Aiming properly is difficult

I've played pro golf for more than 25 years, which means taking part in a lot of pro-ams. (In a pro-am, each professional is teamed with three or four amaeurs.) And in every single one of those rounds, I saw someone misaligned at address. Sometimes that someone was me! Aiming properly is that difficult.Generally speaking, right-handed golfers tend to aim too far right of the target. I don't see many of them aiming left — even slicers, whose shots commonly start left and finish right. Invariably, people tend to aim right and swing over the top on the way down to get the ball started left. What makes aiming so difficult? Human nature is part of it. Getting sloppy with your aim is easy when your mind is on other things. That's why discipline is important. Taking the time and trouble to get comfortable and confident in his alignment is one reason Jack Nicklaus was as great as he was.

Watch him even now. He still works his way through the same aiming routine before every shot. And I emphasize routine. First, he looks at the target from behind the ball. Then he picks out a spot a few feet ahead of his ball on a line with that target. That spot is his intermediate target. Then he walks to the ball and sets the clubface behind it so that he's aiming at the intermediate point. Aligning the club with something that is 2 feet away is much easier than aiming at something 150 yards away.

How Nicklaus aims is exactly how you should work on your aim. Think of a railroad track. On one rail is the ball and in the distance, the target. On the other rail are your toes. Thus, your body is aligned parallel with — but left of — the target line. If you take nothing else away from this section on aiming, remember that phrase. Cut out the left Figure and tape it onto the ceiling over your bed. Stare at it before you go to sleep.

Don't make the mistake that I see countless golfers making: aiming their feet at the target. If you aim your feet at the target, where is the clubface aligned? Well to the right of where you want the ball to go. This type of alignment will usually sabotage the flight of your ball.