Alignment drills

[wildcatden]

Trying to help my junior improve his alignment....especially on course. Seems to be hit and miss. Some days, he just gets well lined up every time and a great round is had.  Other days he tends to be open with his stance which causes him to end up swinging far too inside-to-outside, loss of distance and generally losing consistency.  We practice with alignment sticks on the range, and I try to instill in him that he needs to have an alignment target ("alley") to hit to with each club on the range.  So besides that, any other practice tips for alignment?

 

 

[Medson]

How do you use alignment sticks? One stick? T set up? Set up like a rail and put ball between 2 sticks? 

 

I'm not saying one is better than the others. And we are also experimenting ourselves. 

[Kcct82]

Good question, struggling with the same. 

[tiger1873]

Have him work on the pre-shot routine.  He needs to do the same thing every time. 
 

My guess is his setup is different and he doesn’t know it so you see some inconstent strikes.
 

you are on the right track with aliment sticks but do not rule out setup.

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by tiger1873

[wildcatden]

4 hours ago, Medson said:

How do you use alignment sticks? One stick? T set up? Set up like a rail and put ball between 2 sticks? 

 

I'm not saying one is better than the others. And we are also experimenting ourselves. 

 

Tried many variations.  Sometimes just one stick halfway between the feet and the ball. Sometimes two sticks with one just outside the ball and one at the feet. Sometimes the "T".   It is certainly setup and process related. Today, he hit the range and I asked him to emphasize checking the alignment for every shot. Certainly, he got better results from a consistency standpoint.   In my mind, if he can get through that part of the setup/process, then when he does have some mishits/swing faults that he knows that it is more likely those and not necessarily setup related. 

 

When I watch him on the range (away from him sitting on the bench), I can almost tell when he doesn't get aligned properly.  Anyway, I guess it is just more repetition and I don't have to resort to taping Tinker Toy sticks to his toes. 🤣

 

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

10 hours ago, wildcatden said:

 

Tried many variations.  Sometimes just one stick halfway between the feet and the ball. Sometimes two sticks with one just outside the ball and one at the feet. Sometimes the "T".   It is certainly setup and process related. Today, he hit the range and I asked him to emphasize checking the alignment for every shot. Certainly, he got better results from a consistency standpoint.   In my mind, if he can get through that part of the setup/process, then when he does have some mishits/swing faults that he knows that it is more likely those and not necessarily setup related. 

 

When I watch him on the range (away from him sitting on the bench), I can almost tell when he doesn't get aligned properly.  Anyway, I guess it is just more repetition and I don't have to resort to taping Tinker Toy sticks to his toes. 🤣

 

It took a while for my son to understand alignment.  Now every session on the range looks like this with his sticks.

(Mizuno 921 Tour - Project X 120g)

 

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by TripleBogeysrbetter

[heavy_hitter]

The alignment pertains to what the brain is telling them to see much of the time.  My kid is left handed and lines up left of the target too frequently.  At times it is a huge problem.  

 

In their routine try having them stand further right of the ball while behind going through routine.  Then enter their stance from more of the right side of the ball than the left.

 

Also, try alignment rods on the course while practicing.

[jj9000]

A Sharpie line on the ball can work wonders for tee box alignment.

 

Use the Sharpie like you would use alignment sticks on the range.

 

Line feet up up with imaginary line parallel (train tracks) to target.

 

 

[weavej1]

It’s not what feels like square….it’s what square feels like.

[weavej1]

13 minutes ago, jj9000 said:

A Sharpie line on the ball can work wonders for tee box alignment.

 

Use the Sharpie like you would use alignment sticks on the range.

 

Line feet up up with imaginary line parallel (train tracks) to target.

 

 

And it leaves a mark on the face, and it makes it easier to identify your ball from afar  and it gives instant feedback on the putting green    lots of reasons to use the sharpie line