Instruction

Try Justin Rose's Alignment Trick

August 16, 2016

Sometimes there’s so much to think about on the course, you can forget to think about a very important detail: Where you’re aiming. We’ve all caught ourselves doing it at some point. You’ve got some swing thought in your head or you’re so obsessed with not making another bogey that you end up just putting the club down haphazardly and swinging away. There’s no point in putting a good swing on the ball if you’re not even aimed at a specific target.

To help make sure you’re aimed correctly, try Olympic gold medal winner Justin Rose’s alignment trick.

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“I try to go with clear targets,” says Rose. “If there's someone wearing an orange sweater two yards left of the flag, that's what I'm zeroing in on.”

Since there probably isn’t a gallery following you around, look for a certain tree behind the green that you want to hit at, or a bush, or sign. Any object that’s easy to pick out and won’t move during your pre-shot will work.

“To aim, I draw an imaginary line from my target to the ball,” says Rose. “Then I choose an intermediate target on that line about six feet in front of me. I square the club to the shorter target, then take my stance.”

It’s hard to line up to something that’s a few hundred yards away. By lining up to an intermediate target, you’re giving yourself a chance to line up more accurately. Dial in that intermediate target, and your good swings won’t go to waste.