Steve Cowle (0)

Alignment

Alignment – Often overlooked but vitally importantBy Steve Cowle

When teaching inexperienced golfers I find that they are usually mis-aligned to their target. Typically, they aim way too far out to the right. The reason they aim to the right is because the inexperienced player has the tendency to hit at the ball with their arms which causes an out to in swing path and pulls the ball to the left. They are compensating for a flaw in their swing by just aiming their body out to the right instead of fixing the actual flaw.

This in turn means that the inexperienced players' bad swings make the ball go on target and their perfect swings make the ball end up in the trees on the right. So, they are seeing their good shots as bad shots and bad shots as good shots. If this is the case, the inexperienced player will never want to fix their swing flaws. If they don’t fix their flaws they will never reach their golfing potential. This is why alignment is high up on the list of importance in the golf set up. Check Your Alignment

In order to find out if you are a player that has swing flaws, you must check your alignment. To do this, all you have to do is pick out a target and do your normal set up. Once you feel like you are ready, lay a club down at your heels or toes. Then, step back about 10 paces behind the ball to see where you are actually aimed. If the club you placed at your toes or heels is parallel left of your actual target, you have properly aligned yourself. If the club on the ground points to the right of your target you are mis-aligned.

If you find that you are mis-aligned, you must learn to square up your stance. To do this, simply find a target in the distance that you want to hit the ball to. Take out 2 golf clubs, place the first club so it points directly at the target (you will have to step back a few paces to check this). Place the second club parallel to the first club on the ground. Now, take away the first club that is pointing at the target. You should have one club on the ground that is parallel left of your target.

Once you have the club on the ground parallel to your target line you have a guide to help you align your feet, knees, hips and shoulders squarely. If you aim your body squarely to the club on the ground and you hit the ball to the left of your target you have just found out that you are pulling the golf ball which means you are trying to hit the ball too hard with only your arms. If you hit the ball to the right of the target from this square alignment you are sliding your body too much laterally through impact which is causing the ball to fly to the right.

Learning that you are mis-aligned can be quite shocking at first but don't think of it as a bad thing, think of it as a good thing. It's a good thing because you now know that you have a swing flaw and you can get on the road to fixing it so that you can play even better golf in the future.

 

Draw v. Fade

Draw versus Fade – which one are you?

By Steve Cowle

Are you one of those many slicers out there just dreaming about hitting a draw one day? If so, I ask you this question ... why?

Jack Nicklaus referred to a fade as his "bread and butter" shot, as it is so much easier to hit. Even if he wasn't playing his best, he could always rely on a fade to get him around the course.

NOTE: Don't get me wrong. All golfers should learn how to hit a draw because there are times when it will be beneficial to do so. I just don't want you trying to hit a draw on every shot.

Why Do You Want to Hit a Draw?

You are trying to draw the ball because you feel it's going to give you more distance. If you are currently slicing the ball, you think that gaining more distance is going to solve all of your problems... will it?

As much as you may think that hitting a draw is going to solve all of your problems, a draw has problems of its own. Here are a few:

1. Most holes are designed for left to right shots.

2. The ball will not land as softly on greens (especially with long irons)

3. You need your "A" game to hit this shot consistently.

4. It’s harder to hit the ball from long rough.

So, as you can see a draw may not be the answer to your problems. So, what is?

The Answer

Instead of trying to master the hardest shot in golf, why not try to hit it straighter? By doing so, you will gain more distance because the clubface is more square as it hits the ball and making this change is so much easier than trying to master the hardest shot in golf. Even if the ball still fades a little it will still go much farther than hitting a huge slice. Plus, the closer you get to a neutral swing the easier it becomes to move the ball both ways when you find yourself in trouble.