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Stare at the Target, Glance at the Ball

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If you practice these tips on the range, you will build a routine that begins behind the ball, through your approach to the ball and final set up at the ball. Last month I showed you why it is important to build your set up from the ground up as part of your preswing routine. As you go through these tips, if you click on the pictures, they will enlarge.

Recall that our natural, individual body rotation will set you left or right of your target line unless you "build your lines” correctly at the ball. That is why you should aim your right foot ninety degrees to the target line. This initial step will set the beginning of your alignment to your target. Alignment is one of the simplest but most often missed set up positions. If your alignment is off, your swing will be compromised.

This month I am revisiting the last sequence of this set up routine because it is one of the most common flaws I see in every level of player. If you are going to set up to the ball and maintain your parallel lines at the ball you must maintain visual contact with your target as long as your feet are moving when you shuffle into your stance. Try the following on the range and you will experience first hand why you must have your eyes on your target as long as your feet are moving when you set up to your ball.

Note in the photo on the left that I aim my right foot ninety degrees to my target line. I draw a line through my ball to a precise intermediate target and aim my right foot ninety degrees to that line. (See March 2004 tip in the Golf Tips archives) Once I have aimed my right foot, my eyes go to my primary target in the second picture and remain there until I have assumed my full set up position. That is, as long as my feet are moving, my eyes remain on my target.

Notice in the following two photos that my hips and shoulders are parallel to each other. My target line is represented by the line of balls on the ground. In the photo on the left, note that my hips and shoulders are parallel to each other and to my target line. In the photo on the right, my hips and shoulders are parallel to each other but open to my target line.

If you attended the Mind Under Par Golf Schools 10 years ago, I put a club on your heel line to check your alignment. Five or six years ago I would have checked the relationship of your shoulders to the target line (parallel.) Our research in the last few years shows a very different process in setting your alignment. The only thing I am concerned about as I check alignment now is that your shoulders and hips are parallel to each other and that your clubface is aimed at your target. If you attended the Mind Under Par Golf School, you understand what produced the open but parallel lines in the picture on the right. Many good players play from this position: Shoulders and hips parallel to each other, slightly open to their target line and their clubface is aimed at the target. This is true putter through driver. When the shoulders and hips are parallel to each other and the clubface is aimed at the target, the player is in balance, his hands hang under his shoulders and the club will start on plane, barring any use of the hands as the club starts back.

If you are trying to play from a position where your shoulders are parallel to your target line, unless your grip size is precise, your hips and shoulders will not be parallel to each other. That is, they will cross, most likely behind you, and you will have an inside path and over the top swing. Notice in the above photos that I have changed to a smaller grip size in the photo on the right. You can see a defined change in my posture, height, knee flex and hip and shoulder lines. Also notice that I changed my ball position in the photo in the right. My ball position is about a ball forward in my stance. Since my hips opened, I changed my shoulder lines to open by moving my ball position forward. (If you click on the photos, they will enlarge) This is one of the many factors we are looking at in the biomechanics lab at Centnela Hospital. Due to my age and flexibility, I have a reduced turn from the set up position in the photo on the right. If you attended the golf school you experienced all of this first hand.

Your goal in setting up to the ball is to get your shoulders and hips parallel to each other, not necessarily the target line, and your clubface aimed at the target. When your hips and shoulders are parallel to each other, you are able to visually draw straight lines to your target. When your hip and shoulder lines cross, your visual perception of lines is impaired. This observation is true through the bag, putter to driver. When your hips and shoulders are parallel to each other, you are in balance. Everything you will read in these tips is related to that one concept: BALANCE.

When you set up correctly, aligned with your hips and shoulders parallel to each other and your clubface aimed at your target, the probability of you finishing in balance as shown in the following pictures is high.

Note that I finish in balance with my hips parallel to my target line.

Now let’s look at what happens when you leave your eyes down as you shuffle your feet into your set up at the ball. If your eyes are on your target as you move your feet into your set up, you will maintain your body lines using your eyes. This is actually a very simple concept, as most of these tips are. Set up on the range, look at your target and try to rotate your feet so you move to a set up position that is closed (right) to your target line. You will immediately note your shoulder rotation to the right and it won’t feel comfortable. If you set up with your eyes on the ball as you set your feet in your set up, you have eliminated your visual sense and you will find yourself rotating your feet right most of the time.

In the illustrations to the left, you will notice that I have aimed my right foot but I keep staring at the ball as I spread my feet and assume my set up.

If you look carefully at the picture on the right you can see that my feet are rotated well right of my target line. In the next photo you can see how far right I am aligned to my target line. You can also predict the club path this set up will produce.

Notice the finish position this set up produces in the photos on the left.

My hips don’t "clear" and they are aimed right of my target in my finish. My ball will either fly right or, if I use my hands at the bottom of the swing, I could even manage to hook the ball. Seldom will this alignment to the right of my target line create shots at my target unless my timing is perfect. I will also develop back and hip pain from the repetitive stress on my low back and hip and the blocking action of my right side.

Alignment is one of the easiest things to correct if you use your eyes as you set up to the ball. Remember, your hips and shoulders should be set parallel to each other in the address position. They are not likely going to be parallel to the target line unless your grips fit your hands perfectly. Your hips and shoulders will most likely be parallel to each other but slightly open to your target line. When your hips and shoulders are parallel to each other, you will be able to visually draw straight lines from your clubhead to the target. You will perceive that line as straight only if your hips and shoulders are parallel to each other. As you address the ball, you should be drawing lines to your target, this will confirm your set up. As you start the club back until impact you should have a mental image of your target or ball flight. Use your visual sense to guide your set up and swing. Remember: Stare at the Target and Glance at the ball.

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