Setup & swing question

This summer i had a bad habit of lining up to the right of the target, I was drawing the ball more to compensate for it. thats the bad news....the good news, I was really striking the ball pretty solid and much more in control of it. Scores went down and were consistent. UNTIL I played with a guy i know, who is a better player and pointed it out. I adjusted my setup to be online but the ball striking seemed to not be as consistent after that. Hitting a fade is now possible though (although scary to me)

Should i go back to lining up to the right of my target and play that way or continue to align properly and figure out my swing ?

PS: I Naturally hit a draw, bad shots are; pushed to the right when playing a fade. The above pertains mostly to iron shots but driver as well.

Ideas ???

Are you familiar with the "ball flight laws" ?

nope, never heard of it but will search here and google it now

thats a whole lot of info.... gonna take a bit to absorb that.

this picture below make sense to me and im trying to hit a push draw i guess ? but is it a bad thing if the results are more predictable and repeatable for me ? might not be a thing to teach but if it works for me.. ?

To simplify...your push draw means that at impact, the clubface is aimed down the line you want it to START on..in this case right of the intended final target. The fact that it is open to the target but still closed slightly to the path of the clubhead creates the "natural" draw...

I do believe you are hitting a pull or straight draw, not a push draw.  IF you were hitting the push draw you would be setup straight at your target, pushing the ball right and drawing it back.  You state you are aiming right of the target and drawing the ball back to the target.  This would be a either a straight draw or a pull draw.  In the above diagram the target is always E.  You are aiming right of E, and drawing it back to the left off your setup line.  Remember - target and setup are different.   When you hit a push draw the ball starts right of your set up and draws back left to the target.  You are setting up to the right of the target and starting the ball straight to your setup and drawing the ball left back to the target.

I aim to the right of the target when hitting a draw.....then start the ball straight to the setup line and draw the ball back to the target......which ends up being a straight draw.  Straight - since I'm starting the ball on the setup line......draw since the ball is moving left, which in this case is "good" since that is where the target is.

Confused yet?

Unless your flight is too low, I would just go with it.

@596, Yes, i think it makes sense. IM told i am aiming 10 yards right of the target. but is it a bad thing to setup that way if it works better for me ? didnt trevino setup open to the target cause his natural swing was made for it ? im not comparing myself to any pro, just using it as an example

@cbrian, the ball flight is definitely not too low.

Although you don't state what scores you were shooting or what your handicap was before your friend pointed out your out of alignment issue when you addressed  the ball, it sounds as if you were having sucess with what you were doing.  You state that you were striking the ball well, were more in control and scores were down and consistent.  Sounds like you were doing better than most of the people that I coach.  The majority of golfers make accommodations of some sort.  Just find what works for you and try not to let all of this technical stuff get too much in your head.  We all have different physical builds and talents.  Use what you have and tell your friend thanks for the input.

golfcoach-joe

If it was working for you I would not change a thing.  As stated above, we are all different.  I'm a beleiver that you should use what works for you, not what everyone else says or wants you to do.  I'd hazard a guess that a pro/instructor would want to change lots of things I do, but with a 5 hdcp I'm very happy with what I'm doing.  This is a hobby, I make zero money at this and enjoy what I'm doing.

I'd keep aiming RIGHT!! : )

I have zero idea of handicap. im not good but i dont embarrass myself...lol   Scores the year before in the mid-high 80's, when i was setting up the way described earlier, they went down to low 80's. but i was striking the ball better and my misses were better if that makes any sense. all playing the same 3 courses basically.

I hate the ball flight laws, because it shows that i have more work than i thought ;b

I had the tendency to do the same, aim way right, pull draw it back in play.. Well i corrected that alignment, and a few other things, i got a nice cut now, which means my swing path is crap.. which is hard to fix than just adjusting my club face angle.. oh next year should be fun.. baby steps.. golf is such a pain in the ass sport, got to love it..

Who gets to decide what proper alignment is?

I use an extremely closed stance, but my clubhead path is only slightly inside-out for my normal shot.

I think you are getting some good advice here about doing what works best for you.

I agree, thanx everyone

well went and took a lesson this afternoon after not really touching a club since last year. the above post is pretty much spot on. things i had changed without realizing it were, grip, grip pressure, take away (with shoulders and left hand rather than pull with my right hand) taking the club too far back causing me to lift up a little and break my wrists to much, and the feeling of starting the swing with me pulling the club down with my left hand.

the grip, grip pressure was a quick and easy fix and taking the club back was not so terrible to get used to again. within a few swings, my swing was much better. now i need to continue to do it.... :)

im feeling pretty good about playing fo the first time this year on tuesday now. (not much expectations though)