Golf Shoulder Alignment Tips
Golfers of all skill levels struggle with how to line up a golf shot. Proper golf alignment is the first step to executing a great swing, and to hitting a great golf shot. If you set up with the proper golf alignment, particularly your shoulder alignment at address, you’ve set yourself up for success. If you set up poorly you’ve set yourself up for failure. Devan Bonebrake, top 50 young golf instructor and Golf Academy Lead Instructor, says his students lose their golf alignment as much as they lose their swing. Devan finds that the upper body and shoulder alignment are typically where things go awry. Luckily, with Devan's help, we've put together some golf alignment tips for you.
Proper Golf Swing Alignment
All golf swing fundamentals are important. They each have their role to play, and no great swing can exist without them. Because of this it’s hard to put one above the others, with one key exception - proper golf alignment. Golf alignment is difficult because golfers don’t typically work on their alignment, and because it is nearly impossible to see how you are aligned with any accuracy if you're practicing alone. From your perspective at address it is hard to see if your shoulder alignment is open or closed relative to your target line. Golf swing alignment is critical because a slight error can put you 10 yards off your mark - even more when hitting a driver. And alignment plays a key role in your short game and putting. Luckily we have some golf swing alignment tips to help you keep your aim true.
- Stand behind your ball first. Lining up a golf shot from anywhere other than 5 feet behind your ball is going to give you a skewed perspective that will almost always result in misalignment. When you practice always pick a target and trace an imaginary line from the ball to your target. After that set an alignment rod on the ground to the left of your ball (if you’re a righty) and parallel to your target line - like a railroad track.
- Set up to the ball and align your club face. It’s important that your club face points down the target line you set for yourself. Align the leading edge of the club perpendicular to the rod you placed on the ground.
- Take your golf stance. Your lower body, or golf stance alignment, should be easy because of that rod you set down for yourself. If you watch good players practice, they almost always use an alignment rod on the ground to help them.
- Align your knees, hips, and shoulders. This step is made significantly easier with Swing Align. Shoulder alignment at address is the most difficult part of the golf alignment process. If you are wearing a Swing Align device all you have to do is look down and match the alignment rod across your chest with the alignment rod on the ground. Let your hips and knees follow the line of your shoulders and take the time to remember what this position looks and feels like. Swing Align develops visual and muscle memory of proper golf alignment in a way that is very easy to understand and repeat. Taking the time to practice alignment while wearing a Swing Align device will help it stay with you out on the course.
The Results of Poor Alignment
There is a lot you can do to improve your swing these days, but unless you’re aimed at your intended target, no amount of practice or natural talent will bring you success. If you watch tour professionals practice you’ll notice one thing that connects them, they’re all committed to lining up their golf shots perfectly, be it through the use of a device, or their coaches and caddies. So learn from the best. There’s more to poor golf alignment than just direction. Poor alignment won't only have you missing your target to the right and left. It will cost you distance. It can turn a nice fade into a nasty slice, it can have you compensating in your swing which can only lead to worse and worse problems. A consistent golf game can only be built on consistent golf alignment, so don't neglect it!
Open Shoulder Alignment
If you start the golf swing with your shoulders open there are several common swing errors that can occur. The first is your shoulders moving out and around instead of down. This causes the club to move away from the ball outside of your target line commonly causing you to slice the ball and lose power. Starting with your shoulders open can also cause a shorter backswing, or a lack of rotation, or for your arms and body to become disconnected as you try to get the club back far enough.
Closed Shoulder Alignment
Starting with your shoulders too closed relative to your target line can cause you to take the club too far inside resulting in a swing that comes over-the-top which produces a pull or in the worst case a pull-slice. Starting closed also causes a swing that is too long and disconnected, which can result in a loss of power or increased miss-hits.
Line Up Your Shot Using Swing Align
How can you align more consistently for every golf shot you take? How do you align square to your target? With a Swing Align! When wearing a Swing Align swing trainer, perfect alignment is a simple matter of looking down.
The alignment rod across your upper body will show you where your body line is pointed, and an alignment rod on the ground will show where your lower body is pointed, match the two and you’re in proper alignment and ready to make a good golf swing.
GO: For most shots your body, including your shoulders, arms, hips and knees, should be square to your target line.
NO GO: Your shoulders should not be open or closed relative to your target line. This causes an inside or outside takeaway path. Note that most golfers misalign their upper body more often than their lower body.
Fix Your Alignment with Swing Align!
Without someone to point out your upper body alignment for you it is very difficult, if not impossible, to see your own upper body alignment. Because of this, a golf swing aid like Swing Align solves one of the most common problems in golf!
If you’re ready to take your alignment training to the next level, check out our shop!
