Back to Basics

I have been struggling with my game recently. The primary culprit is lack of playing time, but I can’t completely blame my limited rounds. I have spent enough time practicing to where I should be functional when I play.

Recently, I recalled something an old teaching friend of mine told me years ago. When things start going sideways, go back to the fundamentals. More often than not, when something is off with your golf swing, something is wrong your fundamentals.

Let’s examine some basics which you can and should check all the time.

1. Width of stance - pretty basic fundamental, yet I see all kinds of widths of stance. Most commonly, I see driver stances too narrow. Sometimes iron stances are too wide. Being too narrow or wide causes all kind of problems in the swing. Your body starts making different moves to compensate.

   What’s the correct width?

   The basic rule of thumb is for the stance to be shoulder width apart.

   Great.

   How do I know what shoulder width apart is?

   I learned a simple method a long time ago. Simply stand tall with your feet set naturally apart. Your feet will pretty much naturally set to shoulder width. This is your basic stance width. A driver will be wider (think a small step out with the trail foot). A wedge will be slightly narrower (a small step in with the trail foot).

2. Ball position - Besides width of stance, this may be the craziest of the fundamentals I see with golfers. I have seen driver ball position anywhere from in front of the lead foot to the middle of the stance. Irons anywhere from inside the lead foot to inside the trail foot. Just crazy.

   With driver, the ideal ball position is just inside the lead heel. With irons, no further back than middle of the stance.

   Here’s a great way to get the correct ball position. Start with your feet together with the ball positioned between them. For a driver, keep the lead foot stationary and take a big sideways step with the trail foot. For irons, start from the same position but take a small sideways step with lead foot and a little bigger sideways step with the trail foot. This will help you find the correct ball position.

3. Alignment - Another slew of crazy positions dot driving ranges acrsos the globe. Anywhere from closed to open stances with hips and shoulders nowhere near to being aligned together. If anyone of these, let alone all three, are poorly aligned, good luck producing quality golf shots consistently.

   Here are some tips to check for proper alignment.

   Drop a club or alignment rod on the ground near the ball for your target line. Drop a second alignment rod or club on the ground at your feet. If the rods/clubs are parallel congratulations. Your feet are aligned properly. Take an alignment rod and run it through the belt loops of you pants to check the hips making sure the alignment rod is parallel to your feet and the target line.

   For the shoulders, Option #1 - run an alignment rod through your shirtsleeves checking again to make sure the rod is parallel to the other rods. Option # 2 - take your stance and grip the club. Once in your setup position, take your trail hand off the club and pull your trail shoulder back a little. Keeping the trail shoulder in the same position, regrip the club with your trail hand. Your shoulders will be square.

Quick tip on alignment rods. Don’t buy alignment rods marketed for golf. Instead, head to Lowe’s or Home Depot and buy the orange or yellow rod marking stakes without the round reflector at the top. These are a fraction of the price of the golf alignment rods on the market and are essentially the same thing.

If you are struggling with your game, go back to the fundamentals. Check the three listed above to see if any of them are out of whack before diving into swing fixes. More than likely, you will find one or more of them are off. Once fixed, your game is likely to improve.

As always, be thankful when you play. Be grateful for the privilege and opportunity to play this amazing game. Now, go golf!