aiming?

[wedge player]

well recently ive realized ive been aiming a lot further right then i though i was.so ive been workin on being able to aim again.i believe this is my major problem lately.has anybody else ever have an apifiany like this?

[opie]

I constantly work on alignment and aim. CONSTANTLY. Can't count how many shots I hit right but have aimed wrong. I use alingment sticks at the range EVERY time I hit. Hopefully it will sink in one day

[Beantown Beancounter]

this is a constant battle with me and something I have made a conscious effort to focus on. I thought that I was blocking my shots pretty badly and pushing them way right. Turns out I was just aiming right...and not pushing my shots as much as I thought I was

I took some lessons from a PGA pro at TPC Scottsdale when I was out there with my father, now every time I am at the range practicing I am always setting up my hitting station so I know that at address I am always aiming where I intend my shot to go. Mind you the keyword in that statement is "intend"...

[Williamevanl]

Yep, same one actually. That is if you mean you line up right of target or with a shut stance. It facilitates a delofting draw/hook of the ball back on target that surprisingly goes unnoticed, or a slight pull, also easily missed.

Both feel great though because you can hit the ball a really long way with awesome feeling contact and it generally makes you the long hitter in the group . People ask, you're hitting a what from here!?!?!?! The downside I think is that you lose loft and spin.

Honestly I don't know if its a optical illusion or some wierd compensation but until recently someone could tell me to line up 20 yards to the left of the target and I would still be line up a couple yards right.

[Williamevanl]

Sorry this is kind of crude and rushed but It's getting late. The above isn't just a guess really because I have posted in and followed a number of your post in the past. In the past you have had these sorts of problems/cures...

*you*
play your misses if your shankin aim left hooking aim right
draws are easy i really have to foucus to hit a cut i hate cuts
i was hitting flush i checked ball marks on irons they just liked hooking today

And there's this.


The picture above as I said is crude but thats tiger on plane with a short iron that he spins back 12 feet and thats you on the left. Your club lies on the green line and should be closer or on the yellow line. Maybe below it if thats a mid iron but even if its a 62 degree wedge thats seems really upright.

I think you have a really vertical swing powered by the upper body that you rescue with a closed clubface or a pull *as you probably know upright plane causes pull* and you aim right to make it all work. Probably works most of the time but fails you occasionally with big hooks or pulls left, hence the compensations.

I don't believe in swing fixes really because its so hard to untrain a trained swing so try this, all you have to do is play 75-100 rounds with a push and line up way left. Try to swing well under that yellow line and you might end up right on it. :lol:

[microcrayfish]

Apifiany? No. Don't think I've ever had an epiphany either .

Ahem, vell I have a hot date vith Helga and an big knackwurst sausage in my Spelling Nazi Gestapo headqvarters so I shall be heading off to my staff car now. Heil Meriiam-Webster!

[wedge player]

Sorry this is kind of crude and rushed but It's getting late.

ive actually been pushin alot of shots recently since that video.i knew i came over the top but could easily work the ball both ways,and pured my irons,i havent seen my "new" swing since ive made minor adjustment but i know i still have a very steep swing.

[Williamevanl]

It is surprising how difficult it is though to just chage your swing, thats why I made the comment about 100 rounds. I think it takes something of that magnitude to really offset an engrained swing.

[wedge player]

It is surprising how difficult it is though to just chage your swing, thats why I made the comment about 100 rounds. I think it takes something of that magnitude to really offset an engrained swing.

the only thing ingrained in my swing is steepness,i always tinker with my swing probably a real bad habit now that i think of it

[Williamevanl]

Nah, I think thats what your doing right. I also tinker with my swing every week or so. I rarely ever just play with what I've got. I feel like if I do I will plateau with a single digit handicap and never get any better. Like you I play way to much golf and I have very high expectations for the future of my game. At 20 hours+ a week of golf its curently a part time job. I will get to scratch.

[Williamevanl]

Hey welcome to the site

Usually it doens't work out that easily. Often time people that have played a closed stance or aligned right have trained a slightly over the top swing that comes properly from the inside because of there alignment resulting in a crazy fade or slice when they align properly because you lose the compensation for the poor plane. Hence the reason golf is so hard.

I actually played with a guy today that no kidding lined up almost 90 degrees to the right of the target. He started somewhere close to square and would dance around until he his shoulders and hips pointed directly right of where he was aiming. Not able to play a driver this guy hit short irons at the fareway. I've seen this a dozen times before but this was the most extreme. His thought process was that he still missed his target on the left side so over time he has continued to line up further and further right resulting in the top ten worst swings I have ever seen. Then again his playing partner refused to use anything but his putter from 50 yards an in *out of the rough* even

The guy and his two playing partners shoot about 90 on 9 holes even though they play weekly. Improper adjustments or *compensations* can absolutely destroy a persons ability to play golf. After every hole it was what did you get?, 13!,12!,10! Awesome!
Sorry for the rant.

[ramrockgolfer35]

I know this is the wrong thing to focus on, but how can you swing without shoes? I have to wear tennisshoes at least. Another thing, I realize I have a high handicap, but I notice that you pull the club up instead of back. Your swing very closely resembles a low baseball swing.

[mdvaldosta]

Best way to get the aim down is to stand behind your ball in line with your target (ping, green, tree, etc) then find a spot a foot or two in front of the ball (divot, broken tee, discolored grass, etc) and walk to your ball with your eye only on the spot in front of your ball. Invision and line between your ball and your intermediate mark and there's your line. Line up your clubface to that line then your feet, then you can shuffle around looking at your real target (tree, pin, green, etc) until you get comfortable. Do this everytime and you'll always be lined up properly. Tiger and Jack, for example, do this.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Bad alignment is my achillies heel. Ive tried different pre shot routines, gimmicks, everything and it still creeps into my game. Its something i have to work at constantly. Obsessing about where im aimed is usually when i play my worst golf.

[Leftygolfer]

Huge issue for me. It is so hard to train your eyes differently and the issue is that when you are aimed correct, your swing will not hit it there. This is me. I used to slice. I learned I could use this same flawed swing and hit it straight by hitting big pulls. I played this way for a year and it was hard because occassionally I would hit a straight non pull straight into the trees. Then I started aiming for a slight draw, but still have the over the top issue. So I evolved with an open club face and very strong grip.

Now I am at a point after my lesson I can actually hit a straight shot without bad aim. I weakened my grip (feels really like the club might shoot out of hand right now, squared my club face (looks totally hooded at address), moved a little farther from the ball so I can be on plane, and stay down and slow down my hips so I do not come over the top.

The subconsious is very smart. Our brain learns how to hit a straight or better shot and will tell us we are aimed correctly for the kind of swing we have.

Sorry about the short story, but this is the issue for many of us hacks.

[Williamevanl]

I completely agree with the above and you can use that same principal to offset a bad swing. Everyone has a miss that they hit slightly more then other misses, either a pull vs push or slice vs hook.
Although I struggle with a pull if I line up further left and play really bad golf for awhile my swing eventually kind of fixes itself but I have to play the opposite extreme or I work right back into the original bad habit.

[wedge player]

I know this is the wrong thing to focus on, but how can you swing without shoes? I have to wear tennisshoes at least. Another thing, I realize I have a high handicap, but I notice that you pull the club up instead of back. Your swing very closely resembles a low baseball swing.

well sam snead would practice without shoes,and i have a very steep swing if i try to flatten it out my handicap would jump 10-15 shots in a couple of rounds.

[ramrockgolfer35]

well sam snead would practice without shoes,and i have a very steep swing if i try to flatten it out my handicap would jump 10-15 shots in a couple of rounds.

Whatever works, no offense intended.