As I work my way back this year, I’m starting to notice that my alignment during my setup is somewhat inconsistent. In fact, my whole setup is somewhat inconsistent, but that’s a problem for another day. Alignment problems are sometimes not apparent, but many times they are the result of other swing flaws. Your body is smart. Sometimes you may subconsciously make little corrections that get the ball where you want it to go. The problem is, it really just masks or compensates for other problems.

Here’s how to check and work on proper alignment. At address, your shoulders, hips, knees, feet, and eyes should be aligned parallel to the target line. Remember that your body should line up parallel left of the target because you’re actually standing a little ways behind the ball. If you were to aim your body lines directly toward the target and make a good swing the ball would go a little right of the target. The analogy of railroad tracks is often used for a good mental picture. Imagine you’re standing on one rail and the ball is positioned on the other rail. The rail where the ball is sitting ends up at the target and the one you’re standing on (that corresponds to your body lines) points a little left of the target.

Sometimes it helps to hold a club across your shoulders and hips to verify that you’re actually lined up parallel to the target line. On the range, I like to place two clubs on the ground. The first points at my target. I’ll tee up a ball right next to it so the club closely approximates my target line (close enough, anyway). I’ll then lay down the second club across my toe line and use it as a guide to check my shoulder, hip, knee, and foot alignment. Then I’ll hit some balls, making sure I’m staying aligned.

If you’re really feeling brave, you can also lay down a third club perpendicular to the one across your target line to check your ball position relative to your feet. Point the grip end of the club directly at the ball.

It’s good to do this check periodically to ensure that your alignment and ball position are where they should be.

If you’ve been misaligned for a while, going through the motions of this drill will feel very strange. But that’s good. It means you’re ironing out a long-standing problem. Keep at it, and eventually you’ll learn to adapt to proper alignment. This is something that even tour pros work on regularly. Give it a try and see if it helps your accuracy.

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