Aiming: Lesson 3

Hi, this is Craig Hunt, PGA golf professional and this is the third in a series of golf lessons about aiming or alignment. All lessons will be presented in a right-handed format, so if you are left-handed, please make the necessary translation. I will once again make the disclaimer that this particular lesson does not take into account any fine tuning such as angle of attack adjustments, D-Plane, etc. This lesson will not discuss feet that may be purposely pointed outward or the special cases of open or closed stances.

I WANT TO SAY THIS AGAIN IN PLAIN AND SIMPLE TERMS BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER. FOR A NORMAL GOLF SHOT, YOUR BODY MUST NOT POINT AT THE TARGET; IT MUST POINT LEFT OF THE TARGET...YOUR BODY MAY POINT AT THE LAKE, BUNKER, CANYON, OR WHATEVER OTHER NASTY PLACE THAT IS LOCATED JUST LEFT OF THE TARGET IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT YOUR BALL TO GO AT THE TARGET.  

In the first lesson you learned that your body line should point parallel left of the target by placing an alignment rod along your toes parallel to another alignment tool near the ball.

In the second lesson I mentioned that it is not just your toe line that should point parallel left of the target, but for our purposes, the lines along your knees, hips, shoulders, etc. should also point parallel left of the target.

I also explained how aiming your body at the target or to the right of the target may ruin the perfect swing you may have been born with. So it is very important that you learn how to aim before you even pick up a golf club.

Now I would like to talk about what I call the ten percent rule.

That is, when your body is aligned properly parallel left of the target and you look over your left shoulder toward the target, it may feel as though you are pointed much farther left than parallel.

It may appear that you are as much as ten percent (or one-tenth) of the total shot distance left of the target. In other words, for a 200 yard shot, you may feel like your body is aligned 20 yards left of the target when it is simply parallel.

That is one of the reasons it is so hard to aim your body properly left of the target instead of at the target or to the right of the target: it feels like it is too far left.

However, this is an optical illusion that you must learn to accept until it becomes second nature. In time, you will simply feel like you are parallel left and you will be.

Importantly, I must say that parallel left may feel like it is only 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 percent of the total distance instead of 10 percent or it may vary by the distance of the shot you are playing. Remember, we are dealing with feel or perception here and that is different for each person, so you have to determine what your perceived percentage is when you are perfectly parallel.

The key to learning this is to do as suggested in lesson one on aiming, that is:    

First, make sure that the alignment rod on the ball line is pointed directly at the target.

Second, place the alignment rod for the intended toe line so that it is perfectly parallel to the ball line alignment rod and points parallel LEFT of the target.

Take your stance so that your toes are touching the toe line alignment tool (or are equidistant from it) and set your club so that it points at the target on the ball line alignment rod.

Look toward the target without changing either alignment rod and get used to the way that proper alignment feels and looks.

You should now be aimed properly.

The hard part is that on the golf course you do not have the alignment rods and when you aim properly it will look and feel like you are aimed farther left than you are...up to ten percent of the total shot distance left of the target. You must trust it and swing away. If the ball goes too far left, check your aim; if your aim was properly parallel left, don't change your aim . . . fix your swing!

ALSO: This concept is true for all golf shots. Let me explain.

On a ten foot putt, and assuming for our purposes that your toes are one foot away from the ball (which is about normal) your toe line will point one foot left of the hole on a straight putt (or the curve’s apex point on a curving putt) when it is perfectly parallel...that is truly ten percent...not an optical illusion.

WARNING: your toe line will point one foot left of the hole (or whatever distance you stand away from the ball) on any putt under ten feet in length, whether the putt is two feet or nine feet, etc. when your toe line is perfectly parallel, so the ten percent rule doesn’t really apply to short putts; only the parallel aiming rule applies and it applies absolutely.

Furthermore, on a 50 foot putt or chip, your toes may feel like they are five feet (that’s ten percent) left of the target when they are perfectly parallel.

On a 50 YARD shot, your toes may feel like they are five YARDS (that’s ten percent) left of the target when they are perfectly parallel.

On a 100 yard shot, your toes may feel like they are ten yards (that’s ten percent) left of the target when they are perfectly parallel.

And so on. But you have to do the work and the math yourself with alignment tools on the ground and your eyes looking at the target to determine your own perceived percentage.

Once again, it has been my honor to talk to you and I hope that this helps your golf game.