Why is My Ball Flying Right?
How often do you go to hit a shot, make solid contact and you look up only to see your ball flying right of your intended target (or left if you are left-handed)? Hitting it right has happened to all of us at one point or another and the most common reaction is to begin thinking about and tweaking our swing to find out ‘why did the ball go there?’
Well before you scan Google for the numerous Youtube tutorials on ‘how to correct your golf swing’ take a second to evaluate yourself. Ball contact felt solid, my finish was in balance, ball flight looked good…BUT, it went right. If you took a divot, look at it. Where is it pointed?
It May Be Your Alignment
Sometimes, the culprit in a solid shot that went the wrong direction may not have anything to do with your swing and everything to do with your alignment. Most golfers whether right or left-handed step into their ball straight on, with their club in their dominant hand and their opposite foot. This is, after all, how human beings are taught to walk…opposite hand, opposite foot.
Consider for a second that when you step into your address position with your dominant hand and opposite foot that leads to the side of your body closest to your target being lined up ‘closed’ to your target. Once the club is placed behind the ball, most of us waggle a bit to get comfortable and the more waggling we do the more our bodies move into that ‘closed’ position that our lead foot has placed us in.
How to Step Into Your Setup
The next time you walk into your shot, hold the club with your dominant hand and use that same foot to step in with. Then, using the golf ball as the threshold that you don’t want your body to cross until you have your club set to the ball and your target found, only then do you swing your other leg over the other side of the threshold to complete your stance.
This allows your body (chest, torso, and hips) to remain open to your target until your lead foot comes to rest in its address position. This ‘open to the target’ feeling will have your body aligned more parallel to your target than if you had walked into the ball with your opposite foot leading.
You will most likely feel like you are aimed way too far left (as a right-handed player) but as you make your swing and the ball launches at your target, you will realize, maybe it wasn’t the swing after all!
Would you like some more tips on lining up your shots? Lessons on alignment.
Feature Photo: Sei Young Kim at the 2017 CME Group Tour Championship | Photo: Ben Harpring for WomensGolf.com
