Do you find certain fairway layout screw with your aim?

**dchoye** · March 12, 2014

I been playing mostly treeline courses and able to orient myself when the fairway is clearly mapped out from the tee box. For what ever reason, when I get to a course or individual hole with NO cues in the horizon, such as trees, condos, small hills or elevated sand traps in the fairway or posts sticking up at the 150 yard mark I can not get my body align properly. This is usually on a wide open flat fairway without any distinct markings in the horizon. What do you do? I tried using a cloud in the sky or a mountain tip but when its a cloudless day and Im golfing on a flat prarie course i find it really difficult to line up.

**Golfingdad** · March 12, 2014

I been playing mostly treeline courses and able to orient myself when the fairway is clearly mapped out from the tee box.
For what ever reason, when I get to a course or individual hole with NO cues in the horizon, such as trees, condos, small hills or elevated sand traps in the fairway or posts sticking up at the 150 yard mark I can not get my body align properly.
This is usually on a wide open flat fairway without any distinct markings in the horizon. What do you do? I tried using a cloud in the sky or a mountain tip but when its a cloudless day and Im golfing on a flat prarie course i find it really difficult to line up.

It seems like these are the perfect situations to use an intermediate target. Since you have nothing really in the distance to aim at, when standing behind your ball and picking out a target, also find something right in from of your ball (discolored blades of grass, broken tee, whatever) and when you walk up to your ball to address it, just line up to that.

I've been doing that more and more lately and it helps even when you do have a target in the distance. Because it's so close, it's easy to have confidence that you are aimed correctly.

**MS256** · March 12, 2014

It seems like these are the perfect situations to use an intermediate target. Since you have nothing really in the distance to aim at, when standing behind your ball and picking out a target, also find something right in from of your ball (discolored blades of grass, broken tee, whatever) and when you walk up to your ball to address it, just line up to that.

I've been doing that more and more lately and it helps even when you do have a target in the distance. Because it's so close, it's easy to have confidence that you are aimed correctly.

I always do that on every shot.

**dhanson** · March 12, 2014

there's one particular hole at a local course where i have to re-align myself after setting up to the ball - i'll approach the ball, look at my target, and my body does not feel as though it's aligned to that target. the teebox is arranged at an angle to the fairway, which isn't out of the ordinary, but for some reason, throws me every time i approach the hole.

**dennyjones** · March 12, 2014

I experience that situation on occasion. That's a tip I seem to have forgotten. Thanks for the reminder.

**jamo** · March 12, 2014

there's one particular hole at a local course where i have to re-align myself after setting up to the ball - i'll approach the ball, look at my target, and my body does not feel as though it's aligned to that target. the teebox is arranged at an angle to the fairway, which isn't out of the ordinary, but for some reason, throws me every time i approach the hole. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/93812/] [/URL]

Yeah, those bug me. And sometimes they try to correct it a bit with the direction the tee markers are pointing (i.e. if the tee box is pointed right, but the normal to the line connecting the tee boxes is down the middle), which just compounds it for me.

**RayG** · March 12, 2014

Some of those tee boxes are DESIGNED that way. They are meant for you to pay attention to what your doing. Although, there is one course we play that doesn't set the tee markers perpendicular to the fairway, but sets them perpendicular to the tee box. So the markers line you up into the woods about 150 yards out. You HAVE to check your alignment before setting up. At least one on my buddy's has no clue and will line up with the markers almost every time....even after we remind him about it. And then gets pissed off when he drills one straight into the forest.

**dchoye** · March 15, 2014

It seems like these are the perfect situations to use an intermediate target. Since you have nothing really in the distance to aim at, when standing behind your ball and picking out a target, also find something right in from of your ball (discolored blades of grass, broken tee, whatever) and when you walk up to your ball to address it, just line up to that. I've been doing that more and more lately and it helps even when you do have a target in the distance. Because it's so close, it's easy to have confidence that you are aimed correctly.

Thanks. That's the tip I been getting. I can't align my body properly to an IT What I have tried in the past that works is too see a target line from the fairway to the ball and align my body square to that line then adjust my setup from there I find that if I stay somewhat open and take away slightly outside that line I can maintain my posture better. If I try to go slightly inside I lose the line and sometimes my posture however an IT on the line that disappears becomes an aiming point for my clubhead

**Valleygolfer** · March 16, 2014

[quote name="dhanson" url="/t/73168/do-you-find-certain-fairway-layout-screw-with-your-aim/0_30#post_962217"]there's one particular hole at a local course where i have to re-align myself after setting up to the ball - i'll approach the ball, look at my target, and my body does not feel as though it's aligned to that target. the teebox is arranged at an angle to the fairway, which isn't out of the ordinary, but for some reason, throws me every time i approach the hole. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/93812/] [/URL]

Yeah, those bug me. And sometimes they try to correct it a bit with the direction the tee markers are pointing (i.e. if the tee box is pointed right, but the normal to the line connecting the tee boxes is down the middle), which just compounds it for me.[/quote] This one. We have one on my home track and I often block it out to the right into a huge tree or get crossed up and hook it ob. I finally starting laying up with my 5 iron. The hole is an abomination for me and if I can get out of it with bogey I am usually satisfied.

**boogielicious** · March 16, 2014

I use the Nicklaus method of lining up something a 1 - 3 feet in front of my ball. When a tee box is as described above, I place the ball back 1 to 2 club lengths to get the tee markers out of my thoughts.

**Valleygolfer** · March 16, 2014

I use the Nicklaus method of lining up something a 1 - 3 feet in front of my ball. When a tee box is as described above, I place the ball back 1 to 2 club lengths to get the tee markers out of my thoughts.

Yeah I do that but my brain overrides ration at times.

**dhanson** · March 16, 2014

there's one particular hole at a local course where i have to re-align myself after setting up to the ball - i'll approach the ball, look at my target, and my body does not feel as though it's aligned to that target. the teebox is arranged at an angle to the fairway, which isn't out of the ordinary, but for some reason, throws me every time i approach the hole.

Actually hit this fairway both times yesterday (nine-hole course).

People have mentioned Jack Nicklaus's alignment techniques (he for sure didn't come up with this, but might be the first person to mention it in an instructional video). Here's the video where he explains the technique (EDIT: Skip to 5:30 - Can't embed a video from "current time" apparently).

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