Shoulder alignment?

[Chief Broom]

How important is shoulder alignment? As a chronic slicer of the ball I've always opened my stance up left of the target line. This just makes the slice worse. I noticed while chipping and pitching that taking the added step of lining up my shoulders really seemed to help me keep those shots on line. I played 9 this morning and I drove 5 of 6 fairways. Seems to make a difference?

[danieldrieberg]

alignment, swing plane and ball spin (slice or hook) are all intimately related. Your instincts to square up as in chipping are correct.

Square up your stance while setting up to the target and then trust it. If you've been open with your shoulders it may feel awkward but trust it.


Good luck

[Chief Broom]

Square up your stance while setting up to the target and then trust it. If you've been open with your shoulders it may feel awkward but trust it.

It does feel awkward but it is helping so I'm going to keep it up.

[david_wedzik]

It does feel awkward but it is helping so I'm going to keep it up.

Chief - it is important to have them square at address for sure - but more important for them to be square at impact if you want to hit draws. Be sure you slide straight forward longer without spinning open. The hips should be 35 degrees or so open at impact with the shoulders square. A good feeling would be to feel the shoulders tilt more than open on the downswing.

Dave

[The Recreational Golfer]

Your swing is aligned where your shoulders are aligned. It's so easy to pull your right shoulder forward when you take your grip (left shoulder for left-handed golfers), and now you're all out of whack. You want to hit the ball toward twelve o'clock but you're swinging at eleven o'clock and adjustments creep in subconsciously that lead to your hitting the ball everywhere. I think square shoulders is the most important part of the setup, though that doesn't mean you can neglect other aspects of it.