How you set up or aim your body in golf is super important to the accuracy of your golf shot. In this guide we are going to help you achieve the proper aim in golf and teach you the fundamentals and stance and alignment.
To get started, watch this golf lesson video on golf alignment and getting aimed correctly from the Nick Foy Golf Channel.
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What is Aim in Golf?
When you hear a golf instructor talk about where to aim or getting yourself aimed at your target, this simply means making sure your golf club is properly aimed at your target.
When you set your club down behind the golf ball, the face of the club should be pointing dead straight at your intended target, which can differ depending on which shot you’re hitting.
Tee Shots
For tee shots, you’ll want to aim yourself at the middle of the fairway. This is the target we want to hit the golf ball at to stay in play and have an easy second shot
Fairway Shots
When hitting from the fairway, we will want to aim ourselves at the green. You can aim at the flagstick if you’d like but we recommend getting yourself properly aligned to hit at the center of the golf green, a safer play in case of bunkers or water near the green.
Hitting from the Trees
Not every shot on a golf course will be played from the fairway. Sometimes you may find yourself hitting in the woods. In this case you’ll want to aim yourself so that you can hit back onto the fairway if trees are blocking the straight path to the green.
Putting
When we talk about aiming correctly with your putter, you’ll want the putter face to be pointing at the target line you want the ball to start on. This doesn’t necessarily mean aim at the hole since there might be some break in the green that will cause the ball to curve left or right during the putt.
Once you pick the line for your putt, aim at this line with your putter and your stance to ensure better contact and start putts on the correct target line.
Check this out: Breaking 90, 80, 70 Practice Plans + Golf Video Lessons
Body Alignment
In addition to getting your club aimed correctly, you also need to aim your body correctly.
For starters, your feet should be on a parallel line to the line that your club face is aiming on. If you drew a line on the ground with how your feet are aimed, this line should be pointing left of the target line of your golf ball and club face but still parallel to it.
This photo is a good example of the line that the club is pointing and how the feet are parallel to it.
Now depending on where your feet are aimed, you also want the rest of your body aimed in sync with your feet. This means your hips and shoulders should also be parallel to your target line.
If your upper body is rotated open, pointing away from your target line and stance line, then this can create consistency problems. We want to make sure your shoulder line is pointing the same direction as your hips line, knees, and feet lines so the body is in sync and properly aimed.
Check this out: Breaking 90, 80, 70 Practice Plans + Golf Video Lessons
Why Aim is Important in Golf
If you aren’t properly aimed in golf, it will be much harder to make straight putting strokes, and hit straight tee shots down the fairway. Aim is the very first step of a golf shot.
Many beginners have trouble with getting alignment correct. They aren’t aiming properly to their target and have an aiming issue that’s keeping them from scoring well.
Once they discover they’ve been aiming left of their target or right of their target, it will make sense to them why they have been hitting many golf shots left and right, for example.
Then they can make adjustments to their aim and start seeing better results on the golf course.
How to Check Aim – Easy Drill for the Driving Range
Here is a simple golf drill you can do on the driving range to check your aim.
As you get setup to hit your golf shot, have a couple of alignment sticks handy or a few extra irons from your golf bag. Take the alignment stick and place it on the ground so it’s touching the tips of both feet.
This will show you where your feet were aiming.
Also place an alignment stick on the ground for the golf ball and where you want that ball to be aiming so it’s aimed correctly at the target.
Now step back behind the alignment sticks so you’re looking at the target and see if the ball aim is parallel with your feet aim.
If not, you have an aim problem.
You’re not properly setting up your body and aligning your body correctly to your target and this is why you’re not hitting straight shots at your target!
Practice this golf aim drill and you’ll see improvement in your setup.
Check this out: Breaking 90, 80, 70 Practice Plans + Golf Video Lessons
Proper Stance Alignment Tips
Check out this video on tips to make sure you get your stance properly aligned so you can aim straight at your target and see straighter golf shots, straighter chips, and straighter putts.
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Practice Plans to Follow – Foy Golf Academy
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