Closed Alignment....What will this likely cause?

Hi

My swing has deterioated in the last short while and on the last few holes today I found my aligment was very closed.

Sholders certainly and possibly feet to a lesser extent.

I was pulling / hooking (i know these occur from diferent swing paths but i did have both in patches today. By that i mean some straight pulls which flew very true but left and others with the big banana ball curving left) And also toping the ball...............

Are thes errors consistent with closed alignment. Or just other problems? Seemed to me that because i was lining up closed the only way to hit the ball to target was a pull of some description so it made sense?

Obvisouly the truth will be in trying to line up better and seeing results but very interested in what the typical errors from lining up closed are?

You've pretty much summed them up there Macca.

Closed alignment can lead to pulls (with a square face to swingpath) or hook (with a closed face to swingpath).

Topping it will also happen because the closed nature of your stance will bottom your swing out before the clubhead reaches the ball.

It'll be a bizarre feeling to change to a square stance as you'll feel so open and probably think you'll pull the ball even more left! You will to start with, I reckon, but the adjustment won't take long.

Just try it and trust it. You'll probably find you can time your arms and body rotation better too. Closed stances can see an armsy swing and a stalling body. A recipe for lower back pain!

__________________
Luke: I don't believe it!
Yoda: That is why you fail.

Before I had my lesson recently, I had a closed stance primarily with my driver. I did it intentionally because I was fading/slicing and could not fix it any other way. By closing my feet (shoulders still square at setup), I was able to hit the ball straight. Now that I've had my swing "fixed", I stand square at address. Initially, it felt way open, but now it feels natural.

While closed alignment in and of itself will not directly cause anything it will promote certain positions and actions that may result in other positions and actions.

In addition to closed alignment you may find yourself doing one or more of the following:
Strengthening your grip (putting your left hand more on top, and your right hand more underneath the club). Which may also elevate your left shoulder and dropping your right shoulder.
Tilting your spine excessively away from the target at setup (which makes it more comfortable and *feel* more natural to align your shoulders and hips to the right and your grip in a stronger position).
Your weight may drift more towards your back foot at setup.

In an effort to square up your alignment you may also find that you also need to:
Weaken your grip (bring your right hand from underneath to more on the side) instead of your right palm facing the sky it would face more toward the target at setup.
Rotate your right arm into a higher position (this would level out your shoulders and help you weaken your right hand grip).
Move your weight and balance from your back foot to more centered between your feet.


Pulls and hooks both result from the club face being closed to the target at impact. Also as you move to higher lofted clubs the shots will have more backspin which will counter side spin, and you will get more straight shots (pulls) as opposed to hooks (which you will see more often with your driver and fairway woods).

I struggle with the same problem. I have learned of late, that my ball is further back in my stance than I realise. I am interested in this thread to see if there is anything further that I can learn.

This post at Youtube helped me out big time. I hope it is of help to you as well.


Jamesh

Great idea from this video.

A little OT here, but here is a link to more of this guy's vids on Youtube. Very helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...&search=Search