When Square is not really Square.......
Jan 27, 2015
For years now I have been saying that alignment at address is not as important as most golfers believe it to be. For most this will be difficult to read, as ensuring that they are 'square to the target' is a staple part of many golfers pre-shot routines. Unfortunately it is considered to be one of the main reasons for club golfers hitting off-line golf shots. Often with playing partners responding to a wayward shot by saying "look where you are aiming". Here are a couple of examples. Matt Kuchar, a cash printing machine when on tour throughout the year, has his own unique alignment style that matches his swing tendencies. His feet align to the RIGHT, with his shoulders aligning slightly LEFT of the intended target line. Throughout Tiger Woods' dominant era between 1997 and 2009, this was exactly the same in his putting - and you can't argue that he was considered to be one of the best putters on the planet! On a straight putt at address, Tiger aligned his putter 2.5* to the RIGHT of the target. At impact however his clubface was back to square (0.9* LEFT) to the target. On Tour, when measuring their alignment at address, the average is for the putter face to be aligned anywhere between 2* and 5* to the RIGHT of the target! Can you imagine what would happen to these players if a coach tried to get them to align square to the target - I think it is fair to say they would not have been as successful as they had been. Understand your own tendencies then build your own alignment around them - do not believe that you have to align yourself square to a target!
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