How To Create The Perfect Golf Swing! (Part 3: Alignment)

in #life7 years ago

This is part 3 in my 6 part series of creating the perfect golf swing for you! In the first two parts we discussed how to properly grip the club and how to take the perfect stance. 

Those parts can be seen here:

https://steemit.com/how-to/@jrcornel/how-to-create-the-perfect-golf-swing-part-1

https://steemit.com/life/@jrcornel/how-to-create-the-perfect-golf-swing-part-2-the-stance

In this section, we will be discussing alignment, ball position, and hand position and it's importance in the golf swing.  

What is alignment?

In golf, alignment refers to getting all of your body parts pointing in the same direction. More specifically, it means getting your feet, hips, and shoulders all on the same line running parallel to your intended target line. 

Alignment is also how you aim. In order to aim at a target you are going to get your feet, hips, and shoulders aligned just left of your target because your aiming lines will run just left of your swing path line which will be pointed directly at your target. That is what is meant by "having your feet, hips, shoulders on a parallel line to your intended target line".

The perfect alignment

The perfect alignment is one in which the feet, hips, and shoulders are all on the same "line". The easiest way to check this is to place a golf club on the ground along your feet, take another one and put it across your hips and also across your shoulders. You want all of these lines to match up. When they are all matched up, they will be pointed just left of your target line as mentioned above and seen below.

There are 3 types of alignments

Closed - This is one in which the clubface is pointing left of the lines created by your feet, hips, and shoulders.

Open - The is one in which the clubface is pointing right of the lines created by your feet, hips, and shoulders.

Square - This is one in which the clubface is parallel to the lines created by your feet, hips, and shoulders.

Square is what we are looking for here. As mentioned in the earlier lessons, the clubface is the number #1 determinant of where our golf ball will go. That means we need to be very careful that we get it pointed in the correct direction. The more we can line up correctly, the less compensations we will have to make during the swing. In this case it is cool to be square!

What is ball position?

Ball position describes where the golf ball is in reference to your stance. 

There are 3 types of ball position

Forward - This describes a situation where the ball is forward of center in your stance.

Middle - This is a situation where the ball is located in the middle of your stance.

Back - This is a situation where the ball is located in the back of your stance.

The perfect ball position

The perfect ball position will depend mostly on what club you are hitting. As you can see in the image below the ball is usually either in the middle of the stance or forward in the stance. It will move progressively more forward the longer the club that you use. Driver will be the furthest forward and Wedge will be the furthest back.

We want to make sure the ball is not too far back in our stance otherwise we will come in to the ball too steeply and put too much spin on the ball, causing the ball to veer offline. Conversely, we want to make sure the ball is not too far forward so that we can strike the ball with a downward blow and compress it. If it is too far forward we will have a difficult time making solid ball contact.

The image shown above is a good rule of thumb as to where you should be placing the ball depending on the club you are hitting.

What is hand position?

Hand position refers to where your hands will be when holding the golf club in reference to the ball.

There are 3 times of hand positions

Forward press - This is where the hands are out ahead of the ball when looking face on.

Neutral - This is where the hands will be right over the ball when looking face on.

Extreme forward press - This is where the hands are out ahead of the ball but in an extreme fashion. 

The perfect hand position

The perfect hand position also varies depending upon the club you are hitting and the shot you would like to hit. For a Wedge you will have the most forward press and with a driver your hands will be roughly neutral. In most cases you will never want to have your hands in the extreme forward press condition unless you are trying to hit your ball under an obstacle. 

The 3 hand positions are shown below:

The hand position at address is important in determining the hand position at impact. Therefore, by controlling the clubface angle at address we can help control it at impact, which will help us control the trajectory of our ball flight. The key to playing really good golf is controlling our ball flight! 

Remember, in general, the more forward press we have, the lower the shot will go...

Now that we have the perfect grip, setup, alignment, ball position, and hand position we are almost ready to start swinging the club!

Join me tomorrow for  Part 4 of this 6 part series!

Live well my friends!

How To Create The Perfect Golf Swing Series:

1. https://steemit.com/how-to/@jrcornel/how-to-create-the-perfect-golf-swing-part-1

2. https://steemit.com/life/@jrcornel/how-to-create-the-perfect-golf-swing-part-2-the-stance

Image Sources:

http://free-online-golf-tips.com/fundamental-golf-tips/golf-set-up-tips/proper-golf-stance/

and Pixabay.com

Sources:

Myself, through 7 years of teaching golf, 25 years of playing including at the collegiate level, and from all the great teachers I've had along the way. 

Follow: @jrcornel 

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Haha thank you! Do you play golf?

I used to play. Haven't for a few years. Time to start again.

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