Best Way to Practice Aiming in Golf

The most common error of women golfers is unquestionably aiming away to the right. Spend plenty of time practicing your aiming. You can do this in the garden if necessary, without even hitting a ball.

The orthodox address position is known as a ‘square’ stance. This means you stand parallel to the direction of the shot. In the correct position the lines across the toes, knees, hips and shoulders are all parallel to your shot.

The right hand is below the left on the club; it can easily pull the right shoulder forward. The right shoulder should feel down and back, not up and forward. The majority of women golfers have an aiming problem, tending to aim away to the right. If you aim to the right you find yourself hitting some shots away to the right, but you are more likely to turn and pull the ball left of the target. The more you pull the ball left, the more likely you are to aim away to the right.

To aim correctly, stand behind the ball and choose a spot on the ground about 45cm ahead of it. Go round to address the ball, setting the clubhead as though hitting over the spot. Put your feet together to form a right angle and then put them apart, just thinking of being parallel to the line from the ball over that spot. You are far more likely to aim straight by aiming over a spot than looking at a target 150 metres (165 yards) away. Certain positions on the golf course make aiming seem even more difficult. Aiming from the right side of the fairway or from a badly aligned tee can cause problems.

For specialist, advanced shots we use two other stances – the ‘open’ stance and the ‘closed’ stance. An open stance is used to put slicespin on the ball, adding backspin and cutspin to the right. If you inadvertently do this, the ball slices away to the right. A closed stance can be used to produce drawspin, with the ball bending to the left.

Square stance

The square stance is the orthodox position to adopt when addressing the ball. Too often women golfers aim to the right – it is the most common fault in the women’s game – but line up squarely and you will hit straighter shots.

Correct lining up

If you hit a shot to the right, learn to hold your finish and replace your right foot to its starting point. Then lay a club along your toes and check your alignment. The line of the club across your toes should be parallel to the line of flight, not pointing to the target.