your questions to tyroneh@ballingerlakegolf.com. Tyrone Hardy is the Director of Golf at Ballinger Lake Golf Course in Mountlake Terrace. See www.ballingerlakegolf.com
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