Alignment Pandemic...46
It can plague almost every golfer
It has become a habit of mine to observe the divots on par 3 tee boxes. If you remember to do this you’ll find the majority of the divots (especially the deeper ones) are aligned to the left of the target. They are made by golfers who are aligned 30 degrees right of the target and therefore need to route the club over-the-top, outside-in to try to get the club to not swing to the right. Such misalignment is a pandemic.
The underlying cause of misalignment is the misperception of the target’s location. The player perceives the target to be right of its actual location. This is the result of how the player uses their eyes. When aligning the club they orient their eyeline (a line from the corner of one eye to the corner of the other) across the target line instead of along the target line. Here is a link to a video describing the problem and solution.
While we always want to align the club (not the golfer) to the target, as an aid to acclimating to this perception, choose an object on the target line a few feet forward of the ball and align the clubface to it, then yourself to the club.
Remember correct club alignment does not ensure correct ball flight direction. Club and body position only make it easier for the player to perform their obligation to swing the club in the direction of the target.
Each Thursday we’ll bring you a helpful insight.
Swing to the target,
Ed
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