SPORTS
golf tips
Line up, line up!
Hitting a golf shot left or right of your intended target is annoying and fairly common. But before you start changing your grip, back swing, arm positions, elbow positions, shoulder turn, clubs etc, just take a little look at your alignment and ball position. A common mistake that I see is bad alignment.
WITH PROFESSIONAL GOLFER BENN BARHAM
At set up there are two main alignment lines to think about when aiming: 1. The ball to target line — The club face has to be at 90 degrees to this line. 2. The body line — The toes, hips, forearms and shoulders should all match this line.
Ball position for a full shot with a short iron should be near the centre of a shoulder width stance. This promotes a descending blow into the back of the ball and turf. The ball position moves forward gradually and the stance width widens, slightly ending up with the driver positioned on a tee peg opposite the left heel. This promotes an ascending club head at impact to launch the ball higher, giving optimum distance and trajectory. Sounds easy eh? Give it a go.
As you can see, both lines are parallel giving me, you and every other golfer in the world the best chance of hitting a straight shot. This setup combined with the correct ball position (depending which club you are using) will also help with ball strike and ball trajectory.
Benn Barham is based at Kings Hill Golf Club and teaches all levels of golfers from beginner to professional. To book a lesson please call 01732 842121 or email [email protected].
www.insidekentmagazine.co.uk
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