Alignment

[CHRISMIKAYLA]

I Was Having Problems Slicing And Asked The Pro At My Gold Course Yesterday To Look At My Swing. In Short My Problem Was At Setup My Feet And Club Were Pointed At Target And My Shoulder Was Aimed Well Left. He Said This Was Promoting The Steep Out-to-in Swing Path. So At First It Felt Weird Because It Almost Felt Like My Shoulders Were "closed" Because I Had The Left Shoulder Open Since Starting Four Months Ago. With This Simple Change My Shots Were All Pretty Much Straight Except A Couple That Moved Left To Right Very Slightly. Now I Will Just Aim Very Slightly Left To Allow For The Occasional Mishit Slice. Next Question Is How To Turn My Shot Into A Draw? Or Am I Not Good Enough To Worry About Shot-shaping Yet.

[BrianW]

Re: Alignment

Hi Michael,

Shot shaping is not a complex thing it just needs some practice and a sound swing to start with.

The simplest method to shape a shot is to align your self in the direction you wish the ball to start off with, while rotating the club so the face points in the direction you wish the ball to end up. Then hit along the line of your feet. This will impart an amount of sidespin that pulls the ball left or right. It works best with mid to longer clubs, high lofts tend to create high backspin that negates the required sidespin.

So, to create a draw, aim your feet slightly right of target while keeping your clubface pointing directly at the target. Take a nice controlled swing along the line of your feet, the ball will take off right of target (initial direction) then pull gradually back left towards the target (end direction). Opposite alignments for a fade. For more severe bending just alter your stance and clubface.

NOTE!! Try it at the range first.