The Feeling of Proper Foot Alignment

[iacas]

My instructor shared with me a fun little tip today that tells you how far left your feet have to feel like they're aiming to actually be square to the target line.

Find something in the distance, like 300 yards away or more, raise your right arm, and point your right index finger at it.

Now, raise your left arm and make it parallel to your right arm. Look at where your left index finger is pointing versus your right index finger. WOW.

Now obviously this isn't a 100% accurate thing because, with your eyes centered, you're really creating a bit of a "V" in your sight lines. But it still drives the point home that a lot of players get a little shut with their stance because they point at the target (or a little right of the target) because that feels square to them, when in reality square is closer to that little exercise above than what they typically do.

[SpringBokVol]

That is interesting. I always feel like my alignment off just a bit. Hopefully this will help.

And congrats on dropping that Handicap!

[shortstop20]

Nice tip there. I've been hitting a big draw/hook lately and have noticed that I've been aiming right. So I've been swing in/out with a face that is square to the target but closed to the swing path. As we know that produces a big draw/hook, not what I want.

Aiming further left(which straightens out the swing path) with the same release has been working pretty well so far.

[patath]

Its wierd because I feel like I am always open in my stance. This little tip may help with that.

[Zeph]

I've got this problem when putting and sometimes don't trust my line and aim further to the right. The ball will always be too much right.

On every shot however, I find a spot on the ground to aim through. By doing this I know my line is right, and my alignment has become much much better. Aiming at something even only a few yards away is hard enough, let alone some hundred yards. Finding that spot on the ground and draw imaginary parallell lines at your feet is the best advice I can give when it comes to alignment and aiming.

[$2 Nassau]

Great tip. I used to point my feet directly at the target- LOL - I mean right at it! When I'm square I feel very open, but I'm not of course. I try to draw a mental line from my ball to the target and line up parrallel to that. I still creep to a closed position every now and then.

[opie]

If I feel uncomfortable over the ball I open up more. I get very closed when things are going bad and start coming over the top for pull hooks. Thanks for the tip, I'm going to give it a try and see what it feels like

[Bauer]

Why does it seems like I would be aiming my feet 20 yards or so to the left of my intended target? Is this how it is supposed to be? I think I am just missing the concept exactly. Do I need to move my head left and close my right eye to line up behind the left arm to see where I should align my feet?

[bunkerputt]

At the end of last year I was aiming WAY to the right causing me to come OTT and hit a pull-hook. Someone pointed it out to me and my first reaction was, "No way. That can't be right." All they did was lay a club at my heels and show me where they were pointing. This was with picking a spot in front of the ball, making a line, yada yada. Somehow I still lined up shut. Now I try to feel like if a train was headed towards me from the target line it would miss in front of me as opposed to hit me in the back. Plus I lay a club down behind me at the range.

[TheLauncher]

My instructor shared with me a fun little tip today that tells you how far left your feet have to

So you stand in a normal golf stance, parallel to the target line, and not face on/perpendicular when you do this. It definitely illustrates the point, but anything further on specifically how much the feet should be adjusted in relation? Is it supposed to just become a feel thing?

I have a lot of trouble with alignment, often setting up closed and coming over the top. I worked a little with Hogan's recommendations on alignment, particularly with the driver (right foot square to target, left 1/4 turn open) with some success, but it seemed to throw the timing of my release off, leading to pushes and push slices. Weary of those, I've recently let my closed-stance bad habit back in. So I'm a little desperate for a good alignment solution, short of standing on the tee and putting a shaft on the ground or pointing both of my arms off into oblivion. I know that some of my best shots are when I approach my ball and my feet just seem to fall in a natural position, as if my subliminal knowledge of how to hit the shot links directly to my body's implementation of it. Other times I contort my feet into a position that dooms the proper rotation of hips and shoulders. Of course standing parallel to one's target line is counterintuitive. If you were shooting animals to stay alive, you would naturally find a face on position to yield greater accuracy, and your instructor's tip illustrates this basic principal of optics. For me anyway, it's way to easy to approach a golf ball and aim right of my intended target. Could the adjustment be as simple as aiming 10 yards left of my target? Any other practical advice on choosing a target and taking one's stance?

[iacas]

So you stand in a normal golf stance, parallel to the target line,

No. You face the target. The point is simply to illustrate how far left parallel "feels" because too many people line up to the right with their feet.

[Zeph]

I don't see how aiming left can be any accurate. It would also feel different from 10 yards than 300. The easiest way to ingrain these feelings is in my opinion to use something closer to aim through. Makes it so much easier to align properly. If you for some reason don't want to do this, using ut for some time to get used to the feeling is better than just trying to see where you should be. Everything looks different when standing over a ball. Especially when putting. How can you rely on the eyes to find the proper line when it looks so wrong standing over the ball? And your goal is a small cup, not the entire fairway or green. The closer you are to your target, the easier it is to align properly.

[Greg]

My problem is keeping my feet from scooting left and a lot of my iron shots go that way, although with my hybrid clubs, I seem to hit them a lot straighter, guess they're just easier to hit straight, especially my 5. I have more confidence hitting a green from 160-170 with the 5h than my 8i at 120-125.

[iacas]

I don't see how aiming left can be any accurate.

What do you mean? Your feet always aim left of the target (unless you're trying to hit a draw or a hook).

It would also feel different from 10 yards than 300.

It does feel different. The point of the drill is to show people how far left things "feel." In reality, of course, 300 yards out your stance should be about three feet left of your target, but people who try to line up there tend to point well right of the target. The arm trick shows you how far left it "feels" like you should aim with your feet.

The easiest way to ingrain these feelings is in my opinion to use something closer to aim through.

How on earth are you going to "aim through" something with your feet?

For your clubface, sure. But that's not what this thread's about.

[bunkerputt]

That's a pretty clever idea. I'd bet the straight-line distance from the clubhead to where your head intersects with the ground is pretty close to the width between your arms at parallel. So that when you take your stance and turn your head to look at the target, it's like you are looking down your left arm, while the clubface is looking down your right arm. Fascinating...

[Bauer]

I think I am starting to understand what you are saying. Should it look/feel like I have an open stance relative to the ball on the target line?

[timtim]

Yes, proper alignment to me feels open.

To set up:

I stand behind the ball and pick out something on the ground along my aiming line. Something out somewhere between 3 to 9 feet in front of the ball.

I move up to the left side of the ball and put my club head down behind the ball and point the face of the club at the aim point I picked out on the ground.

I then take my stance with my feet parallel to the line between my ball and the aim point on the ground out in front of the ball.

I do this for every shot from putting to chipping to driver.

And I either do this when I practice or I lay a club or yardstick down so I am always thinking about aligning myself PARALLEL to the target line, not AT the target.

(Of course I mean that this applies for simple shots with no draw or fade adjustments.)

[HSip]

I think I am starting to understand what you are saying. Should it look/feel like I have an

Yes, proper alignment to me feels open.

Use the pointing drill to visualize it and then at the range use a club at your toes or heels to INGRAIN the feeling. Repetition will make setting up on the course easier.