Alignment Problems

[ctcarr01]

Due to Brian and the information on this site, I've never felt more in control of the golf ball then the present. That is when the target is relatively straight in front of me. I run into problems when visually the target is substantially to my right or left. For instance, at the range when aiming at targets parallel to the boards, I'm able to use the d-plane and face control to hit my desired shot to the target. I run into problems when I aim at targets across the boards to the right or left of the range. I've been alternating targets from right, center, and left during my practice sessions to try and alleviate this issue. I have experienced some improvements but I was wonder if anyone had experienced this issue and had any advice.

Thanks
-Chris

 

[spktho]

When practicing on the range, I use an alignment stick for the first half a bucket. Then I take it away and practice my alignment as on the course.

 

[otto6457]

I've run into similar problems on the course. No matter how I try and line up it just never seems right. My range is so wide open I've never run into that problem there. My suggestion is to use an alignment stick when you get that feeling and just get used to how it looks, then trust that you're on target. It's probably more of a perception issue that needs a little training to get over.

 

[willgolfer]

Once you've established your ball-target line, use the club your hitting with (hold it in the air on your line) to align your body.

Not sure if that answers your question.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Don't feel bad, i have the same issue at the range but ironically NOT on the course. Know how i fixed it? I didn't LOL, i just keep aiming straight and try not to let it bother me.

What i find is that when i aim at cross targets i screw up my overall plane of where i want the clubhead to go and it messes with ballflight and ruins my confidence so i just don't bother with it.

 

[Richie3Jack]

Snipers can't aim at the target accurately from hundreds of yards out unless they have state of the art equipment. So why would we think that we can aim our body and club perfectly?

I used to be all into the laying clubs down on the ground and constantly checking my alignment. But in the end, it really didn't matter. Snead aimed way right with his body. Hogan aimed open with the shorter clubs and closed with the longer clubs.

I think the aim of the body does have *some* affect on the path. But I don't believe that 'aiming square' with the body will ensure a square path or a inside-to-out path or an outside-to-in path. This is where one has to 'dig it out of the dirt' and figure out what type of body alignment works for them. And it's probably not a body alignment that is square to the target.

Believe me...I've been there, done that, wrote a book, turned it into a screenplay, made the movie, and made the DVD with director's commentary when it comes to aligning the body. I think you're better off not worrying about it.










3JACK

 

[ctcarr01]

Thanks for all of the responses. As stated in some of the responses, I too don't experience as much of an issue on the course as I do on the range. But when I do, it becomes a costly error. I'm definitely not a stickler for square alignment. I've never used alignment sticks and very rarely do I use a club on the ground to check my stance. Before I really understood my swing, I would blame the misdirection to a swing fault and then things would really go down hill. Now I believe that its more of a perception issue. On the range yesterday I worked on routines for addressing the ball. My normal routine is to stand directly behind the ball and the target line. I then take a few steps left to my stance line and walk straight into the ball. Sometimes I feel that this disorients my sense of direction. After a few modifications I ended up with this. I still start on the target line but instead of taking a few steps left to my stance line I continue a few more steps left to get outside of it. I walk straight down this path outside of my stance line and finally I walk straight into the ball to take my address. This seem to make me fill comfortable I was aiming at my attended target. As with all changes, only time will tell.

 

[faux_maestro]

Don't feel bad, i have the same issue at the range but ironically NOT on the course. Know how i fixed it? I didn't LOL, i just keep aiming straight and try not to let it bother me.

What i find is that when i aim at cross targets i screw up my overall plane of where i want the clubhead to go and it messes with ballflight and ruins my confidence so i just don't bother with it.

I am similar in this I think. I always aim perpendicular to the tee line/mat, I don't even bother aiming at different targets. I always have more trouble on the range lining up than on the course, it's been confirmed by my friends too. The big open space I think makes it harder to focus on something specific.

 

[BrendanC]

Aim the clubface at target is basically all I do.

Watch out for the range bay to target relationship and/or tee box alignments as these can throw off aim.

 

[ekennedy]

I don't care what anyone says, alignment is HUGE. It doesn't have to be perfect alignment, just consistent for each player and repeatable. You can't aim right, left and center and create a consistent ball flight, just like you can't hit a consistent ball flight from 8 different ball positions.

The lack of alignment aids on the driving range creates far more problems in the average golfer than resigning yourself that aligning yourself is tough so why bother. Everyone has tendencies in their alignment (spatial relations problems, left/right eye dominance/ far sighted/near sighted) but if you don't recognize your tendencies you will struggle. Without alignment aids (including ball position reminders) EVERYONE will revert to their own tendencies over time and begin to slump.

 

[ctcarr01]

The reason I really started thinking about this has to do with a change I made in my putting. I recenty read an article that made me change the way I was putting. Originnaly I would aim the ball at a target and hit the ball at the target. After reading this article I have changed to aiming the putter face at the target and swinging down the putter face that I had aligned. Its been over a month and I've never putted more consistantly. I realize that each part of golf is it own game but there are some overlapping pieces. I appreciate all of the input.

 

[faux_maestro]

I don't care what anyone says, alignment is HUGE. It doesn't have to be perfect alignment, just consistent for each player and repeatable. You can't aim right, left and center and create a consistent ball flight, just like you can't hit a consistent ball flight from 8 different ball positions.

The lack of alignment aids on the driving range creates far more problems in the average golfer than resigning yourself that aligning yourself is tough so why bother. Everyone has tendencies in their alignment (spatial relations problems, left/right eye dominance/ far sighted/near sighted) but if you don't recognize your tendencies you will struggle. Without alignment aids (including ball position reminders) EVERYONE will revert to their own tendencies over time and begin to slump.

Here's what I do. I hit every shot "perpendicular" to the tee line aiming at the same target (usually a branch of a tree at the end of the range). I have a wooden dowel that I align at my target close to the ball for the face, another dowel for my foot line. I'll hit some shots with the dowels, some without.

 

[wulsy]

For most golfers perfect alignment is overrated, but not irrelevant. They don't hit it anywhere near where they are aligned and probably never will. Ball position is more important because it affects the strike quality (I know, I know, I know, the two are intertwined). I agree with Richie3Jack and his comments, because they mirror my own experiences perfectly.

Maybe for top golfers it becomes more of an issue due to their ability to sense and influence face and path relative to their alignment.

 

[BIGBALL]

I've always had somewhat of a problem with alignment, but mine is a bit different. I can aim out to the left and make the ball cut or go straight pretty much on command ( I have always played a fade ), but when I have to aim out to the right, I REALLY struggle - to the point even if the hole is long I will still hit a hybrid so the miss will still be playable.

 

[TROYNYGOLFER]

Don't feel bad, i have the same issue at the range but ironically NOT on the course. Know how i fixed it? I didn't LOL, i just keep aiming straight and try not to let it bother me.

What i find is that when i aim at cross targets i screw up my overall plane of where i want the clubhead to go and it messes with ballflight and ruins my confidence so i just don't bother with it.

+1 I think it is far more difficult to align at cross targets when you have divots/ball markers/ropes,mat alignments, etc. all sending a signal to your brain to hit the ball in a different direction. The other problem I find at the range, is my normal pattern of approaching the ball from directly behind the target line can be very distracting to others if the range is busy and people are relatively close to me.

 

[trickyric67]

I am geometrically challenged on the golf course and in practice. If the ropes or block face in a direction and I have to hit in another direction I get all discombobulated. I try to practice with clear lines of a dowel or club on the ground but the geometry gets to me every so often anyway

 

[ctcarr01]

Thanks for all of the great responses. It sounds like I'm not the only one that struggles with this.