It's all about the angles

By Larry Roytas, Southpointe Golf Club, lroytas@southpointegolfclub.com

I know most of you thought spring would never get here, but the sun is finally shining! It’s hard to believe that less than a month ago we still had a foot of snow on the greens. The good news is that it is all behind us, and I’m sure many of you have played a round or two already. I have a few thoughts for all of you to help start the season on the right foot.

In my last article, we talked about staying in golf shape through the winter. It was a combination of stretches, practicing our set-up position and making full, balanced practice swings. This not only helped us maintain our flexibility during the off-season, but it also helped chase away the winter blues. Now that we are able to get out on the course, we need to make the transition from swinging in your basement to swinging in the fairway. Today’s lesson will consist of both swing mechanics and the proper thought process while playing.

I would like to do a quick review of our set-up position. We want to stand with our feet shoulder width apart, bending slightly at the knees. Next, tilt from the waist (the tilt is known as spine angle) until your shoulders are over your toes. Keep your weight centered and slightly on the balls of your feet. You are now in a ready-set-go athletic posture. Now let’s talk about what we want to accomplish next.

Our goal is to maintain the angles we have created in this set-up position, especially the spine angle, throughout the backswing and follow through. Lifting out of your posture during the swing is a problem experienced by most golfers. All of us know that the club always strikes the ball on a descending blow (and if you don't know this, you do now) and never gets under the ball. Even though we know this is true, the temptation to help the ball get up in the air is always in the back of our mind. Once again, let’s take the ball out of the equation and focus on what we want our body to do.

Your spine angle is the key to maintaining your posture during the swing. Rising out of your spine angle causes a chain reaction of swing flaws, mainly the loss of knee flex. When we straighten our knees, our lower body can no longer work together with the upper body. If this happens, our body turn is negated and we are forced to use only the arms to try and make contact. This creates distance loss, directional problems and causes us to not hit the center of the club face. The good news is that we only have to think about one thing to correct all of the flaws we just talked about. Keep your spine angle throughout the swing and it will take care of everything else. Now that we have our swing thought in place, let’s focus on how we approach our shots on the golf course.

One of the most common mistakes I see when people are playing the golf course is not having correct and specific thoughts as they approach their shot. Everyone seems so concerned about where they don’t want to hit their ball as opposed to thinking about where they want to hit it. I know, easier said than done. When we are out on the course, there are so many things that cause us to tighten up. There’s out of bounds, sand traps, high rough and water hazards. It is very easy to get distracted, and we start trying to steer our ball away from the trouble. I have a couple of simple thoughts that may help you hit better shots.

When you approach your ball, first take a look at the hole and determine where all the trouble is. After you have decided this, then take a look at where you want to hit your ball. For example, if you are on the tee, obviously you are looking down the fairway. If there is out of bounds on the left side of the hole, you will probably choose the right side of the fairway. From this point we need to be very specific with our target. It is helpful to pick something that is along our line of flight, such as a tree in the distance. Once our target is chosen, we need to block out all other obstacles and align our ball to the target. What I am about to say next is very important. We need to aim our clubface at the target and align our bodies to the clubface. Too many times I see people aiming their bodies first. The clubface and the ball are several feet away from our body. If the body is aligned to the target, then the ball is not.

Now that you have chosen your target and have correct alignment, all you have to do is maintain your spine angle through to your finish. Forget about where you don’t want your ball to go, and focus on where you want it to go. I hope you’ll keep these thoughts in mind on your next round. I know all of you will see improvement in your game if you follow these simple steps. Enjoy the spring, and I'll have some more great tips for you this summer.

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