Alignment issue, ball goes right !

[Jonathan Zach]

Hi, i have been playing for about 7 months now, and was hitting decent shots off the tee with good short game to follow.

In the last couple of weeks i started hitting everything (irons, driver, hybrid) to the right. I dont think i slice it but its kind of starting straight and then goes right. More then a few people have mentioned alignment and said that i set up with my feet aiming right. They then had me turn a bit left which helped me. My question is when you set up to the ball, your body should be parallel to the target line but aiming left of the target, or am i getting confused here ? it feels weird to me to  have my feet point left of the ball.

[SoundandFury]

Hi, i have been playing for about 7 months now, and was hitting decent shots off the tee with good short game to follow.

In the last couple of weeks i started hitting everything (irons, driver, hybrid) to the right. I dont think i slice it but its kind of starting straight and then goes right. More then a few people have mentioned alignment and said that i set up with my feet aiming right. They then had me turn a bit left which helped me. My question is when you set up to the ball, your body should be parallel to the target line but aiming left of the target, or am i getting confused here ? it feels weird to me to  have my feet point left of the ball.

Best visual is a set of railroad tracks.  Target line is one rail, feet are on the other.  If you set up with the club face square to the target and your shoulders/feet pointing at your target, you're set up closed.

[Tommyt99]

This may seem like a strange answer but do you have a fundamental understanding of how the golf club works throughout the golf swing. I say this because it is very difficult to have any sort of setup problems after you understand how the club works. In addition to my last statement, looking at straight lines on the ground are often a misleading visual aid. If you learn to get the club back on its ORIGINAL plane EARLY on the downswing you will quickly notice that LINEAR visualizations are extremely misleading, and lead to bunted golf shots. I used to set up all over the place, especially way off to the right. When I learned to swing the club properly, the shot that you are about to hit will dictate where and how you set up. It becomes extremely easy and natural for whatever shot you want to execute.

[saevel25]

I used to set up all over the place, especially way off to the right. When I learned to swing the club properly, the shot that you are about to hit will dictate where and how you set up. It becomes extremely easy and natural for whatever shot you want to execute.

Not really. If the golfer has the 5 keys to the golf swing,

Then as long as the alignment isn't hurting the swing then it doesn't matter really. You have some great players, like Lee Trevino who would aim 30 degrees left of target and push everything.

My question is when you set up to the ball, your body should be parallel to the target line but aiming left of the target, or am i getting confused here ? it feels weird to me to  have my feet point left of the ball.

A square set up is when your feet are parallel to the target line. It is possible that you might be thinking this is open. It does take some getting use to. For me it looks closed because I played a year with an open stance to combat a hook I was hitting.

If you want to practice you can lay down a stick or a club parallel to your target line to make sure you are set up square.

Still, not really sure if alignment is the entire problem with out seeing your swing. Anything related to the swing, I would create your own My Swing thread

http://thesandtrap.com/f/4180/member-swings

http://thesandtrap.com/t/38240/my-swing-video-threads-rules-please-read (guidelines)

[Bileyerheid]

Hi, i have been playing for about 7 months now, and was hitting decent shots off the tee with good short game to follow.

In the last couple of weeks i started hitting everything (irons, driver, hybrid) to the right. I dont think i slice it but its kind of starting straight and then goes right. More then a few people have mentioned alignment and said that i set up with my feet aiming right. They then had me turn a bit left which helped me. My question is when you set up to the ball, your body should be parallel to the target line but aiming left of the target, or am i getting confused here ? it feels weird to me to  have my feet point left of the ball.

Inclined plane. As long as the golfer understands that the club is being swung on an inclined plane and that she should be swinging away from the body thru impact then square alignment will work just fine.

[mvmac]

Hi, i have been playing for about 7 months now, and was hitting decent shots off the tee with good short game to follow.

In the last couple of weeks i started hitting everything (irons, driver, hybrid) to the right. I dont think i slice it but its kind of starting straight and then goes right.

If the ball is starting straight, then the face is aimed at the center of the fairway (or your start line) and the path is left. Make sure when the feet are aimed a little right that the rest of the body matches.

More then a few people have mentioned alignment and said that i set up with my feet aiming right. They then had me turn a bit left which helped me. My question is when you set up to the ball, your body should be parallel to the target line but aiming left of the target, or am i getting confused here ? it feels weird to me to  have my feet point left of the ball.

Yes, it's called parallel left.

Generally lower handicappers should be square or a little open (they probably already swing outward) and higher handicappers should aim a little more right.

[Jonathan Zach]

Thanks for the replies. I went back to play 9 holes yesterday and was fading every shot. How do I correct this this to a slightly more of a draw?

[saevel25]

Thanks for the replies. I went back to play 9 holes yesterday and was fading every shot. How do I correct this this to a slightly more of a draw?

Depends on your swing. If you are setting up square (parallel left) and the ball starts slightly left or at your target line and fades slightly right then that is a very playable shot. This means your swing path is slightly outside to in.

If you want to switch to a draw then you are going to have to change your swing path to be slightly inside to out.

If you want to go from a fade to a draw I would create a My Swing thread and get some specific help for your swing.

http://thesandtrap.com/f/4180/member-swings

http://thesandtrap.com/t/38240/my-swing-video-threads-rules-please-read (Please Read!)

[bste]

Hope these will help.

[mvmac]

Thanks for the replies. I went back to play 9 holes yesterday and was fading every shot. How do I correct this this to a slightly more of a draw?

The last two posts will help but it's tough to be specific for what you need to do without seeing your swing.

[HawkNballs]

Using the railroad tracks analogy, If you line your shoulders and feet to the flag and hit a straight ball... won't the ball finish 2ft right of the flag? I've always though it was easier to line your shoulders up. I've always wondered this.

[deekay]

I also find the railway tracks illustration a poor one, because one always thinks of the tracks converging in the distance. One should rather refer to only a section of railway track. If you lay down on your stomach and sight along each track in turn, and fix a target in the distance along each track’s line, those two targets in the distance would appear to be many yards apart, way further apart than the tracks themselves.

I prefer to think of the legs of a short ladder, or simply two clubs layed down parallel to each other.

Mark Crossfield has an interesting Youtube clip where he discusses how his own concept or visual perception of “straight” (or parallel left) can change from time to time.

Before a round he will ask a playing partner to line him up “straight,” only to find that, to him, it seems he is lined up way left. So for the rest of that period he needs to line up (what seems like) way left in order to actually be “straight.” Then on other days/ courses, his eyes deceive him the other way, and he needs to line up (what feels like) to the right in order to actually be correctly lined up.

So I guess the only way to be really sure is to either lay two clubs down and line up to an imaginary target, or ask someone to line you up, and then use that visual “picture” for that particular day.

[saevel25]

So I guess the only way to be really sure is to either lay two clubs down and line up to an imaginary target, or ask someone to line you up, and then use that visual “picture” for that particular day.

I find that to be true. For me right now, a feeling of lining up closed is square. I played all of last year with an open stance to combat my hook.

I prefer to form a cross shape on the range. This way I can check ball position, clubface angle, and body alignment. I'll also do the double parallel alignment sticks as well.

I think people get a disconnect between target and ball flight. Lets say a flag is in the center of the green. Lets say a players ball flight produces consistent results in that the ball tends to end up 5 yards left of the target line. So if they want the balls to land around the pin they need to aim five yards right. In doing this I think golfers get stuck with the target being the pin such that they end up changing their swing, pulling the ball.

There has to be a trust there that the ball will go where it should be when you just swing normally.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Get two alignment sticks. Put one down next to the ball and point it at your target. Put the other one down parallel to it and about three feet away. Step into your stance so the second rod lies against your heels. You might have to adjust the position of that rod to do this. Address the ball and turn your head to look downrange. That is what being squarely aimed looks like. Most people aim themselves too far to the right (or to the left if they play left-handed). If you do, too, this will look like you're aimed way left, but you're not.

[HawkNballs]

I agree. I feel like my stance is pretty open when lined up square. I naturally aim right. This probably allows my hooks to creep in. ;)

[Duff McGee]

One thing I am considering is playing with an open left stance. When I was in high school I did it to combat a horrible swing. My swing is much better now but I miss the feeling of pointing more left of target and swinging more out towards the target. My approach shots have been generally somewhat well struck my past few rounds but are often left or right even while aiming at the center of the green. I have an open stance in baseball so this might be part of the reason I feel better with that golf stance. Anyway, I can do that without it being a swing fault, correct?

[iacas]

One thing I am considering is playing with an open left stance.

It varies by the person.

Sometimes pulls are fixed a bit by aiming left. Sometimes slices are fixed by aiming left (the person has to swing out to the right more). Sometimes they're not fixed and are made worse.

[Duff McGee]

It varies by the person. Sometimes pulls are fixed a bit by aiming left. Sometimes slices are fixed by aiming left (the person has to swing out to the right more). Sometimes they're not fixed and are made worse.

Thanks. I'll mess around with it and see how it feels.