Pre-Flight Check

Good ball-striking starts at setup

- Maverick Mcnealy

I’m on the Web.com Tour and have my eye on a PGA Tour card, but I’m still practising fundamentals that began when I started working with my swing coach, Alex Murray, in the eighth grade. Namely, I’m trying to set up in the proper hitting angle. Alex’s theory is that to be in the correct position at impact, you should start in a very similar position at address. It makes it easier to maintain those angles when you swing.

I start with the left side of my torso set higher than the right (photo, previous page), but I don’t put too much weight on my back foot. Instead, I focus on my left side, making sure the shoelaces, calf, quad and shoulder are all in a straight line. I also set the left side of my temple over the ball. To be clear, I’m not stacking all my weight on my front leg. I’m just putting enough weight forward to create a reverse-K look to my body at address.