Head to any range in the country and you’ll see one thing. Well, okay, you’ll see a lot of things, like 90% of people hitting off their right foot, slicing, and firing balls one after the other as if they go bad when exposed to sunlight.
But the thing I’m talking about is actually something you won’t see: alignment sticks. Station after station, golfer after golfer, and not a single alignment stick to be found.
Walk around the range at a PGA Tour event and you can’t get away from the darn things.
Everyone wants to be like a PGA Tour pro, but very few people practice like one. Here are a couple of photos from The Memorial and the Bridgestone Invitational showing pros – and their training aids – on the range.
Ryo Ishikawa has one of the more expensive training aids out there: a real live human being in the form of renowned instructor Jim Flick.
Then there’s the always popular “hold this club against my head” trick:
Vijay Singh, as you might guess, combines the “hold this club against my hip” with an umbrella barely to the right of his target line, a glove under his left arm, the eyes of two trained individuals, and an alignment stick on the ground. I’m probably missing something else, too.
At the Bridgestone, Trackman launch monitors were used in a fairly heavy rotation by pros – like Mike Weir – looking to fine-tune their launch conditions.
Cameras are a big hit on the Tour as well.
Aaron Baddeley:
Ian Poulter:
But, naturally, the easiest and most readily available training aid are the $2 sticks from Lowe’s or Home Depot. If a pro doesn’t happen to have a stick, a spare club will often do the trick.
Paul Casey switched to a rope…
… after he whacked one of his sticks with his 3-wood:
And finally, proof that Tiger Woods was fibbing when he told us he draws the lines on his golf balls freehand.
Good article. Sticks are so cheap and easy to stick in the bag, everyone should have them. I must admit I don’t have myself, but that’s mostly because all the ranges here have square mats. I rotate the mat to wherever I want to aim and adjust my body to the edges of the mat.
Another tip is to change the direction you aim from time to time. Throw away the sticks, find a new target and set up against it. Don’t swing, but lay the club, or a stick on the ground against your feet. If you angle the feet outwards, you can put it on the heels. That’ll tell you how you really aim.
Also something you can do when playing a casual round by yourself or with a friend. For every shot, take aim, set up and lay down the stick. You’ll soon enough see a pattern.
Great Point- I use a stick every time I go to the range. Really helps! Towards the end of my practice session I often remove it and see how I’m doing. Last night watched a drill Fowler uses. He takes two alignment sticks and puts them in the ground vertically about 4 inches apart and 6-8 feet towards the target. Then he aligns a stick on the ground pointing through the gap and then tries to fire balls through the small opening.
In addition to using an alignment aid, I like to stand behind the ball, mediate, whatever, really think about where I’m aiming, because you can get into auto mindless mode at the range easily. People look at me funny when I do this on the range. I think slowing down, really considering what you’re trying to do, helps, at least it helps me.
Oh and thanks for the pictures. Great shots!
Nice article Erik – and better photos!!
what is the advantage to these sticks i see on tv at pga events…? Could one not just use a couple yard sticks as erik mentions or is there some other advantage i am missing?
Not to mention after reading the casey comment, i could see clumsy me walking my clubs off the sticks, maybe simply getting some thin rope and laying it out would do the trick and take up little space or weight?
Thoughts anyone as its funny i literally in last two weeks saw so many using them at tourneys that i wanted to pursue finding out more …then boom…this article..not even sure where you buy the official ones as the big golf chain here, i dont recall seeing them…
sticks/clubs on the ground are an absolute must have for me on the grass range. An old clubshaft (head removed so you don’t inadvertently hit it) works great. If I were a range manager, I’d have a bunch of them near the range line in buckets for folks to use/put back when they’re finished with them.
hey what is the name of the device tiger is using to mark his ball? where can i get one, ive been searching for something like that for aw hile now.
Good article. My former teacher actually wrote a book about the use of these sticks. Thats about the only good idea he had, though.
There was a good article in a December issue of Golf Week about a company that manufactures and sells these sticks. The founder of the company got the idea after noticing many pros with driveway markers in their bags.
Searching for it? Every golf shop in the US and Cda has them bud…they are made by numberous different companies but the most common purchased one is the pro line. But there truly are so many different companies and models, it usually costs less than ten bucks and comes with a few sharpies.
JUst go into any decent sized golf retailer in your area or order off tgw and just ask for a golf ball line marking kit.
Nice article, the Tiger photo is hilarious!
The driveway markers cost $1.99 from Lowe’s. I don’t know why anyone would spend more than that.
Or you can buy this one for the low low price of just $7.99, and thats $2 off!
I thought what you referred to above in article as driveway markers from lowes, i assumed it was like a wooden yardstick or something like that, i didn’t realize it was this.
I assume my lowes and home depots here in toronto carry the same stuff, i am going to buy a couple.
(isnt that how many the pros use? two for alignment?). what a bargain. thanks.
We’re a bit stuffed in the UK. The only place I can seem to find these, is on ebay, and they work out at £8.58 inc p&p ($13.60 approx) just for 2!! Does anyone know of anywhere we can pick these up cheaper over here the other side of the pond? Cheers in advance!
To answer the question though, I believe the one he actually has is called the Line M Up. Made by the same company that makes the Robocup. Not that it matters, there are countless versions of little plastic trinkets that do the same thing.
This is by far my favorite article EVER! This has been a pet-peve of mine for years…
… Alignment is sooo crucial in golf and these sticks are one of the easiest things to purchase and use in tons of drills
This article heading is perfect:
“Pros use alignment sticks on the range more than half the time. Chops don’t. Go figger.”
It is ironic and sad though… because I always get strange looks when I go to the range with my “box of tricks” or practice equipment (like these sticks and a number of other items) but it really has taken my game to the next level
And the best part is when anyone asks about my “tour alignment sticks” haha I just send them to Lowe’s… it blows their mind
Great article and equally worthy pictures
I use the ball line marker, not just for putting, but for lining the ball up to a target off the tee. I use an old club shaft to line up on the range. I pick a different target for every shot (flag,distance marker, tree on the horizon) and therefore have to go through my preshot routine before every shot on the range. I always go to the range with an idea of what i want to practice (alternately fade/draw the ball, accuracy with wedges, and often play an imaginary game of golf – my home golf course starts with a par 3 (7 iron), if i pick my target and hit within 5 yards of it i’ve hit the green. If i’m 20 yards off target i’d practice a 20 yard chip then move on to the second tee, Driver off the tee – a good shot towards my next target would leave me with a 6-7 iron, a poor shot with the driver might leave a 5 wood etc etc. Mentally i’m rehearsing the course, practically i’m using different clubs in different sequences, practicing pre shot routines and checking accuracy of shots (and being honest with the results). Some guys on the range have hit 100 before i’ve hit 25 but i think i’ve got a purpose to what i’m doing
“And finally, proof that Tiger Woods was fibbing when he told us he draws the lines on his golf balls freehand.”
I have seen him line his ball freehand on the tee box in the past. I’m pleased to say he now uses the Line-M-up Pro as do many of the pros.