If you do a good job of following a aiming process, you should be pretty well on track with your aim. It is possible that some issues will come up along the way, however, as this is golf and nothing is ever easy. To address some of the problems you may find with regard to your aim, we have laid out a quick troubleshooting section below.
Underestimating the curve. It is common for amateur golfers to underestimate how much the ball is going to curve in the air, especially on longer shots. For instance, knowing that you are likely to hit a fade, you might decide to aim your shot out a few yards to the left of the target. That’s a good start, but you may need more than that if playing from long range. As your ball flies through the air for a couple hundred yards, it is going to have plenty of time to curve. Try playing for a little extra curve on all of your shots in an upcoming round. Most likely, this is going to lead to better results overall.
Letting the club head move during the setup process. In the time between setting your club head on the ground and actually starting the swing, you will have a few tasks to complete. If you let the club head move during that time, you will end up aiming in the wrong direction. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you can add in a last-second check with your intermediate target. Once your grip is secured and your stance is set, take one last look to confirm that your club face is still aligned perfectly with the intermediate target. If not, make the necessary correction and then proceed with your swing.
Freezing over the ball. After doing all of the necessary prep work to line yourself up with the target, you might find that you have trouble actually starting the swing. You don’t want to stand over the ball for very long, as your muscle could get tense and it may become hard to make a smooth, fluid swing. To avoid that outcome, it is important to stick with the timing of your pre-shot process. With everything set, look up at the target, and then look down to the ball. As soon as your eyes arrive at the ball, it’s time to swing. Don’t delay, or you may freeze up and get stuck. At first, you might feel like you are rushing when you use this method, but you’ll get used to it before long.
Picking the wrong target. Sometimes, it all comes back to the first step in the process – picking your target. If you aren’t happy with the way your shots are turning out, you might need to think twice about your target-selection process. Are you playing too aggressively, or too conservatively? If you feel like you are making good swings and still not getting good results, try changing the targets you use to see if you can make some improvements.
Learning how to aim is too important to just give up if you don’t get good results right away. Think through the problems you are having, address them as necessary, and keep working toward better results.
