The real root of most swing problems isn’t your swing

It is my firm belief — and I emphasize the word firm — that nearly all swing cancers can be traced directly back to setup flaws.

A poor grip, bad posture, incorrect distance from the ball, faulty alignment, improper ball position — or any combination of these — will sabotage even the most talented player. You simply cannot build a repeatable, high-level golf swing on a shaky foundation.

Can you hit a good shot from a bad setup? Of course. But can you do it consistently? Absolutely not. Remember, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Poor setup conditions might allow you to stumble into a great shot here or there, but over time they will cap your ceiling and keep your ball-striking wildly inconsistent. If you’re constantly chasing fixes during the swing, chances are the real problem started long before the club ever moved.

That’s why I constantly remind my students that practice should be about quality, not quantity. One of the simplest ways to raise the quality of your practice is to place an alignment stick on the ground and go through your full pre-shot routine before every ball you hit. Not some of the time. Every single time. Treat the range like the golf course, not a ball-dispensing machine. If you wouldn’t hit a shot on the course without aiming and setting up properly, why would you do it on the range?

So who had the greatest pre-shot routine of all time? Arguably, Jack Nicklaus. Right behind him, I’d nominate Tiger Woods and perhaps Raymond Floyd. What made these players special wasn’t just talent — it was discipline. I often tell my students that one of the defining traits of elite tour players is that they’re “boring.” They do the exact same thing before every shot. Same routine. Same checkpoints. Same commitment.

Recreational golfers, on the other hand, tend to be far too “exciting.” One ball they aim carefully. The next ond they don’t. One swing, they stand tall. The next, they crouch. Over time, that inconsistency becomes impossible to overcome.

If you want to play better golf, become a setup expert — and yes, it’s worth repeating: become a setup expert. Develop a pre-shot routine that is 100 percent fundamentally sound. Build a grip that matches your swing, establish athletic posture, position the ball correctly for the club in your hands and aim with the precision of a world-class marksman.

When those fundamentals are in place, the swing becomes simpler, contact improves and consistency follows. The setup doesn’t just start the swing — it defines what’s possible once the club starts moving.

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