If you had a chance to watch the final round of The Open Championship this weekend, you saw a marvelous performance by Darren Clarke in the face of some pretty ferocious conditions. As you know, golf is a game that gives you plenty of opportunities to make mistakes---and he who makes the fewest usually wins.
One of the more noticeable 'mistakes' of the weekend, was Dustin Johnson's second shot on the 14th hole. The TV commentators said that he blocked the shot and that's why it went way out of bounds to the right. I wasn't there, obviously, but from what I could see I think he actually hit a good shot. I believe his mistake was that he wasn't aligned properly so he hit the shot exactly where he was aimed. After he took a drop, you could see a significant change in his alignment and he hit his next shot dead solid perfect. But at that point the damage had been done and he had played himself out of contention.
I know some of you are saying to yourself, "All right, Surge, I get it! You seem to be extremely focused on alignment these days." If you are thinking that way, that's good because 90-95% of the time you hit a shot where you don't want it to go, it's likely that you weren't lined up properly. It can even happen to a great player like Dustin.
The next time you hit a poorly aimed shot, hold your feet still, place your club parallel across your toes and then step away. Check where you were aiming versus where the ball ended up to see if you were lined up correctly. Chances are you weren't even aimed where you thought.
Keep it vertical,
The Surge!
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