There has been much written about the importance of aligning the body for a golf swing.  Until you actually feel how it all comes together, all the teaching and coaching in the world will not be of any help.  There is a lot of talk about golf swing biomechanics, but since golfers come in all sizes and shapes, what works for the Tiger might not work so well for you?

I am by no means a professional golfer.  Furthermore, I consider myself to have much room for improvement while sporting a 20+ handicap.  With that said, and statistically, I am sure most people reading this are in my range.

I subscribe to several golf magazines and have read articles and spoken to pros about how to improve my game, and I try to work on fundamentals every time I play.  However, the information that helps me the most about the mechanics of golf is the information that I can correlate to other areas in my life.  I think that the scratch golfer and I are in the exact same position when it comes to putting the fundamentals of golf into practice.

Perhaps the best way to begin every time you play or practice is to warm up and get your body ready for the stresses and movement it is about to undergo.  Your swing will be less likely to break down if you are limber.

Stretching is good, but some slow steady practice swings and working up to a full swing is always going to be better than touching your toes twice, then teeing it up and swinging for the moon.

Any PGA professional will tell you that the first thing to do is address the ball with the clubface squared to the target, meaning that at the point of impact, if nothing changes through your swing motion, the club will make contact with the ball such that the ball will be propelled towards the target.  Just starting out with this in mind will help you position your body and will get you headed in the right direction.

This all sounds simple, but anything from a bad back, to improperly fitted clubs, to worn grips, to your tee set too high or too low can have a negative effect.  Additionally, the rest of the instructions you might receive, and those dreaded “swing thoughts” could prevent you from keeping your promise with the ball to send it on its intended flight path. 

If you think about it, golfing is not that different from other sports that require using your collective body motion to propel an object forward. Other than T-Ball for beginning baseball players, golf is the only game where the object you strike is stationary.

You wouldn’t think about shooting a pistol or rifle before you aimed?  So it should be in golf.

Think about fishing for a minute. If you start to cast before you have designated a place where you want the lure to land in the water you leave a lot of room for error in direction.  Also, if you are casting with a stiff arm approach as opposed to a fluid “whip” motion not only will your aim be off, but you will not get the distance you were hoping for, and thereby be ordering take-out fish dinner.

Most people get the hang of fishing easily from 5-year-old kids through adults and are able to quickly come to terms with the proper body posture and motion necessary to achieve a combination of distance and accuracy.  This may be because it is no fun to be untangling fishing line from trees, or pulling hooks out of the weeds.  You get the point.

In golf, just like fishing, the main thing is starting square to the target. 

I have though about how I set up when I have hit some of my best shots and if there is a formula to do this, it might read like this:

• Hands, feet, clubface: square to target.

• Head slightly up like reading a sign

• Spine Angle: mine is in the in the 30° range.

• Ball position (depending on the club): closer to the inside of my left foot for longer clubs like woods and long irons, and more towards the centerline of my stance for shorter irons.

• Shoulders: Try to keep them square to and exactly parallel to the target.  (I try to maintain a single plane swing)

• Stance:  Stand firm enough to complete a swing comfortably with enough power to reach the target.  I imagine if someone could easily push me off my position with a slight shove, I am not planted firmly enough and will re-position myself.

Next, you must make sure the stance you have gives you a combination of balance, the correct juxtaposition of the ball to your left foot, and that you have chosen the correct club so you can get the distance to the target without over-swinging or manipulating your posture in mid-swing.

Practice, practice, practice…Enjoy Golf!

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