There are many factors that come into play to set my hips and shoulders parallel to each other. This tip is going to address just one of those factors, aiming your right foot 90 degrees to your target line as you walk into your ball. Let's first look at why you need to aim your right foot 90 degrees to your target line.

Find a stationery point like a pole or the corner of a room. Place your feet about 6 to 8 inches apart and parallel to each other. Look down at your feet and back at the stationery point you have chosen and aim your feet at that point.

Now stand tall and relax your upper body. Notice in this illustration that I have aimed my feet at the pole but when I stand tall, my shoulders rotate to my left and I feel like I am facing left.

Which way do you feel like you are facing? If you feel like you are facing left, your hips rotate left (open) when you stand tall. If you feel like you are facing right your hips are rotated right (closed) when you stand tall. If you feel like you are facing the point you chose when you aim your feet, your hips are likely square.

When I aim my shoulders at a stationery object and keep my feet parallel to each other, notice that my feet face right of the stationery object.

The average player picks out a target to

Notice in this next illustration that I am looking down my target line as I address my ball. I am using only my shoulders to set my line.

WHEN YOU USE ONLY YOUR SHOULDERS TO ALIGN...

Because of the natural rotation of my hips (left,) my feet are actually angled to the right of my target line.

If you look carefully you can see that my feet aren't even close to being at a 90 degree angle to my target line. Notice how the bar on my shoulder line and bar on my hip line cross in front. I step out on this line as I look to my left and notice the result of my set up. Notice how the bar on my hips crosses the bar on my shoulders. This set up will create a club path that starts outside my target line.

Because of the natural rotation of my hips (left,) my feet are actually angled to the right of my target line.

If you look carefully you can see that my feet aren't even close to being at a 90 degree angle to my target line. Notice how the bar on my shoulder line and bar on my hip line cross in front. I step out on this line as I look to my left and notice the result of my set up. Notice how the bar on my hips crosses the bar on my shoulders. This set up will create a club path that starts outside my target line.

Notice that the bar on my hips is crossing my target line. This means that when I try to turn through to my finish, my right hip will be in my way and I can't "clear" my right side. Over time, I will develop low back and hip pain from the blocking action produced by my right hip and my hips will finish right of my target. This set up also encourages overuse of my hands in my golf swing. This is a sure formula for a set up that creates a cut or a slice and an "over the top" or a "handsy" golf swing. If you attended the Mind Under Par Golf School you will recognize this as a set up that also produces an open clubface when the clubface is pulled from the side in a full set up position.

This alignment position is not just the set up of the high index players. One of the top players on our USC Men's team was

complaining of low back pain earlier this month at Tucson National Golf Club where we played in the University of Arizona's home tournament. His set up wasn't as extreme as I am illustrating here although his hip line was closed to his target line and his shoulders were crossing his hip line and he was losing most of his shots right or he had to over use his hands at impact. I corrected his set up during the practice round using exactly the same procedures you will read in the following. After three or four swings his ball flight was corrected. By the third day he said his hip pain was significantly better.

FINDING PERFECT ALIGNMENT

Let's look at what you should do to get set accurately at the ball. First, aim your feet through your ball at your target. The ball and target line should bisect your midline.

Next, stand tall and hold the club in whichever hand squares your shoulders to your target. I will cover your stance behind the ball in a future tip.

As I noted in the introduction of this tip, this is one of the variables we are studying in Dr. Frank Jobe's biomechanics lab at Centinela Hospital, Los Angeles.

Our preliminary research shows that our ability to see lines as they truly are is directly related to how we stand behind the ball. When your hips and shoulders are parallel to each other and square to your target line as you face your target from behind the ball, you will see a line from your ball to your target accurately. Any relationship of your hips and shoulders other than parallel to each other and square to your target line behind the ball changes your perception of a line from your ball to your target as left or right of its known accurate point. If you tried the exercises in the tip on green reading (February, 2004) you experienced this phenomenon.

Next, walk into the ball and aim your right foot 90 degrees to your target line. Once your right foot is aimed 90 degrees to your target line, place your clubface behind the ball. Rotate your head under as your eyes focus on a precise primary target.

Keep your eyes on your primary target as you spread your feet and settle into your set up.

If you keep your eyes on your target until you have settled into your full set up, you will find that your hips and shoulders are parallel to each other and, in my case, my target line.

Notice in this illustration that I am just finishing settling into my set up and my eyes are still on my target. Only after I have assumed my full set up do my eyes return to the ball as in this illustration.

If I leave my eyes down as I spread my feet as I have in this illustration, I will shuffle my stance to a closed position where once again you can see the bar on my hip crosses my target line and the bar on my shoulders crosses my hip line.

I have seen tour players through beginner do everything right behind the ball, aim their right foot 90 degrees to the target line and then fail to turn their head under and their eyes to their target as they spread their feet. Always rotate your head under to look at your target. You will always set up right or left (almost always right) unless:

1. You stand in balance with your feet shoulder width apart and your hips and shoulders square to your target as you face your target behind the ball.

2. Aim your right foot 90 degrees to your target line and then ground your club behind your ball.

3. Keep your eyes on your target as you spread your feet and step out into your set up.

4. Return your eyes to the ball only after you have assumed your full stance.

Your eyes and body work in concert to set your hip and shoulder lines parallel to each other at address. Your ability to align yourself to your target is directly related to how you stand behind the ball, aiming your right foot and keeping your eyes on your target as you step out in your set up.

Needless to say, the same is true with putting. Recall that your target line in putting is usually not in a straight line to the hole. Aim your right foot 90 degrees to the line on which you want to start your ball rolling.

As soon as you aim your right foot, ground your club and aim it a precise point on your target line. Your eyes should begin drawing a straight line to that point on your target line. Keep making small adjustments in your set up until the line looks straight. Once the line looks straight, begin scanning your line repeatedly.

There is one more thing you should know before I close this month's tip. You will experience an optical illusion as you aim your right foot 90 degrees to your target line. This optical illusion will create doubt and you will begin to have conversations with yourself about how "this" set up or line could not be correct.

As soon as you start thinking over the ball, you have missed your putt or shot. I am going to give you an exercise to follow so you won't have these conversations of doubt this optical illusion produces.

Last months tip had to do with the importance of having a precise intermediate target. Many of you are using precise intermediate targets as you set up to a ball. Know that the optical illusion you are experiencing is normal and should create no reason for a conversation or questions of doubt over the ball.

Place your ball 5 feet from the hole. One foot in front of your ball in line with the hole and your ball, place a golf tee.

Now, walk into your ball with your putter and aim your right foot 90 degrees to the line created by your ball and the tee. Notice how that tee appears to be left or right of the line you created. This is an optical illusion as illustrated in these pictures.

Know that your intermediate targets will look left or right of your target when you aim your right foot 90 degrees to your target line. (Have doubt if it doesn't look off line.) Your goal with the putter is to adjust your set up until your line looks accurate. When your intermediate target looks online it is confirmation that you are ready to stroke your putt on that line.

When you assume your set up in the full swing or putting, that line will look accurate if your hips and shoulders are parallel. This observation has been made so many times that I never give a lesson or run a golf school without the students wearing the bars on their hips and shoulders.

It is much easier for me and for our students to make corrections in the full swing when they have the bars on their hips and shoulders. Once students understand the concept of "seeing the line" with the putter, their hips and shoulders move naturally to parallel positions when they report "seeing the line."

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