Top 100 Teacher Corrects Two Common Alignment Rod Mistakes

Golf instructor Kellie Stenzel, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, says two common habits with an alignment rod are working against golfers who use one for practice, rather than sharpening their aim as intended.

Where should the alignment rod point?

Many amateurs lay the rod so it points directly at their target. Stenzel says that method aligns the body toward the target rather than the clubface, which is backward. Instead, the rod should sit parallel to the target line. She recommends picking a spot roughly five yards left or right of the target — left for a right-handed golfer, right for a left-handed one — and aiming the rod at that point instead. That setup gives the body a parallel reference while the clubface still points at the real target.

Which comes first, the club or the body?

The second mistake is sequencing. Most golfers set their feet first and adjust the clubface second. Stenzel teaches the reverse: set the clubface behind the ball first, squaring the leading edge to the alignment rod. She favors the leading edge over the top line as a reference point because the top line's look changes with a club's loft, while the leading edge does not. Only once the face is set should a golfer build the stance around it, matching the toe line, knees, hips and shoulders to the rod.

Set the clubface first, then build the stance around it — not the other way around.

Stenzel also uses the rod to train the eyes rather than as a one-time checkpoint. She has golfers look at the target, return their eyes to the ball, and repeat the sequence so the correct picture becomes familiar. With enough repetition, she says, proper alignment becomes something a golfer can take to the course even without the rod in hand.