Do your eyes ever play tricks on you? Mine do. That’s the prime reason aligning yourself for your shot is so difficult to get consistently right.

First, make sure of your target. Have as clear a picture of your target as possible. From the tee it consists of an area and a line from the center of that area to your ball. If you are playing a shot to the green, it is the area of the green you want your ball to land on. Note I did not say the pin nor did I say it is where you want the ball to end up where it stops after the roll. It is where you want the ball to land. This is not as easy a concept to adopt and adapt your thinking to. However, scoring is about putting the ball where you can get it in the hole in the fewest strokes. So, the idea is to be clear about both where you want the ball to land and where you want it to end up.

Second, avoid target confusion - especially in shots to the green. It is easy, after going through the process described above (landing spot and end spot), to then allow your mind to focus on the pin itself. That target confusion can both foul up your alignment and alter your swing even if you have your alignment correct for your landing spot.

Third, avoid last second “static” mind chatter or visual distractions. Assuming you have both a good landing spot target and the your alignment is well set for that landing spot make sure you visualize swinging to that landing spot target and to no other place. Then, its breathe your way to swinging to that clearly defined target.

By “static” I mean “trap”, water, or any other place you don’t want to go. If possible, get your target so clearly visually dominant in your mind you see the spot you are going to land and how the ball will roll to where you are going to mark your ball. The only time that is the pin or the hole is when it is the 18th hole and you know you must hole your shot (on the fly} to win the match, tournament or bet! Be clear on that! It is a rare thing indeed to hole your shot on the fly or land your ball extremely close to the hole with no roll.

So, if you want lower scores through better alignment, you must learn the thought processes for effective target golf. Without that you are bound to either have poor alignment or swing faults because of target confusion or “static” mind chatter because of target confusion.

Target - mind’s eye - target line to landing spot - feet - knees - hips - shoulders - vision - no static.

Practice these elements at home and at the range and build your pre-shot routine around them - results: more GIR and lower scores! http://theoldfartgolfer.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif

- - Val Spangler, TOFG

Let us know what you think about this tip - Agree? - Disagree? - What are your thoughts about targeting and alignment?

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