Golfer's Footprint® Swing Trainer - The Teaching Standard

If you need a Golfer’s Footprint® to follow along with the discussions, click on the link to the right to order one.

Yes, it’s true, golfers want to be square…and for good reasons. To maximize the accuracy of your golf swing, your club face must be square to the target line at the moment of impact with the ball. Not only does this ensure that the ball goes to where you aim, but it also provides the most efficient energy transfer from your swing to the ball. This principle holds true no matter which club you’re hitting or how far you need to hit the ball.

The Golfer’s Footprint® Swing Trainer specifically trains this fundamental aspect of your swing. Let’s take a look at the yellow center circle and see how it helps us to square the club face to the target line…

To get started, pull out your Golfer’s Footprint® Swing Trainer and study the yellow circle. The center circle’s design helps you to visualize what a square club face looks like at the moment of impact. Place the Golfer’s Footprint® on the ground, ensuring that the red arrow points to your desired target (that’s your target line.) Pick out a golf club and set the club on the yellow circle, aligning the club face with the vertical black line labeled “Square.” The club face is now looking straight down the target line. You’re square!

Next, take a look at your hands; they should be slightly ahead of the yellow circle, roughly in line with the blue arrow labeled “hands at impact.” Experiment with your hand position, moving the hands back and forth from in front of the yellow circle to behind the yellow circle. Notice, as your hands move forward of the yellow circle, how naturally the club face squares itself to the target line. With your hands slightly forward, the club-face is more vertical, allowing more of your club face to impact with the ball. Thus, when you hit down and through the ball, the grooves in the face of your club put spin on the ball at impact. Remember, it’s hip to be square.

Your pre-shot routine is probably one of the most powerful tools for squaring your game. No matter what club you’re hitting with or where you’re hitting from, a proper setup will help keep your swing on target.

Let’s keep this simple and use a four-step pre-shot routine: (Directions are given for right-handed golfers. Lefties, please adjust accordingly)

Start by standing behind your Golfer’s Footprint® Swing Trainer and picking out a target. Adjust the swing trainer so that the red arrow points at your target. This is your target line. Place a ball on the hole inside the yellow circle.
Step to the side of the swing trainer and place the club head on the yellow circle, behind the ball, and align to the vertical black line labeled “Square.” Your club face is now square to the target line. To double-check your aim, start at your ball and visually follow the target line to your target.
Now, step up with your right foot, keeping it at a right angle (perpendicular) to the target line. Bring your left foot together with the right, making sure the feet, hips, and shoulders are parallel to the target line. The bottom edge of the GFi Swing Trainer will help guide you to this parallel stance. (See Foot and Ball Position diagram on the trainer.) (Key Note: Your stance is not aimed at the target; it is parallel to the target line. See inset photo)
Flex your knees and bend from the waist. Finally, adjust your stance width so that the Trainer’s vertical black arrow points to just inside your left heel. Oh – by the way, don’t forget to breathe throughout this process.

Congratulations, you are officially square. Your feet, hips, shoulders, and club face are all square to the target line. Repeat this process with every swing and you will always be a square golfer.

It’s winter up here in the great Northwest and all of us square golfers are hiding out indoors waiting for a ray of sunshine so that we can dash out to the driving range. So, what can we do indoors to keep our game in shape and square during the cold winter months?

One idea is to set up a chipping range in the house, hallway, garage, or back yard to practice hitting square. It’s simple; all you need are some hollow, practice golf balls, your Golfer’s Footprint® Swing Trainer, a target, and room to swing.

Throw a piece of carpet on the ground and align your GFi Swing Trainer to the target. (In this case I am using the garage floor and a vertical rib of the garage door as my target. I like to keep things simple.)

Take your time. This is not a machinegun drill. Use your pre-shot routine for every shot. Do not focus on hitting the ball. Instead, focus on watching the club head impact the Swing Trainer, inside the yellow circle, with the club face square to the vertical black “Square” line. Create this mental image every time you chip the ball. Don’t watch the ball; simply listen for the ball to strike the target, while focusing on the yellow circle and squaring the club face at impact.

This drill is slow and steady, but it will help you to consistently square your club face to the target line at the point of impact. Your power-hitting friends, however, are going to think you’re a square for hitting balls out in the garage, in the cold. Your answer? “Yeah – I’m square and proud of it.”