Being able to aim correctly and accurately is crucial in pretty much every sport that involves a ball and a target. Players must be able to aim in order to score the points that they need to become victorious, such as in soccer, snooker, tennis, badminton etc, etc. Golf does not differ in this aspect. However, what is different in golf compared to many sports, is that the player does not approach the target face on, which is perhaps why many amateur golfers struggle when it comes to aiming correctly.
So, how do you aim when standing over a golf ball? Better still, how do you perfect your aim in golf? The big thing we need to focus on when trying to aim correctly is alignment. When a golfer gets their set up right and aligns properly, they’re likely to be capable of aiming accurately, which should result in shots being hit in the chosen direction at the chosen target.
It’s all about alignment
In order to aim accurately and hit the chosen target, whether it be the middle of the fairway or the centre of the green, the golfer must be aligned correctly. There are three simple yet critically important steps to achieving the correct alignment in golf, and these are set out below:
- First you need to ensure that the clubface is pointed directly at the target, and this can be done by ensuring that it lines up with the target. Imagine a line running from your desired target right the way back through to the face of your golf club. The line should be straight.
- Secondly, your feet must match your target line, which means they must run parallel to it. Here you can imagine a second straight line that runs from your feet all the way back down to just next to your chosen target, a line that runs parallel to your target line.
- Thirdly, you need to have your shoulders squared, meaning that a third straight line could be drawn running parallel to the previous two. If your shoulders are too closed or too open, then you’ll hit the ball either to the left or the right of your desired target.
If you follow these three steps correctly, then you should be set up to hit a straight shot that travels nicely down the target line, and assuming that you’ve judged the distance correctly and have selected the right club, you should have hit an accurate shot, and should be nicely positioned for your next shot, whether it be a putt on the green or a second/third shot from the fairway.
What else can you do?
Getting your alignment sorted and being consistent with it is probably the biggest thing you can do, and if you nail this, then you’ll be much closer to perfecting your golf aim, but there are other things you can do too. These are:
Identifying bias
Most players tend to aim too far in one direction. For example, lots of right-handed players will aim too far to the right. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, this is often because in golf, you do not stand facing the target, and thus aiming in general isn’t the simplest of tasks. If you are somebody who aims too far to the right or too far to the left, then become aware of this, know your bias. If you know what your body is going to do naturally in terms of aiming when you address the ball, then you’ll know what you need to alter, which should lead to better aiming.
Find your most consistent shot shape
Most golfers tend to have a shot shape, as in the majority of their shots will either go from left-to-right, or right-to-left. Obviously if you’re slicing or hooking the ball too much, then that is something you’ll want to iron out eventually, but if you know that your ball, more often than not, goes one way, you can factor this in when aiming. For example, let’s say you know that most of the time you’re going to hit the ball from left to right, you can adjust accordingly when setting your alignment, which should help you to aim correctly on a more consistent basis.
Hit at an intermediate target
The chosen target is often something far away. For example, you might be trying to hit a green from 200 yards. In this instance, what many players do is pick a target along the same target line, but one that is closer to them, working on the premise that it’s easier to hit something that’s closer to you. If you then hit over the closer target, you’re still likely to hit or get close to the first target.
Look at the target!
For lots of players the focus on the golf ball becomes so much that they forget to look at the target at any point, which means it’s very hard to align correctly. Before you address the golf ball and begin to set your alignment, pick a target, focus on it, know where it is. Build your alignment around this target following the steps above, and then look back and forth between the target and the ball a few times before hitting the shot.
Practice, practice, practice
As with anything, perfecting your aim in golf takes practice, and like anything in golf, probably lots of practice. Don’t worry if your aim doesn’t improve instantly, stick to it, work on it, focus on getting your alignment right. Always be mindful of the fact that you need to be aligned correctly before you can aim correctly. Find a consistent shot shape, get on the range and practice things in order, set yourself over the ball, keep telling yourself it’s all about alignment. And if you are practicing on the range, don’t forget to pick a target for every shot! This really is crucial. Too many players head to the range, work on their set-up, practice their swing, only to hit ball after ball without having a target in mind. If you’re not hitting at a target, you’ll have no way of knowing whether you’re aiming correctly or not.