Setup help

[bcoak]

One thing I am going to work on this winter (indoors) is improving how I get into the ball. My tendency is to get the ball to far forward in my stance and my alignment pointed right of target. I got better with alignment this year, but the ball position has become a real issue that needs to be fixed.
Anyone have any good routines for getting into setup that I can work on?
Thanks

 

[ldeit]

Try setting up facing a wall so you can begin to feel square alignment.

ldeit

 

[Mr Inconsistent]

Ball position and target line awareness kind of go hand in hand. But relating your ball position to your head or heart instead of your feet is a really good idea.

I like the wall idea. But it's still necessary to have something to take to the course when the wall or a club that's layed down isn't there.

I have been considering using the intermediate target technique to then set my clubface square to that and then my shoulders and feet square to the clubface. It seems to work pretty well but the only problem is I find it hard to pick out something distinct enough that's on the target line. Anybody have any tips on that?

 

[PChandler]

Off Center Vision

MI

Try Off Center Vision like you would in looking at something in low light conditions (darkness). Pick a blade of grass or small leaf first about 6 to 12 inches in front of your ball. Keep a center focus on the leaf/grass blade with an off center focus on the ball. Step into your stance and get your balance (body waggle) keeping center focus on that intermediate target. For me, this has a side effect of helping me get down and through the ball.

On the Tee Box...find an easier to see intermediate target such as a broken tee or even a previous divot. Find the intermediate target first and then tee your ball in line to your fairway or green target. I like to imagine the clubface as a flashlight shining the light through the intermediate target to the down the line target. But for me, once my stance is set, I must ignore the target line (and target) completely and just swing through the ball. You know, make a motion and let the motion make the shot.

But then again, I am probably more inconsistent than you.

PChandler

 

[puttmad]

During your home practice, once you have found a good address position, without moving anything but your eyes, look down at your hands.
Note, what they block out on the ground below.
E.g. When I set up correctly, my hands block out the view of my left instep, with the irons.
With my driver and 3-wood, my hands block the view more towards the toes.

If you always have the same hand position relative to your left foot, then you have established a repeating setup position, which is visually easy to confirm and then ball position becomes a function of the lead angle of the club, i.e. the shaft is angled more towards the right foot as the irons get shorter. This means the ball naturally move back more, giving correct loft angles at address.......

 

[bcoak]

MI,
One thing I have added to the intermediate target that helped is to pick that target and then move the club back and forth from the ball forward to the marker. This "paints" a line for me and helped me get setup to the ball and target more consistently and squarely.

 

[Mr Inconsistent]

These are some good insights on the intermediate target. I especially like the trick of picking the intermediate target before teeing up the ball. Staring at the blade of grass or whatever it is and peripherally setting up sounds good but I have to look at my clubface at some point to make sure it's square and then I would probably loose the blade of grass. You were saying 6 inches to a foot, that is close. I was picking something maybe 5 or 10 yards away. What do you guys think the best distance is for the intermediate target and why? Closer seems easier to not lose track of and setup to but I feel like it might be less accurate of a spot if it's too close.

 

[Mr Inconsistent]

puttmad, the only problem I have with the looking down at the hands thing is that it relies on a constant head position. What it the posture varies a little and the head is setup slightly more forward or behind the ball? This would alter where the hands appear to be.

 

[puttmad]

...

puttmad, the only problem I have with the looking down at the hands thing is that it relies on a constant head position. What it the posture varies a little and the head is setup slightly more forward or behind the ball? This would alter where the hands appear to be.

Mr I

If you repeat the setup to ingrain it, as with any new procedure, you will get used to the feeling of the weight distribution on your feet, the bend or flex in your knees and the tilt-angle of your spine.

Your head can only really move back and forward if your weight slips onto your toes or heels, and you will feel that for sure..