It’s easy for bad habits to inadvertently creep into your game during the golfing season. If this has happened to you, the winter months provide the perfect opportunity to get back to basics and check those all-important fundamentals so that you start 2023 off on the right foot. In the video and article below, PGA pro Dan Hendriksen runs through seven essential winter swing checks!
1. Alignment
If I had to pick one fault I see more commonly in amateur golfers than any other it would be poor alignment. More specifically, golfers aiming too far right. It’s very easy to be lazy with our aim and poor alignment leads to a plethora of swing faults. Too often we blame our swing for poor shots when in fact the origin is actually simply an error in the direction we are pointing.
The problem frequently stems from the way we approach the ball to address it. In a world where speed of play is everything it’s easy to just arrive at the ball from the side, step up and hit it.
In contrast, watch the world’s best players and you’ll see how much time and care they take to aim accurately. It’s one of the things tour players do that you don’t, and the key difference is that pros stand back behind the ball to look at their target and then approach it. If you need to learn how to aim in golf, start with this.
Stand behind your ball rather than at the side to improve your alignment
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
To make it easier, I’d suggest picking an intermediate target about a pace ahead of the ball to aim at – something like a leaf, a divot or a blade of grass. Then when you step in to aim the club you have something close by as your main focus rather than the distant target.
Line your club up with something a foot or so in front of your ball then take your stance
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
With the confidence the club is pointing at your target, form your stance with your feet positioned on an imaginary parallel track. If your tendency is to aim too far right this will feel very open to start with. You can check your aim by lifting your club up so that it forms a straight line from the leaf (or your chosen close-range target) to the ball, pointing at your distant target. Bring the club back towards your toe-line to check that your feet are following the same parallel line.
Try this final check to make sure your feet are parallel to your target line
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
2. Driver address position
It may sound like a simple check, but it’s surprising…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…