Welcome to Stuff Golfers Should Know, a GOLF.com series in which we reveal all kinds of useful golf (and life!) wisdom that is sure to make you the smartest, savviest and most prepared player in your foursome.
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What are amateurs doing wrong? Nick Price says it starts with the basics.
GOLF.com spoke to the three-time major champ at the Berenberg Invitational last fall and asked him to name the most common mistake amateur golfers make. There are many, obviously, but what’s No. 1 in his mind?
“Ball position, alignment and the way their bodies align — their feet and shoulders and hips,” Price said. “Those are the most important things and I think we just get out of whack. It’s difficult. We are standing at 90 degrees to a target. Normally when we are doing something we look face-on but in golf you are standing at 90 degrees. You do tend to get out of kilter that way.
“That’s what I work really hard on in helping the guys, because if you get the basic fundamentals of the stance and your ball position and your posture correct, that’s basically 60 percent [of it] there.”
But how do you correct those problems? This handy guide is one of our most popular articles when it comes to finding the correct ball position for each club. Here’s a four-step guide to the perfect posture and, finally, here are 10 ways(!) to improve your aim and alignment.
There. Price gave you the problem areas, and we supplied the homework. Now get to work.
Josh Berhow
Golf.com Editor
As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.