The Set-Up Three-Step

When you don’t taken a golf lesson for awhile, some strange things can start happening to your swing. Mine was starting to morph into the “homemade” category, with my spine tilting unnaturally away from the target and the ball creeping slowly left till I felt like I was an extra in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

I knew it was time for a check-up but I didn’t feel like starring in a solo lesson. On Saturdays, there is a golf clinic that offers group instruction on specific topics. I went to the one on full swing with woods and driver. It was hosted by Julieta Stack, who has a knack for making golf instruction clear and simple.

The lesson began with addressing the ball: Start with your feet together and the ball in the middle. Grip the club, stick your butt out a tad, and drop your arms till they hang straight down and the club head is behind the ball. To me, this feels like bowing forward, almost like a curtsey to a square dance partner. The rest reminded me of a simple dance step, which I will call the “Set-Up Three-Step.”

Feet together and address the ball.

Flare out the left toe.
Step to the side with the right foot.

You should end up with the ball behind the left heel and your feet shoulder width apart. Then take a swing as usual. When I tried it, it seemed like a much more natural way to get all the angles right at address, with my spine tilted away from the target and my head behind the ball, but not in the forced, exaggerated way I was doing before. And it all starts with the feet. Just like dancing.