You're Correct!

Alignment is extremely important on your golf shots because if you align on every shot correctly, you will hit much more accurately and as a result you will shoot a much lower golf score.

Alignment is extremely important on your golf shots, because depending on how your feet are aligned and how your body is aligned, it will really influence the direction that you swing the club in through impact, and the ball is hit in a particular direction as a product of the club face position and the direction that the club head is travelling in through impact.

If you align to the left of the target, that is if you place an alignment pole, or a club across your toe line and this is aiming over to the left of the target, you will tend to swing the club parallel to your toe line, so you will be swinging the club head across the actual target line, from the outside to the inside of the target line, rather than down it. Similarly, if your toe line is away to the right of the target, you will tend to swing the club head through impact, parallel to your toe line and this time the club head will travel from the inside of the target line to the outside.

If you are not swinging parallel to your body you will be having a fight with the club head, trying to swing it along the target line, because it will want to move parallel to your toe line/body. However, you will be fighting with the club to try and correct the swing path direction of the club head through impact and will try and drag it back on to the target line, rather than allow it to swing parallel to your toe line. This will give you a lot of inconsistency, because you will not always manage to do it.

The best way to hit accurate golf shots is to stand parallel to the target line, so that when you swing the club head, you are able to swing through impact parallel to your body and this results in the club head swinging along the target line. To hit a straight golf shot, you need to swing the club head directly along the target line, with the club face aiming down that target line and the ball will fly straight down that line to the target. Make sure that you align correctly on every shot that you play.

The best way to check your alignment is to set up for a shot and then place an alignment pole across your toes – if you do not have an alignment pole use a golf club. Place it just in front of your toes, so that it is in front of both your left and right toes and then stand back leaving the alignment pole on the floor. Stand and look at where the alignment pole is now pointing. If you are aligned correctly the alignment pole should be aiming parallel left of your target line.

Look at where you want the ball to fly, that is the target line and does the alignment pole look parallel to that line and parallel to the left? It is a bit like looking down a railway track, you want to stand on the left hand rail of that track (for right handed golfers) and the ball is going to fly down the right hand track. So you are always stood parallel to where you want the ball to fly. If your feet are aiming to the right of the target then obviously the ball will fly more to the right of the target unless you try and correct it during your swing and then you might be able to pull the ball back on to the target line, but it is going to be very inconsistent.

The same is true if you are aiming way too far left and you are not parallel of the target line with your alignment. You will tend to hit the ball over to the left unless of course you are trying to manoeuvre the face so that it is aiming more at the target and then you will start to see you get a curve on the ball flight, so the ball is flying left to right in the air, because you are trying to correct the club face position and the direction of your swing.

Alignment is most definitely important for all your golf shots. Make sure you stand directly behind the ball before you play the shot. Look at where you want the shot to go, draw a line from your target back to the ball and then pick a spot just in front of the golf ball, about a foot or so, to aim your golf club at. Aim your golf club face at that spot, then make sure your feet are together and parallel to the club face and the grooves on the club face. Now take your stance up, and that should leave your feet aiming parallel to the left of your target line and allow you to now hit very accurate golf shots.

Make sure you align on every golf shot, because if you do, you will start to swing the club head with much greater accuracy along the target line and you will see a much lower golf score as a result of it.

Shoulder alignment is important, however, it needs to be viewed in conjunction with club face and foot alignment.

Club face alignment is important, however, it needs to be viewed in conjunction with shoulder alignment and foot alignment.

If you are concerned with playing as quickly as you can, you just set up and hit and you have not bothered aiming your club face or aligning your body correctly, then you are going to start hitting very inaccurately and you are actually going to take more shots, meaning it will take you longer to play than if you align correctly.