Aiming is a crucial yet difficult aspect of playing golf. Many other stationary and semi-stationary sports that propel an object (basketball free throw, archery, shuffleboard) find the participant facing the target. Even in driving a car, we are facing forward (or should be!).
Golf is a stationary sport that plays sideways to the target due to the circular motion of the swing. Imagine shooting a basketball free-throw sideways or driving a car sitting sideways… much more difficult.
Remember that in golf we AIM the clubhead and ALIGN our bodies parallel (left of the target for a right-handed and right of the target for a left-handed golfer). If the ball is on the outside rail or a train track, the feet/shoulders/hips are on the other track and these tracks stay infinitely apart. I see many golfers who try to line up their shoulders or bodies at the target, as well as the club. Only one can go to the target due to the sideways set-up. The only way a golfer could also be on the same line as the golf ball is if she was standing on the same line as the club (croquet would count!).
Use The Neck Check to Get Aim and Alignment Feedback
Many of our golf education workshops are showing how excess verbal dialogue can confuse a golfer – use fewer words, more silent feedback and initiate the learning process with simple feedback.
Use the Neck Check drill. If you have positioned your body at the target instead of the club, you’ll probably notice more neck strain looking back at the target. (You should never have to look over your shoulder at the target).
If you are aligned properly, you’ll notice less neck strain as you look over to the target. Many students find this helpful, as it’s a quick check and doesn’t need an extra person to provide quiet feedback.
Get a lesson from an LPGA or PGA teaching professional to learn proper aim and alignment today. Then confirm it in your practice and play with the neck check drill.
Correct alignment and aim is an easy way to drop a few strokes off your score without having to change your swing.
Nicole
As Head Teaching Professional at The Landings Club in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, Nicole Weller is a member of the LPGA T&CP, PGA of America and Proponent Group. She has served on the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf of Savannah Board, two terms on the PGA National Youth Player Development Committee (currently 2017-2019), PGA Special Awards Committee, is a co-author of the LPGA Girls Golf Playbook and is a proud partner with both Little Linksters and The Littlest Golfer (staff ambassador).
Nicole is a U.S. Kids Master Kids Teacher and is certified with U.S. Kids Golf and Spirit of Golf. She was given the prestigious honor of being the first professional to receive both the 2013 PGA and LPGA National Junior Golf Leader awards in the same year and was listed on the 2017 LPGA / Women’s Golf Journal Inaugural LPGA Top 50 Teachers List.
Follow Nicole online at www.nicoleweller.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube
The Landings Club on Skidaway Island, 71 Green Island Road, Savannah, GA 31411
phone 912.695.5211 | email nicole.weller@landingsclub.com
