Golfers at every level can improve their game greatly by reviewing the fundamentals of grip, posture, stance & alignment on a regular basis. Periodic lessons to make sure your fundamentals are in place will insure that you play your best golf. Last month, Bowling Green Golf Pro, George Heslin shared tips to help you find the best golf grip and grip pressure for your game and in this installment; he’ll share his tips for posture, stance & alignment.
ALIGNMENT
Most amateur golfers know that the basics of proper alignment mean positioning the feet, knees, hips, forearms, shoulders and eyes parallel to the target line but it is so easy to let carelessness creep in. The most common mistake made is to aim too far right, then self correct by swinging left. The result: a slice. You may find that you’ve aimed right but swung left to subconsciously compensate or the opposite, aimed left and then hit a slice. George recommends the following as a simple way to insure proper alignment:
- Take the golf club in your right hand (for a right-handed golfer) and place it behind the ball and aimed at your target.
- Align your feet & body to the target while looking at the target, not the ball.
- Remember, you’re aligning to the target, so you must be focusing on it as you set up to the ball.
STANCE
Now that you’ve checked your alignment the next step is a proper golf stance. The proper golf stance first & foremost needs to be athletic and can be described with these simple thoughts. Keep your feet shoulder width apart, your knees flexed, but not bent and most important, bend at the waist while keeping your back as straight as possible. Now your arms are free to hang naturally. That posture along with proper alignment, will have you ready to hit good golf shots.
Finding the correct stance width isn’t complicated. Your widest stance will be taken with the driver, that is, shoulder width apart. As you move up to shorter clubs, you MAY wish to narrow your stance for comfort.
POSTURE
Great golf posture is the crucial next step for consistent, accurate and powerful ball striking. For examples of perfect posture, watch the pros on TV on Sunday afternoon! Use the drill below to feel the proper posture:
- Stand up tall and place golf club against your nose, chin, and belly button.
- Bend forward from the hips and make sure the club doesn’t leave any of the three contact points.
The next time you are setting up your swing, take a few moments and apply these tips to assure you have the proper alignment, stance and posture. Once you feel comfortable with these three fundamentals, you willbe ready to take an athletic golf swing to the course. Playing professionals practice fundamentals on a daily basis and what works for the prosshould be essential for amateurs! Sign up for a lesson with George at Bowling Green Golf Club to make sure your fundamentals are correct.
