Setup+&+Alignment

Setup & alignment are two of the most important fundamentals in the golf swing, yet too many players (myself included) do not take the time to work on these basics and often end up hitting bad shots as a direct result of faulty positions at setup. Once you understand ball position, the next step is to take the stance and let the arms hang from the shoulders. This is difficult to understand and gets very complicated once you start thinking about counter balance (left hip higher than the right) and how the arms hang. The key is that the elbows can not point outward, but rather the arms are in a palms up position in which the elbows try to point at each other. This feel unnatural and it takes some time to get used to this position and relax the tension in both arms. As Hogan said, the elbows point at the hip sockets and the arms rest on top of the chest (pec muscles). This creates perfect setup with straight arms.

I have also worked in the past on creating spine angle at setup and trying to stand up taller with less knee flex. The straight arms has improved my posture.

In terms of alignment, the concept of picking an intermediate target (Jack Nicklaus) and then putting the club behind the ball square to the target line is a pretty easy concept. You need to use the bottom groove of the irons and the top of the driver (not the bottom) to line the club up down the target line. The real problem comes when you start moving the feet around and the ball position and shoulders start to move around. We understand that rail road tracks methods in which the target line in one rail and the foot line represents the inside rail. From there, the shoulders, hips and knees should all be parallel to the target line. It is very easy to get out of alignment and have always had a shoulder problem. If you setup with shoulders too far open or closed, you will have to compensate somewhere in the golf swing.

Setup (Straight Arms at Address)


 * Todd Trimble Driver Setup (June 8, 2012)**

GG: Irons are good...__**really struggling with the driver.**__

Am I in the same set-up with the driver - weight forward on left side, belt buckle forward. I'm losing it pretty bad right - could be ball position or weight distribution problem. Let me know what I can do for a fix.

TT: Driver is hips center. Tilt upper body to right 2 inches. Then try to do same lesson make sense?


 * Todd Trimble Rail Road Tracks (May 24, 2014)**

Setup: No change. ** We started a new routine with alignment this morning. I want you to line up with your head in front of the ball. Understand that when you align the shaft to the target your upper body should be perpendicular to the shaft. Next the lower body will align and the thought here is to get your belt buckle to point to the shaft. So in other words the body is perpendicular to the club and the club is perpendicular to the target line. Now we have railroad tracks. **


 * Todd Trimble Alignment Lesson (May 28, 2012)**

Thanks for a great lesson on Saturday morning. I have a few questions to follow up:

1. With a stronger left hand grip now, my hands are way ahead of the ball at set up once I align the leading edge of the club square to the target. From that position, it looks like I'm delofting the club. Does that mean I'm playing it too far back in my stance or will it just take time to get used to new set up? Grip handle should point to left belt loop and look perpendicular to front face on camera. Sounds like your ball is too far back

2. It's easy to square the irons to the target line because I can use the leading edge (bottom groove). How do you square the woods - 3 wood and driver? With no leading edge, it's hard for me to have an alignment aid. Do I use the top or the bottom of the driver to align? Again, once I place my hands on the club the right way and set-up properly, my hands are way ahead and its hard for me to get it up in the air. It's been low ball flight past few days. Again should point to left belt loop. This puts your hands behind the ball on the driver. Use the top..

3. V's have to match up on both hands, right? Yes..right hand can be weaker but never stronger. Match is perfect