A prodigious talent as a youngster, Alexander William Barr Lyle had been English boys amateur champion, youth champion and a host of other titles. If it had not been for the presence of his semi namesake Nicholas Alexander Faldo, he would have dominated the game as a young man in Britain.
He won the Brabazon trophy twice and played on two Walker Cup teams while still an amateur.
When he won the Open in 1985, the first British golfer to do since Tony Jacklin, Sandy had become one of the worlds greatest players and his promise was crowned on that day at Augusta when, despite hitting the ball into a fairway bunker at 18, he managed to birdie the last to win the coveted green jacket, this time becoming the first Briton to do so.
So it was a symptom of how bad things had become when at a press conference some years later after missing yet another cut at the British Open, Sandy's honest answer to a journalist who asked him what he thought had gone wrong is an answer I will never forget. You should know that Sandy is one of life's gentlemen and unlike many of his contemporaries before and after, has a reputation for taking the time to honestly answer any journalists questions. On this day, however perhaps he was a bit too honest even for Sandy.
When the bloke from the Daily Mail, who should have known better by the way, asked Sandy where it was going wrong, the incredible answer from one of the best amateurs the golfing world has seen, Open and Masters champion was, and I quote "When I stand on the tee I have no idea where the ball is going"
In an interview later, a more grounded Sandy offered his take on the best tip for the weekend golfer. For Sandy! the secret lay in alignment. Ironic, given his press room quote, Sandy's tip for all amateurs was that they should work on their alignment. Using the analogy of the archer, there's no point firing your arrows straight if you're not pointing at the target.
The easiest way to get aligned properly is one of the commonest tips in golf. Spend a moment closely watching the greats like Nicklaus and Norman in play and you'll quickly see a studied movement as they settle over the ball. Watch closely as their eyes shift from the ball to the target, stopping at an intermediate point to ensure they are lined up with a twig, divot or leaf that's on the line.
The margin of error with a medium to long iron means that having the club face a few degrees off line can be the difference in hitting or missing the green, however well the shot has been hit. To get alignment right and to follow the top pros, before taking any shot, you should stand behind the ball and pick a mark some three to ten feet I from of your ball that is on line with where you plan to aim. The mark can be a divot, leaf, even a slightly different coloured blade of grass, anything that is easy to fix your gaze on.
Once you have picked the spot to align to, and before you take up your final stance, place your club on the ground in line with that spot. Keeping the club steady, move your feet into position before one final check that the club face is still aligned to the point of aim.
It's really important to do this by lining the club up first. Too many golfers add to their golf handicap by planting their feet first, especially with the driver, before considering the line they want to hit it on. Having planted their feet first, the likelihood of being perfectly aligned is slim at best and from that point making good contact becomes a matter of luck.
Having lined up correctly, with the spot in between you and the target and your club aligned to it, all you have to do is remember the words of one of the best selling golf authors of all time, Harvey Peninck, who summed golf up in three little words.
Take. Dead. Aim.
I can't put it better.
No comments:
Post a Comment