- 2 years ago
In this video, PGA Professional Alex Elliott runs down his 10 favourite ways to use alignment sticks to help golfers. He covers everything from your swing path to your putting speed with a series of very simple and effective ways to make the most of your alignment sticks.
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00:00 - Hello and welcome to the London Club.
00:02 Now this video is all about how you use these things,
00:05 your alignment sticks.
00:06 This is our 10 top tips for using them
00:09 not only in your long game,
00:10 but also in your short game as well.
00:12 Now, the tips in this video come courtesy
00:14 of PGA Pro Alex Elliott.
00:16 He'll give you everything you need to know.
00:18 Right, let's get started.
00:19 (upbeat music)
00:23 - So number 10 on our list is the alignment stick
00:26 on the ground here for swing playing.
00:29 Now I like to use this if you're not on the grass,
00:31 just simply place this through a basket.
00:33 I like to use this for this reason.
00:35 Now, most of us as club golfers
00:37 have that real worry of under and over,
00:41 cutting across the golf ball.
00:42 I like this for a perfect match.
00:44 So I've roughly got my alignment stick
00:46 set at 45 degree angle to the ground.
00:49 I'm gonna address the golf ball,
00:50 over it and match it on the way back.
00:54 And then feeling as though I'm swinging under it
00:57 on the way through.
00:58 It's a great way of getting yourself back to neutral.
01:01 Definitely a great one to give yourself
01:09 a better swing play.
01:10 Now I love this drill for two reasons.
01:16 This is great for getting club face alignment,
01:18 but also committing to our start line.
01:22 Now you've probably seen Jordan Speed do this drill
01:24 and he's known as one of the best putters in the world.
01:27 Right?
01:28 So what I want you to do here is,
01:30 have a few puts, work out the terrain where you are,
01:33 then get this alignment stick running exactly
01:36 where you think you have to aim to start this put,
01:40 for it to break into the hole.
01:42 That's the first area.
01:43 Second area, all we're looking for is you to make
01:46 a 90 degree angle between your club face
01:48 and the alignment stick to make sure
01:51 you've got square club face alignment address.
01:53 The final thing is having to commit to our line
01:57 and hit the put away.
01:58 Next on our list is the bunker shot.
02:07 Now I think where most club golfers go wrong with this
02:10 is that concept of,
02:11 we're not actually hitting the golf ball here.
02:14 We're looking to hit the sand and cushion the sand
02:16 onto the ball to throw it onto the green.
02:19 Now grab two alignment sticks.
02:21 And what I've done here is I've placed them
02:23 both in the ground.
02:24 The blue would highlight my ball position.
02:27 The yellow highlights where I want to feel
02:29 as though the club's going to go into the sand.
02:32 Now this is great about this drill.
02:33 We almost get a few practice goes,
02:35 getting used to taking some sand before the ball.
02:38 So push them down, get a bit of an imprint with both,
02:42 move them to the side.
02:45 And all I want you to do is just have two practice goes
02:48 looking to take the back line and then the forward line.
02:51 So one, two, readjust if you've gone a little bit ahead
02:56 or a little bit before, move in, looking for the line,
03:03 club head inside a left heel, hit the shot.
03:06 Next on our list is alignment.
03:15 Now there's nothing worse than aiming in the wrong direction,
03:19 hitting a beautiful swing and finding our ball is sailing
03:22 out of bounds or into water.
03:25 So I think you've got to use your range sessions
03:28 as a great reset.
03:29 I get two alignment sticks down.
03:31 Now I do this in an order.
03:33 Firstly, set your ball to target line out.
03:35 And then a little bit of a trick here,
03:37 use the logo of your golf ball to point directly down
03:40 your ball to target line.
03:42 Now, because this is a reset,
03:44 all I'm looking for you to do is get your feet
03:47 running parallel to your ball to target line.
03:50 So actually your shoulders will be aiming
03:52 what you perceive is a little bit left.
03:54 Now this is interesting.
03:55 You'll find maybe a lot of golfers,
03:57 wow, I feel like I'm aiming really right of target
04:00 or actually I'm aiming a little bit left.
04:03 Use this as a reset, get two lines that run parallel
04:07 your ball to target line and your feet.
04:09 Next on our list is the one I call the golf swing checker.
04:17 This is one that you can do at the range,
04:18 but I think it's great for you to do at home
04:20 as just something to do with good reps.
04:22 So grab an alignment stick, grab a golf club,
04:25 place a golf ball on the ground
04:26 or whatever you feel appropriate at home.
04:29 Place that alignment stick just up your left hand side
04:31 and it should be touching at this address position.
04:34 I want you then to follow this process.
04:36 I think this is absolutely great for making sure
04:38 that you're actually doing some good reps
04:40 on your golf swing.
04:42 So number one, keep the alignment stick
04:45 on the side of the body.
04:46 It encourages more of a one piece takeaway.
04:48 Point the alignment stick to the ground,
04:51 point the alignment stick to the ground behind you.
04:54 We're now looking for this move.
04:55 Now this is the key point.
04:56 Most of us swing a little bit over the top.
04:58 Think of your target line in front of you
05:00 in this direction.
05:01 We're looking for this alignment stick
05:04 to point just to the right of target,
05:06 encouraging an into out path,
05:08 into impact, back up your left hand side.
05:11 Don't let it touch the body to pose it.
05:14 You know you're making some good reps
05:15 in your golf swing.
05:16 So you get to the range,
05:17 you can make things flow just that little bit better.
05:20 Next on our list is chipping.
05:27 Now I think most club golfers find that daunting chip shot
05:31 with a low lofted club on such a short distance.
05:35 We're a little bit scared of sometimes hitting that one
05:37 that sort of travels way too far.
05:40 And we're left with like a 30, 40 footer
05:42 or even off the green.
05:44 Now this comes in when we have that unwanted acceleration
05:48 like this right at the bottom.
05:51 So to make this shot a more one lever motion,
05:54 grab an alignment stick, grip it,
05:56 and get it up to your left hand side.
05:58 What we're looking for is that feeling
06:01 of this alignment stick never touching
06:03 the left side of our body.
06:05 So let's perform this shot in here now.
06:07 Wait on the left.
06:08 Don't let it hit the left side of your body.
06:10 Helps you control that club head speed much easier,
06:14 which therefore means distance control is much easier too.
06:18 Next on our list is the frame it drill.
06:24 Now this is great if you're a golfer
06:26 who's struggling to strike their irons
06:27 and more specifically your long iron.
06:30 So your five, six, and possibly four if you carry this.
06:33 Two alignment sticks needed.
06:35 What we want to do is make sure our first alignment stick,
06:38 our red, is set for where your ball position is
06:40 relative to the club that you've got.
06:42 The next one, the yellow,
06:44 I want you to focus that being your low point.
06:47 So when you hit a shot away,
06:48 we're looking to strike the ball, then the turf.
06:51 So really looking for your divot to start
06:54 on the back of the ball,
06:55 and then down at its lowest point
06:57 where our low point of our swing is.
06:59 This is really important.
07:01 Low point after the ball allows you to strike down
07:04 and create a more centered hit bottom to top.
07:07 Therefore, better struck iron shots.
07:09 Next on our list is a chipping drill.
07:15 Now nothing more than strikes fair
07:17 into a club golfer's heart
07:19 is having a tight lie around the green.
07:23 Now this is really easy.
07:24 All we're gonna need is alignment stick.
07:26 We're gonna place our golf ball,
07:27 a club head ahead of the alignment stick.
07:31 Take your normal stance, nice and narrow,
07:33 weight on your left.
07:34 The idea of this is, is to control the low point ahead
07:37 to guarantee a downwards hit, not a scooping hit,
07:41 leaving you open to fats and things.
07:44 So it's nice and simple.
07:45 Avoid the alignment stick, get the strike,
07:49 and then you can have some confidence of tight lines.
07:52 So next on our list is the tree drill.
07:59 Now, picture yourself in a scenario.
08:01 You're under the trees,
08:02 you get a lot more descriptive
08:04 in what shot you've got to play.
08:06 Now we're gonna use this slightly differently.
08:07 We're gonna place an alignment stick
08:10 directly down your ball to target line.
08:12 I want you to get descriptive, not up and down,
08:15 but more right to left or left to right.
08:19 So I'm gonna encourage you to hit two shots here,
08:21 really getting a feeling of,
08:22 one, drawing it around the tree,
08:24 reacting to the environment,
08:26 not necessarily getting loads of swing thoughts,
08:29 and another shot, fading it around the tree.
08:32 You will be able to find a common ground here.
08:34 If you're more of a slicer,
08:35 I'm gonna encourage you to work more on the draw,
08:38 more of a draw of the golf ball or a hooker.
08:41 I'm gonna encourage you to get back to neutral,
08:43 feeling more of a fade.
08:44 So we'll do a bit of the slice one here.
08:47 Club facing just the target,
08:50 aiming a little bit right,
08:51 picturing that ball working around our tree,
08:54 letting our environment help us create a shot.
08:57 Free up yourself, but improve your ball flight,
09:05 not necessarily just your swing.
09:07 Number one on our list,
09:12 and one that's well worth doing
09:14 before either going out around a golf with your friends
09:17 or a big competition day.
09:19 Tune yourself into the pace of the greens.
09:23 So place the limestick just wider
09:26 of a grip behind the hole.
09:28 So all I've done here is placed a limestick just behind.
09:31 Now I would do this on several puts,
09:33 downhill, uphill, and across the slope.
09:36 This really gets you dialed in
09:38 to the pace of the greens for the day
09:40 with a bit of a consequence during your warmup.
09:43 So one golf ball only, keep rotating around the green.
09:47 Can you stop the golf ball between the hole
09:50 and the alignment stick?
09:52 Bit of pressure.
09:53 Try that before you go out and play next time
10:03 and see more puts drop.
10:05 - So there you have it,
10:06 that's Alex's look at the 10 best ways
10:08 to use alignment sticks to help you swing better
10:11 and to help you play better in the short game as well.
10:14 I hope you found that useful.
10:15 If you've got any other ways
10:16 in which you use alignment sticks out on the golf course
10:18 or in practice, please do leave some comments below.
10:20 We'd love to hear from you.
10:22 But that's it for now.
10:23 That's all from the London Club.
10:24 Thanks for watching.
10:24 We'll see you next time.
10:26 (upbeat music)
10:28 (upbeat music)
10:31 (upbeat music)
10:33 (upbeat music)
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