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Why is it so hard to aim correctly?
That’s a question I hear constantly on the lesson tee. The simple truth is two fold. Our full swing technique is frequently the major culprit. Whatever our full swing produces, whether it be a hook or a slice, the problem solver within our golfing mind needs to find a way to resolve our inability to hit the golf ball straight. So, what’s simpler…altering our technique, or altering our alignment? Historically, the most talented, driven and hard working players of the past two generations, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo, struggled for 18-24 months while learning to own their new technique. Do any of us have that much time, commitment and talent? The easier solution, one which most of us employ, is learning how to match up the ball flight pattern our technique most frequently produces, to an imperfect alignment. Unfortunately, whatever we see straight for our full swing shots has a tendency to blend into all of our other shots. While this works more consistently, for our golf shots that travel longer distances, it provides a bigger challenge for our shorter shots, that have less time to curve back on to the target. So how do we learn how to aim more correctly for our short game shots and hope that this influences our ability to change our dynamic full swing technique? Grab your putter and I’ll show you how.
This exercise comes down to learning how to align your club face to an object extremely close to the club itself. Place the golf ball down, with a tee six inches in front of the golf ball, 3-4 feet away from the hole. Ensure that the golf ball and tee are in direct alignment with the center of the hole.
Here is an example of how to set up this Drill Work Station.
When standing over the golf ball, as you look through the tee, make sure that your eyes look up and down the intended target line and finish directly in the middle of the hole. Do not fret if your eyes do not go directly up and down your target line, into the middle of the hole. Every individual needs to discover the most efficient way for them to see straight. Jack Nicklaus is left eye (or target eye) dominant, played from an open stance, with his head significantly behind the golf ball. Those two unique alignment characteristics balanced each other out and enabled him to see his target line more efficiently. You’ll understand how that works by the end of this article.
Note how far Jack’s head is behind the golf ball (L photo) and how open Jack’s body alignments are to his putter face (R photo).
Jordan Speith’s eye line is closed, or right to his target line and yet he is one of the best putters in the world today, especially from longer distances. Interesting that he needs to change his alignment technique for putts of shorter distances. Can it be argued that Jordan’s unique eye line becomes more challenging to manage from shorter distances, one of the themes of this article?
So how do you find your own solution? Consider the following information to help you analyze your needs and find your personalized straight.
Eye dominance has a huge effect on how your eyes process information. Our dominant eye processes information more quickly and efficiently compared to our non dominant eye. A target eye dominant individual does not need to rotate their head to be able to see the target line…they just need to move their eyes. A back swing eye dominant individual has their nose and target side of their face in the way of the target, and therefore needs to learn how to properly rotate the
ir face to be able to see the target line efficiently.
Here are some additional traits that can effect your ability to see the line straight.
Your eyes may be seeing right (for a right handed golfer) of your target line if…
Your eye line is right of the target line.
Note how much more of the Cobra Logo (compared to the other more square p
hotos) you can see with this golfer due to his eye line being aimed right of perpendicular to the target.
Your eyes are inside of the golf ball/target line.
Note the position of this Golfer’s eye line and bill of his cap.
Your neck tilt changes your eye line to be inside of the golf ball.
Note the different neck position and hat bill tilt which changes the eye line of this golfer.
Your head is in front of the ball. This would be the exact opposite tendency of Jack’s Head Alignment shared earlier in this post with a photo.
Of course, the exact opposite tendencies hold true if you are seeing left of the target line.
The key for you is to make any of the alterations to your set up so that you see straight with the drill listed above. Once your eyes can see golf ball, tee and line finishing in the middle of the hole, you’ll have a better chance of executing a simpler technique. You’ll need to be less of an athlete to manipulate your technique to hit it straight. The exciting piece to share is that you get to be your own problem solver based upon discovering what is most comfortable for you, or what is the easiest to execute under pressure.
So experiment with this alignment drill. Discover the characteristics defined above to help you see straight for your short shots. Your better trained eyes will force you to learn new skills and techniques that will eventually produce a swing that will execute straight shots for all of your shots.
Good luck!
Tim Mitchell
PGA, Certified Golf Instructor
