Early Season Tune-up

Posted by John

April 8, 2009

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For many of us, the golf season has just started or is about to. We all have high hopes for our games getting a little better this year and, just maybe, lowering our handicaps a few strokes. No matter what golf guru you read or listen to, you’ll hear them say that most problems begin at setup.

Watch the pros during the Masters and you’ll see that they all take great care when addressing the ball. It’s important to have a solid pre-shot routine and follow it faithfully. But for many of us, that alone isn’t enough if our setup is wrong. One of the most common mistakes that amateurs make is in alignment. Remember that lines drawn through the knees, hips and shoulders should all be pointing in the same direction for your basic full swing shot.

The most common mistake is to have the shoulders open to the target when compared to the hips. One of the key reasons for this is that most of us have slice problems or are nervous about it returning. Subconciously we open our shoulders to insure that the ball goes the other way. Unfortunately this only makes the problem worse.

A quick fix is to have someone check your alignment by standing behind you. Even better, get someone to shoot a short video of you taken from right down the line. Not only can you check the alignment, but watch the takeaway in slow motion. If your shoulders are open you’re likely to see the club move immediately outside the target line. If you have the right video player controls, drag the motion pointer back and then forward again for the first foot of your takeaway. Believe me, if your shoulders are open, the path of the clubhead will show it clearly.

Once you become aware of the need to have the knees, hips and shoulders parallel, it’s easy to add to your pre-shoot routine. Keep this in mind to insure that your swing isn’t doomed before it starts. One last point, for your driver, beware of playing the ball too far forward in your stance. If you do, there’s a tendency to have to reach for the ball thereby opening your shoulders in the process.