Article #62
To meet this week's teacher, or to purchase a copy of MUNIE ~ The Jitterbug Collection, go to www.oneputtpress.com
Dear Jitterbug:
My instructor tells me I have faulty alignment issues. Apparently, I line up with my feet aimed right of the target, which she says causes a slice. From what I've read, however, aiming my feet to the right should cause a hook. What's the deal?
Ryan McFlenna
Jitterbug Gang Fan
Jitterbug:
No matter what it causes, aligning your feet to the right of your target is the worst alignment problem there is. Its why people slice, pull, pull hook, push, or push slice.
Feet aimed right of the target creates the need for one of two compensations: a big, sweeping hook back to the target (a reckless way to play), or a swing-your-arms-across-your-body move with the desperate hope of guiding a weak fade into the general area of the target. Either compensation makes golf harder than it is.
Mr. Vaughn:
For those of you who've been with us for some time you know I have four in-motion musts I consider imperative to solid ball striking. They are turn, transfer, extend, and turn.
The third must, extension after impact, is best described as a complete body reach-hips, arms and club-all extending out to the hole. The longer the reach, the more potential for power the golfer enjoys.
How does alignment affect post impact extension? Well, depending on whether you got it right or not, how you align yourself makes post impact extension either easy, or damn near impossible!
Let's say, for instance, you have your feet aligned to the right of the target. Come on, get up out of your chair and do this with me. Stand up and pretend you have a club in your hand and swing as if hitting to a target well left of where your feet are aligned. To swing this way, your arms must get shorter after impact. Aligning right means you can't possibly swing in the direction of the hole without chicken-winging your left arm around your body.
Now, let's go the other way. This time, line up with your feet, say, a little bit left of your target. With your feet aimed left, go ahead and swing toward your target with both arms. Easy, ain't it? With feet slightly left, it's easy to take both arms, straight as a nail, directly down the target line.
So, if you ask me which way to err, should you insist on erring, I say that having your feet lined up a little left is a heck of a lot better than the other way around.
Lord Berry:
As destructive as a closed stance is to the full swing, it's equally damaging to short shots.
As an example, I remind you that the first fundamental of the ordinary chip shot is no wrist rollover through impact. If you line up to the right of the target, however, you're in a posture that demands rollover to access the hole. In other words, with faulty alignment comes the need for faulty technique.
It can't be said enough: in-swing fundamentals only carry meaning if preceded by proper set-up fundamentals, that is, a good grip, posture, ball position and last but not least, proper alignment.