How do you make sure you set up consistently?

[UKGolfer86]

As per the title, what do you do to make sure you set up in a consistent way? I have some ability, not fantastic, but im not terrible at 11.4, but the hardest part of golf for me is set up.  I recently changed to a stronger grip on the advice of the pro i have lessons with.  Had a huge impact immediately, super accurate and consistent with irons/wedges and upto 3 wood, driver took some work but im getting there.

 

But on the course over the last couple of rounds, i find myself going from a tight draw to a bit of a fade, but without any certainty on which way from shot to shot.  One will go right a bit, so the next shot i overcorrect my stance and i may get some real horrible hook.  I had my partners record some shots at random throughout the round, so that i wasnt aware of when and try to correct things.  My posture, grip etc are all consistent, but some shots im totally square, some im set up open with my shoulders square to stance, some im set up with my feet open but shoulders square to target etc.  You get the idea, im struggling to keep it all consistent and i really dont know why.

 

Any tips, other than practice in front of a mirror, that you can suggest that helps you with a more consistent set up?

[kowalgolf]

Me too for over 60 yrs. Went back to Carl Lohren old time setup where you set your posture set your face to the target establish your radius and build your stance. My problem is when I set the face square and build my stance I move my hands and shoulders to the right. The left shoulder should be slightly left of target. A good thought for me is if your going to shoot a rifle how would you position your body. You need to give that left shoulder a place to go in the BS or the hands and arms could take it anywhere IMO. Lohren has 2-3 nice videos on posture and setup which I'm going back to for the 5th time till my minds eye gets it. 

[Justsomeguy]

6 hours ago, UKGolfer86 said:

As per the title, what do you do to make sure you set up in a consistent way? I have some ability, not fantastic, but im not terrible at 11.4, but the hardest part of golf for me is set up.  I recently changed to a stronger grip on the advice of the pro i have lessons with.  Had a huge impact immediately, super accurate and consistent with irons/wedges and upto 3 wood, driver took some work but im getting there.

 

But on the course over the last couple of rounds, i find myself going from a tight draw to a bit of a fade, but without any certainty on which way from shot to shot.  One will go right a bit, so the next shot i overcorrect my stance and i may get some real horrible hook.  I had my partners record some shots at random throughout the round, so that i wasnt aware of when and try to correct things.  My posture, grip etc are all consistent, but some shots im totally square, some im set up open with my shoulders square to stance, some im set up with my feet open but shoulders square to target etc.  You get the idea, im struggling to keep it all consistent and i really dont know why.

 

Any tips, other than practice in front of a mirror, that you can suggest that helps you with a more consistent set up?

I think this is probably what hurts a lot of us. I think we've got to have a stock setup and then only deviate a little to adjust for the shot you're trying to hit in the moment or to adjust for whatever is going on that day.

I think the checkpoints for me to make sure I have consistent ball position and distance from the ball. My shoulders and feet are pretty square every time or else I'll drop the trail foot back with longer clubs.

I've needed to check my grip a bit lately bc I was hitting hooks, taking it back too closed.

Where did that correction get me? Hitting pushes now! Hooray. Progress.

[bakere]

I view it as a skill that has to be trained. At the range I use sticks to get consistent position of feet. And then I get my grip in a specific way that usually puts my shoulders and hips in the correct position. I then video the swings. I review the video. If I'm off I adjust. Once it looks good, and the swings and flights of the ball are good, i try to hold setup a little longer for a few swings just to engrain the feel. Repeat for forever as feels change daily lol.

[ac6]

Once you pick your target, pick an intermediate target 2-3 feet in front of the ball and set up everything parallel to that. Practice this at the range by using alignment sticks. Once you visualize that target line, you should groove a preshot routine that helps you make sure your body is lined up to it.

 

For me, once I've taken my practice swing, it's putting club face behind the ball aimed at the intermediate target, stepping in with the lead foot to establish ball position, then stepping into my stance with the trail foot parallel to the target line I've established. I have a tendency to leave my shoulders open after looking at the target, so I do a last check of the shoulders before waggling and hitting the shot. 

[SirFuego]

I think it's also important to realize that the visual setup of where ever you are aiming AND the ground around your ball can influence your ability to align your body to where ever you are aiming.  Consider hitting off of a rectangular mat at the range and aiming at a target that isn't parallel to the mat.  You may be able to get your feet positioned correctly using an alignment stick, but the visual cue of the edges of the mat might cause your shoulders to open or close relative to your aim point.  If the tee box isn't aimed at your target, you may also alter your setup to better "align" with the tee boxes.  The shape of the hole, fairway, bunkers, trees, etc can also influence your ability to align yourself.  One of the difficulties of golf is to figure out how to "ignore" these visual cues.  If you don't practice alignment, it's easy to start just "letting the course dictate where you align".

 

I followed Koepka for a few holes during a practice round last week and his coach was in his practice round entourage.  Before each shot, he would go through a seemingly elaborate alignment routine with his coach.  Brooks would setup to the ball, put his club in front of his rear foot, leave it there, move his rear foot away, and his coach would put is rear foot inline with the club...then repeat for the front foot.  His coach would setup to the ball.  Brooks would then look at where his coach was aligned.  It appeared to be a much more cumbersome way to check the alignment of his feet, but I supposed it could also be used to visually look at stance width and ball position from another perspective.  Brooks may have an easier time processing this information seeing the setup of an actual person instead of alignment sticks laid on the ground.  It could also be a way for his coach to better understand Brooks' tendencies when setting up to the ball.

 

It might be worthwhile play a few practice rounds trying different ways to get your alignment squared away even if it resorts to methods that constitute as "cheating" (e.g. setup alignment sticks on the ground before the shot and hit your shots with the alignment sticks still there or put a tee in the ground in front of the ball where you want to aim).  After a few rounds you might find that your alignment tends to be most impacted by certain holes or certain types of shots and be able to better overcome those tendencies in the future.

 

I personally have found that my best ball striking occurs when my aim point is a foot or so in front of the ball.  However, I find that I really struggle with alignment that way when the course is in pristine condition because there isn't always an "imperfection" in the turf I can focus on.  On par 3s, I will often try to find a divot going in the same direction as where I want to aim, setup my ball behind that, and align my body parallel to the divot.

Edited May 23, 2023 by SirFuego

[ac6]

1 hour ago, SirFuego said:

I personally have found that my best ball striking occurs when my aim point is a foot or so in front of the ball.  However, I find that I really struggle with alignment that way when the course is in pristine condition because there isn't always an "imperfection" in the turf I can focus on. 

 

Growing up, I was taught to focus on a single grain of sand or a single blade of grass. Definitely tough when they all look the same but it also taught me to not spend a lot of time before the shot because I'd forget which blade of grass I was supposed to be aiming at

[UKGolfer86]

Some good info and thoughts here.  Taking some alignments sticks out during a practice round one evening is a definite, likely tomorrow.  Its infuriating as i can put most of my shots down to alignment, be it my body vs club, or a disconnect between shoulder and feet alignment.  I can often feel when i have set up poorly as soon as i start my downswing and can tell where my mishit is going to go.

 

Some work to go for sure.  I have a 9 hole playing lesson booked for Tuesday, so figure coach will spot this early on, as i wont mention if for the first couple of holes, see what he spots and how he plans to remedy it from his POV.

[bluedot]

For most good players, and I’m going right up to Tour level with this, setup issues are probably the most common problem.  Ball position, alignment, posture; these things change so incrementally that we are able to compensate for a long time.  Until we can’t…

 

Go to the range at a Tour event; they’ve got clubs and sticks on the ground, their caddie behind them and so on.  Heck, it used to be common to see caddies help with alignment during the round.  Watch the guys you play with; you’ll see them get into setup positions from which they have NO chance of playing consistently.

 

FOR ME, I’ve got to have sort of a “checklist” as part of my pre shot routine to try and make sure I get my setup right.  Even at that, things go haywire at times.  After a tournament round a few weeks back in which I hit my wedges worse than my hybrids (and wanted to vomit!) I had a lesson with the pro at my club.  30 minutes, only wedges, and not one word about the golf swing.  He squared me up, moved my ball position back, moved my hands forward, and the problem went away.

[Hawkeye77]

On 5/23/2023 at 1:39 AM, UKGolfer86 said:

As per the title, what do you do to make sure you set up in a consistent way? I have some ability, not fantastic, but im not terrible at 11.4, but the hardest part of golf for me is set up.  I recently changed to a stronger grip on the advice of the pro i have lessons with.  Had a huge impact immediately, super accurate and consistent with irons/wedges and upto 3 wood, driver took some work but im getting there.

 

But on the course over the last couple of rounds, i find myself going from a tight draw to a bit of a fade, but without any certainty on which way from shot to shot.  One will go right a bit, so the next shot i overcorrect my stance and i may get some real horrible hook.  I had my partners record some shots at random throughout the round, so that i wasnt aware of when and try to correct things.  My posture, grip etc are all consistent, but some shots im totally square, some im set up open with my shoulders square to stance, some im set up with my feet open but shoulders square to target etc.  You get the idea, im struggling to keep it all consistent and i really dont know why.

 

Any tips, other than practice in front of a mirror, that you can suggest that helps you with a more consistent set up?

First, via Monte, I think you need to accept the fact that just because that shot went left or that shot went right doesn't mean you assume your stance or setup is wrong and fiddle with it out there on the course or even on the range.  Your shots aren't all going to be perfect and just to mess with you, lol, because I'm mental myself, maybe that nice shot you just hit was in spite of a bad setup!  

 

Second, practice, practice and get a feel for the right setup and whatever cue you need.  I'll sometimes have someone take a quick pic or video of my setup or do it myself, it's a good way to check or if it's alignment, have someone check that.  Hard to unlearn years of different patterns, believe me, just have to be diligent and try and find what works to make it consistent.  I went to my local pro last summer when I was struggling just to get baselines re-established for takeaway/length of backswing and alignment --- not working on golf swing as such, just trying to get the feel and then back to 100 yard 7 irons, etc. for sequencing.

 

I'd still ask the pro you are taking lessons with!!!

[cav5]

22 hours ago, SirFuego said:

I think it's also important to realize that the visual setup of where ever you are aiming AND the ground around your ball can influence your ability to align your body to where ever you are aiming.  Consider hitting off of a rectangular mat at the range and aiming at a target that isn't parallel to the mat.  You may be able to get your feet positioned correctly using an alignment stick, but the visual cue of the edges of the mat might cause your shoulders to open or close relative to your aim point.  If the tee box isn't aimed at your target, you may also alter your setup to better "align" with the tee boxes.  The shape of the hole, fairway, bunkers, trees, etc can also influence your ability to align yourself.  One of the difficulties of golf is to figure out how to "ignore" these visual cues.  If you don't practice alignment, it's easy to start just "letting the course dictate where you align".

 

I followed Koepka for a few holes during a practice round last week and his coach was in his practice round entourage.  Before each shot, he would go through a seemingly elaborate alignment routine with his coach.  Brooks would setup to the ball, put his club in front of his rear foot, leave it there, move his rear foot away, and his coach would put is rear foot inline with the club...then repeat for the front foot.  His coach would setup to the ball.  Brooks would then look at where his coach was aligned.  It appeared to be a much more cumbersome way to check the alignment of his feet, but I supposed it could also be used to visually look at stance width and ball position from another perspective.  Brooks may have an easier time processing this information seeing the setup of an actual person instead of alignment sticks laid on the ground.  It could also be a way for his coach to better understand Brooks' tendencies when setting up to the ball.

 

It might be worthwhile play a few practice rounds trying different ways to get your alignment squared away even if it resorts to methods that constitute as "cheating" (e.g. setup alignment sticks on the ground before the shot and hit your shots with the alignment sticks still there or put a tee in the ground in front of the ball where you want to aim).  After a few rounds you might find that your alignment tends to be most impacted by certain holes or certain types of shots and be able to better overcome those tendencies in the future.

 

I personally have found that my best ball striking occurs when my aim point is a foot or so in front of the ball.  However, I find that I really struggle with alignment that way when the course is in pristine condition because there isn't always an "imperfection" in the turf I can focus on.  On par 3s, I will often try to find a divot going in the same direction as where I want to aim, setup my ball behind that, and align my body parallel to the divot.

 

nice post! this is what golfs truly about. perception and the conversation you have with yourself at setup will literally make or break you. its what can't be coached and IMO is what seperates great players. It's why you can flush one out of bounds on one shot, then skank one to ten feet on the next.

 

It's not as simple as just making sure alignment is correct.

[me05501]

It's a struggle for sure and course designers like to take advantage of our insecurity in setup. Lots of tee boxes will aim the golfer in an awkward way and the visual hazards down the fairway can add another layer of uncertainty.

 

The answer is to A) take full advantage of what is consistent from shot to shot and B) intentionally choose targets that only you can control. 

 

You need to have reference points between your torso and the ball position for consistency. A full wedge should be hit with the ball opposite your sternum. A driver should be hit with the ball opposite your lead armpit. Every thing else fits between those two checkpoints. This is just one example of how you can use something that is always with you and within your control as you set up. 

 

In terms of aiming, there are two things that work really well and likely one or the other will work best for you:

 

The first option is to use an intermediate target. Standing behind the ball, trace your eyes from your intended landing spot back to the ball itself. Then choose a point along that line that is fairly close to your ball...say 12-36 inches in front of it. When you go to set up your stance you can focus only on your intermediate target, which is easy to see using your peripheral vision. If you choose your intermediate target wisely you should never have to look down the fairway to get properly aligned. This method negates whatever visual trickery the course may have. 

 

The opposite method works as well or better for some players. That would be to choose a target that is beyond the boundaries of the hole you're playing. When I'm setting up with driver it helps me to choose a treetop way off in the distance to aim at. This gets my eyes up off the hole and helps me ignore any trouble I'm trying not to think about. 

[me05501]

The other key IMO is to maintain a strong mental focus on your intended target, shot shape, etc. Focus on what you want to happen, not what you are afraid of. Your subconscious is wired to help you execute these kinds of tasks. Make sure you aren't fighting with your brain. 

[UKGolfer86]

1 hour ago, Hawkeye77 said:

First, via Monte, I think you need to accept the fact that just because that shot went left or that shot went right doesn't mean you assume your stance or setup is wrong and fiddle with it out there on the course or even on the range.  Your shots aren't all going to be perfect and just to mess with you, lol, because I'm mental myself, maybe that nice shot you just hit was in spite of a bad setup!  

 

Second, practice, practice and get a feel for the right setup and whatever cue you need.  I'll sometimes have someone take a quick pic or video of my setup or do it myself, it's a good way to check or if it's alignment, have someone check that.  Hard to unlearn years of different patterns, believe me, just have to be diligent and try and find what works to make it consistent.  I went to my local pro last summer when I was struggling just to get baselines re-established for takeaway/length of backswing and alignment --- not working on golf swing as such, just trying to get the feel and then back to 100 yard 7 irons, etc. for sequencing.

 

I'd still ask the pro you are taking lessons with!!!

Of course, im as, if not more than, capable as anyone of hitting a funky shot despite a perfect set-up, lie and conditions.  Alignment has always been tough for me, so on some rounds, i will have one of my good pals stand at the back of the tee box, after i hit a shot he will tell me how i was aligned, eg - feet square to face, shoulders were open.  Sometimes its how i chose to set up, sometimes its completely different.  This is how i know that its a somewhat of a personal problem.  

 

After a recent lesson and the strengthening of my grip, it helped me to align better and i was hitting a nice draw, but last time out i had a small fade for most shots, couldnt work out why.  At the end of the round, the guy i had been paired with asked why i set up so open on all shots...

 

I will work on it at the range and see where i can get to.

[UKGolfer86]

1 hour ago, bluedot said:

For most good players, and I’m going right up to Tour level with this, setup issues are probably the most common problem.  Ball position, alignment, posture; these things change so incrementally that we are able to compensate for a long time.  Until we can’t…

 

Go to the range at a Tour event; they’ve got clubs and sticks on the ground, their caddie behind them and so on.  Heck, it used to be common to see caddies help with alignment during the round.  Watch the guys you play with; you’ll see them get into setup positions from which they have NO chance of playing consistently.

 

FOR ME, I’ve got to have sort of a “checklist” as part of my pre shot routine to try and make sure I get my setup right.  Even at that, things go haywire at times.  After a tournament round a few weeks back in which I hit my wedges worse than my hybrids (and wanted to vomit!) I had a lesson with the pro at my club.  30 minutes, only wedges, and not one word about the golf swing.  He squared me up, moved my ball position back, moved my hands forward, and the problem went away.

Yea, i saw an article on Monday regarding how Brooks had to adjust his ball position at the weekend as it had gotten a little out of whack, kinda prompted my thoughts on my own alignment.

 

A more solid routine is definitely needed and someone i will work on.

[bluedot]

Monte’s thoughts on how you react to a bad shot have really helped me.  It’s a battle EVERY DAY to not react the wrong way to a bad shot, but it is a really, really important battle if you are going to play your best golf THAT DAY.  So a quick story…

 

I just played the last two days in the 70+ division in a pretty big senior tournament, and though I wasn’t really in contention, I was playing pretty well the second day.  I was 2 over thru 13; the 14th hole is an easy, shortish par over water, and I hit a dead shank into the water with an 8 iron and made double.  
 

Fwiw, I keep a separate scorecard and use a super simple +/- system for whether or not I liked the process and the swing I made, independent of the outcome.  It isn’t always easy to separate the two, but I work hard at doing that, and the thing about the shanked 8 iron was that I actually gave myself a plus for that swing.  I was in the moment, I did my stuff preshot, and I liked the swing; that it went sideways is just golf.  (And btw, I DO give myself a minus sometimes even on a shot with a good outcome. That’s less challenging than putting a plus for a shank, but also important, I think.)
 

So the good news is this; not only did I par in to shoot 76 and move up 10 spots in the final standings, but I had an 8 iron in for my approach on 18 and hit my best iron of the round.  I think that was only possible because I didn’t react to the outcome a few holes earlier, but evaluated the process instead.

[Ri_Redneck]

I keep a roll of tape in my bag for when I have a range with mats. I use it for alignment purposes since it's small (like what I will use on the course) and movable. If I'm on a grass range, I stick tees in the ground for reference. These allow me to build good setup habits which transfer to play.

 

I also always do a side glance, EXACTLY the same way, once I'm set to give myself a visual of how it should look downrange before pulling the trigger on the swing. That way things don't look weird if I happen to do it while playing. For many years I trained myself to not look downrange after setting up in an effort to avoid second-guessing myself. But then when I DID look downrange, it could cause problems.

 

Lastly, on tee boxes with irregular edges, I try to find a long divot, that is going in the right direction, to help with my alignment and tee near it. I've seen players who would take practice swings to knock stuff up ahead of their ball and then step back to line up, but I feel that's a bit sketchy with the rules. 

 

BT