Aim then fire!
No
one would jump into a car or onto a bike without aiming the wheels where
you want it to go. Nor would you drive it sitting in the passenger
seat, and walking alongside a bike also has a problem to keep it
straight. Same applies to a golf ball!
99%
of golfers stand alongside a golf ball and aim. That's a guess not an
aim.
All good golfers come from behind and take
aim. Without any technical stuff which just confuses the beginner, you
just need a friend or parent and 2 clubs.
Look at Paula Creamer at Royal Lytham. Standing perfectly, her feet are aiming along a line to her target and so are her thighs and shoulders. A simple test. Aim a club to your target and do your GASP thing. Now ask your pal, mum or dad to take the other club to see if your thighs and shoulders are all going in the same way. They are? Wonderful! You've cracked it - for the moment!
If not, let them 'line you up'. This is drama time as you might feel weird, sure you are now aiming left, right, to the sky - anywhere but on target! Don't wriggle or twist; trust your 'aimer' and soon it will feel a bit more 'normal'. Now it is your turn to 'aim' them; they won't believe you either, but the shaft of a club across feet/thighs/shoulders doesn't lie. Look at Paula and stick with doing it right! If it is any consolation, I find 'aiming' correctly the hardest thing to do, and I've played since I was about 4.
Parent time.
In Dundee and Aberdeen area some parents, taking the kids to clubgolf have got together and had a go themselves. They listened to what son or daughter was being told, tried it themselves in small groups and have now formed a few '9 holes clubs'. Why not down here? Then you can help one another as well as make friends.
Tom Watson was 59 at Turnberry, so you don't need to be an athlete, but you do need to turn your shoulders, and this is something adults will not have done since throwing that last frisbee, discus, playing tennis, etc. Don't believe me? Just try the baseball swing exercise 30 times; have a laugh at yourself because 24 hours later your ribs will be so sore, you can't laugh or cough! We almost never turn our shoulders. But loosen up those muscles a little every day for a week and then, on the course or at the range, have a hit yourself with a 7 iron or 7 wood.
Try it - better than standing around or just caddying - and welcome to the fresh air, exercise, frustration, occasional joy, as well as sharing the game with junior!
