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January 11, 2012, 4:30 pm - (4 months ago)
In an effort to regain some consistency in my game, I had to look at all aspects of my game. What I came up with is that I needed to work on was my over all alignment. My definition of alignment as far as golf goes is the interaction of club face alignment, body alignment (stance, and posture), and of the third variable being my grip. All three (5) of these parts of my alignment need to work well together for me to play decent golf. Then once they are all working together, I need to match them up with ball placement in my stance.
As for club face alignment, depending on the shot required,I need to remember to align the bottom leading edge scoring lines of the club head with my intended target line, and not the top edge. I need to remember that there are three possible club face alignments at impact. Those being closed, open, and square. In the past, I have used all of these club face alignments when the shot required it. I am practicing hitting the ball with all of these alignments to remember what the ball will do with each. A good way I have found to make sure my grip is holding the club face square is to hold the club out in front of me at arms length. Then using a vertical straight line provided by a corner of a building, or post, I match up the bottom scoring lines (not the bottom leading edge) on the club face with that object.
My body alignment, relative to what ever target line I am using is where I need the most work. I need to make sure my upper body which controls my swing path, stays in sync with my knees, and foot alignments. My shoulders also need to be parallel to my intended target line. My body alignment also needs to be in sync with my club face alignment. The two work hand in hand together. Another issue I will work on will be bending at the hips, (posture) and not my waist. This will help to keep my back some what straight. I will work on my knee flex, looking for my own comfort zone. The last part of my body alignment puzzle is to match the distance between my feet to what ever club I am using. When practicing this part, I use two metal yard sticks, placed on the ground. I use the numbers for reference points. In addition to practicing a square stance, I will also practice using an open or closed stance. Again, noting the various ball flights these adjustments will cause.
I will work on my grip. I am using a modified version of the over lapping grip. This because of old age beginning to creep into my game. My grip needs to be in sync with my body alignment, and it will control my club face alignment. Actually it is because of a recent grip change I need to work on my over all alignment set up to the ball. Once I quit using my old grip that I had for some 25+ years, errant ball flights became a problem. My grip practice is basically finding my own comfort zone. I will adjust my grip around the club grip. sometimes counter clockwise, and sometime clock wise. This while maintaining all the other aspects of my over all alignment in their proper place.
As far as ball placement, I will work on proper positioning for which ever club I need to use and/or what ever shot I need to pull off. This is another reason I use the metal yard sticks.
As with any practice regimen, there has to be an end goal to work towards. In my case I want to get to a point where I am crowding the "80" number most of the time. I also want to break "80" on occasions. Another thing I am looking for is comfort in my set up, and alignment. Once I am comfortable, that will allow me to be more consistent. With the time I have allotted to play, and practice, working with this new grip, I figure about six months. I also need time to work on my short game. Just in time for the hot, triple digit, summer time play. ;)
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