If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably had this very scenario pop-up on the golf course — and it’s infuriating as hell when it happens.
You take some practice swings, identify a general area where you want your shot to go, setup over your ball, take your swing and, BOOM, it’s striped right to the very spot you were aimed and aligned to.
Problem is, you were way too broad with your aim and alignment, so the perfectly struck shot actually ended up nowhere near the actual target.
If you’re someone who needs help in this area, you’re in luck, because during my 3-hole golf lesson with golf coach Anthony Wik, he gave me a simple on-course hack that can improve your aim once and for all — leading to more consistent shot results.
Be Mega Intentional With Your Aim & Alignment
When it comes to aim and alignment in golf, oftentimes, players just pick a wide area to try and land their ball in. While that’s fine and dandy, it leaves way too much room for error, and can actually result in a poor next shot.
So instead of just saying you’re going to aim “for the group of four trees”, Wik told me to be ultra specific about aim and alignment, intentionally locking in on a very specific target to hit at.
First, it comes down to a trust pre-shot routine, making sure you gather your thoughts and tempo prior to taking your golf shot.
“Your pre-shot routine is so important here,” Wik tells me as I set aim on my first tee shot of the day. “So think about where you want the ball to go.
“Pick out a target and, don’t think about your golf swing, just look at where you want the ball to finish beyond the golf course. That’s where we’re trying to get the ball to land.”
This is where Wik suggests elevating your aim and alignment strategy, telling me to focus on something very specific.
“Pick your point out there and swing at it,” he says. “I look at those electric poles [off in the distance], and am looking at the dot on the top left pole — so if you aim small, you miss small.
“If I miss it 10 yards left or right of that, I’m still fairway. So get really precise here.”
Thanks to the pro tip from Wik, I hit the ideal shot, nailing the exact target he picked out for me and watching my ball settle down nicely into the fairway.
“No joke on that whole ‘aim small, miss small,'” I quip. “I didn’t even hit that perfect, but it went right to [where you had me aimed].”
So when you’re trying to dial in your aim and alignment on the course, be as detailed and intentional as possible. With just a slight adjustment, you’ll start to see better results even when you don’t hit it perfectly.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Golf section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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