How to Perfect Golf Alignment

There is an old story about a well-known golfer struggling because all his shots were to the right of target. This was before the days of professional coaches--pros were their own coaches. After a few weeks of frustration, the pro swallowed his pride and asked one of the other professionals to help him. The other professional stood behind the struggling golfer, took one look, and said, "You're aimed to the right." Even professionals can foul up alignment. Get perfect alignment.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Begin every pre-shot routine by standing behind your golf ball and absolutely settling on a target. Convince yourself it is the perfect target.
2. Draw an imaginary line from the ball to the target. Pick a spot 2 feet in front of your golf ball on that line (the "intermediate" target).
3. Walk around and square your club face with the target. Think of your shot as being aimed at that intermediate target. For this moment, it is the perfect target.
4. Settle into your stance such that your feet are aligned PARALLEL to your line from ball to target.
5. Turn your head under or move your chin towards the target like a Ferris wheel, not a merry-go-round, and look at the real perfect target.
6. See that the club face is square to the target while your feet, hips and shoulders are apparently aligned to the left of target. That's because you are not standing behind the ball--when you set up to hit the ball, you're standing to its left, parallel to the target line. You have perfect alignment.

Tips & Warnings

• These instructions are for a right-handed golfer. A left-handed golfer would have feet, hips and shoulders aimed to the right of target.