I’ve worked with juniors Michael Sarro (right-hander) and Adam Chan (lefty) the past year. While they have different learning styles, both came to me with poor alignment.
One of my mentors, Bob Toski, used to say that your desire to swing toward the target overrides your tendency to aim away from it. That means that if you inadvertently aim 20 yards right of your target you’ll instinctively alter the path of your club mid-swing to try to hit the ball toward the target. Right-handed players with this tendency typically pull short irons and wedges and push their long irons and woods. Sound familiar?
What I want for all my students is productive practice, and the photo on this page shows my required practice stations. To set up your station, place a club or alignment stick in front of your ball aimed directly at the target; then place another at your feet parallel to that target line. If you’re on grass, hit a shot, set another ball behind that divot and hit another. Keep hitting until you’ve run out of real estate, then pick a different club, set up to a different target and get back to work.
The benefits of this type of practice include:
Hitting shots with the correct alignment will translate to the course and get you accustomed to seeing the target out of a certain field of vision.
Building solid swing fundamentals from session to session. Nothing is gained if you hit balls while aiming 20 yards right on Tuesday and 10 yards left on Thursday. In that scenario you’re starting from scratch each time you practice.
The front alignment stick or club lets you identify an intermediate target on your line, which helps you square the clubface before building your stance. Do this during each session and it will become instinctual on the course.
