Editor’s note: This tip was featured in GOLF’s Play Smart package from the September/October 2022 issue of GOLF Magazine. Look for more tips on GOLF.com, and click here to subscribe to the magazine.
Our eyes are designed to look straight ahead and level. That inconvenient fact is what makes aiming so difficult. Looking at a target in the distance while standing in your address posture tilts your eyes and can often make you feel like you’re aiming too far left. It’s called the “Parallax Effect,” and, whether you realize it or not, it can create frustrating compensations.
To combat this, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Eric Alpenfels and his research partner, Dr. Bob Christina, conducted a study that found that golfers hit the ball straighter and farther when they use an intermediate target: a spot about two feet in front of the ball and directly in line with their intended destination.
Hall of Famers, such as Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, have used this method, and you can practice it on the range by placing an alignment stick in front of your ball in line with your target.
The gist: Aim close, not far. — Luke Kerr-Dineen
