How to Set Up for a Golf Shot

A great golf shot is often won or lost before you even start your swing. Building a solid, repeatable setup is the foundation for power, accuracy, and consistency on the golf course. This guide will walk you step-by-step through the four pillars of a perfect setup - Grip, Alignment, Posture, and Stance - giving you a reliable pre-shot routine you can trust from the first tee to the 18th green.

Step 1: Get Your Grip Right – The Steering Wheel of Your Shot

Your hands are your only connection to the golf club, so how you hold it has a massive influence on where the clubface points at impact. Think of your grip as the steering wheel of your golf shot. If it’s not pointed correctly at the start, you’ll spend the entire swing trying to make compensations, which is a recipe for inconsistency. The goal is to find a "neutral" grip that feels stable and allows the clubface to return to square naturally.

The Lead Hand (Left Hand for Right-Handed Golfers)

Start by placing the club on the ground with the clubface aiming at your target. As your left hand comes to the side of the grip, let it hang naturally, you’ll notice the palm faces slightly inward. We want to keep that natural angle.

• Hold it in the fingers. Don't place the grip in your palm. The club should run diagonally from the base of your little finger to the middle of your index finger. This allows your wrists to hinge correctly and generate power.
• Cover with your palm. Once the fingers are on, wrap the fleshy part of your palm over the top of the grip.
• The two-knuckle check. When you look down at your hand, you should be able to see the knuckles of your index and middle fingers. If you see more, your grip is likely too "strong" (rotated too far to the right), which can cause hooks. If you can only see one or none, your grip is too "weak" (rotated left), often leading to slices.
• Check the "V." The "V" shape created between your thumb and index finger should point roughly toward your right shoulder.

The Trail Hand (Right Hand for Right-Handed Golfers)

Just like with the lead hand, let your right hand approach the club from the side with its palm facing inward, toward the target.

• Palm on thumb. The simplest way to position the right hand is to let the middle of your right palm fit snugly over your left thumb.
• Wrap the fingers. Once the palm is in place, wrap your right-hand fingers around the underside of the grip. The right index finger should sit slightly separated, almost like a "trigger finger."
• Trail hand "V." This a "V" should also point towards your right shoulder, mirroring the position of your lead hand.

Connecting Your Hands: Interlock, Overlap, or Ten-Finger?

How you connect your hands at the back is a matter of personal comfort. There is no single "correct" way.

• Interlock: The pinky of the right hand links with the index finger of the left hand. Popularized by players like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. It can feel very secure.
• Overlap (Vardon Grip): The pinky of the right hand rests in the space between the index and middle fingers of the left hand. This is the most popular grip on professional tours.
• Ten-Finger (Baseball Grip): All ten fingers are on the grip, with the hands packed closely together. Great for beginners, juniors, or players who lack hand strength.

Try all three and see what feels most stable and comfortable. The main thing is that your hands work together as a single unit. Don't be surprised if a good golf grip feels weird at first. It's an unnatural position, but sticking with it will pay huge dividends.

Step 2: Take Your Aim – How to Get Aligned to Your Target

One of the most common mistakes amateurs make is poor alignment. You can have a perfect grip and posture, but if you're not aimed correctly, you have to manipulate the club during the swing to get the ball on target. The trick is to think of your alignment like a set of train tracks.

Visualizing the Train Tracks

Imagine two parallel tracks running from your ball to the target.

• The Outer Track: This is the ball-to-target line. It’s the line your clubface must be square to. It runs directly from the ball straight to your final destination (the flag, the middle of the fairway, etc.).
• The Inner Track: This is your body line. Your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders should all be parallel to the ball-to-target line. It feels like you're aiming slightly left of the target (for a right-handed player), but this is correct!

A Practical Routine for Perfect Alignment

Trying to aim your body at a target 150 yards away is extremely difficult. Instead, make it easier by using an intermediate target.

1. Stand behind the ball. This is the best vantage point to see the true line to your final target. Pick out a small spot - a discolored patch of grass, a leaf, an old divot - that is just one or two feet in front of your golf ball and is directly on your target line.
2. Aim the clubface first. Walk up to the ball and place your clubhead behind it, aiming the leading edge of the face directly at your intermediate target. This is much easier than aiming at the flag. Getting the clubface square is the most important part of alignment.
3. Set your feet. Once the clubface is set, build your stance around it. Bring your feet into position so your toe line is parallel to the clubface-to-target line (your "inner train track"). Wiggle your feet to get comfortable and stable.
4. Check your body lines. Finally, check that your knees, hips, and shoulders are also aligned parallel to your foot line. A common fault is aiming the shoulders out to the right, toward the target, which promotes an "over-the-top" swing.

By using an intermediate target, you simplify the process and give yourself the best chance of starting your swing on the correct path.

Step 3: Build Your Posture – The Foundation of Your Golf Swing

Good golf posture sets you up to be balanced and athletic, allowing your body to rotate freely and powerfully. Much like the grip, it can feeluncomfortable and awkward at first. Many new golfers feel self-conscious, but when they see themselves on video, they realize they just look like a proper golfer: ready for action.

Creating an Athletic Posture

Follow these steps to build a solid postural foundation.

1. Hinge from your hips. The biggest mistake players make is slumping their back or bending from their waist. To get it right, stand straight, hold the club across your waistline, and then push your hips and bottom straight back, as if you were about to sit in a tall chair. This is the hip hinge. It keeps your back relatively straight but tilted over the ball.
2. Let your arms hang. Once you’ve tilted from your hips, simply let your arms hang down naturally from your shoulders. There should be no tension. Where your hands hang is where they should be on the club. This naturally sets your distance from the ball. If you have to reach for it or feel cramped, adjust your hip-hinge until your arms hang freely.
3. Flex your knees slightly. You don't want stiff, locked-out knees. Introduce a gentle flex to feel athletic and balanced, but avoid squatting down too much. The flex should feel like you're getting ready to guard someone in basketball.
4. Distribute your weight. Finally, feel your weight is balanced over the arches of your feet. You shouldn’t feel like you’re on your heels or tipping forward onto your toes. From this position, you are ready to make a powerful, balanced rotation.

Step 4: Set Your Stance and Ball Position – Connecting Everything Together

The final pieces of the setup puzzle are your stance width and the position of the ball in relation to your feet. These elements change slightly depending on the club you're using, but the core principles remain the same.

Stance Width for Stability and Power

Your stance needs to be wide enough to provide a stable base for rotation but not so wide that it restricts your ability to turn. A good guideline is:

• Irons & Hybrids: Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart. This gives you a great combination of stability for the turn and freedom of movement.
• Driver & Fairway Woods: Your stance should be slightly wider than shoulder-width. This provides an extra-stable base to support the bigger, more powerful swing needed for your longest clubs.
• Wedges & Short Irons: Your stance can be slightly narrower than shoulder-width. This promotes better rotation through the ball on shots that require more feel and finesse than raw power.

Ball Position for Consistent Contact

Ball position dictates where the bottom of your a swing arc will be, which is vital for making clean contact. As the clubs get longer, the position should move forward in your stance.

• Driver: The ball should be positioned off the inside of your lead foot (your left foot for a righty). This helps you strike the ball on the upswing, which is ideal for maximum distance.
• Fairway Woods & Hybrids: Place the ball an inch or two inside your lead foot, slightly further back than your driver.
• Mid-Irons (6, 7, 8-iron): The ball should be positioned in the very center of your stance. This helps you strike the ball at the bottom of your arc for a crisp, compressed iron shot.
• Short Irons & Wedges (9-iron, PW, SW): Place the ball slightly behind the center of your stance. This encourages a slightly descending strike, helping you control flight and create spin on shorter shots.

Your weight distribution should be roughly 50/50 between your lead and trail foot for most standard shots. Once you've checked all these points - Grip, Alignment, Posture, and Stance - you can take one last look at the target, P_Lrelax your body, and trust your setup.

Final Thoughts

Mastering your setup provides the blueprint for a consistent and repeatable golf swing. By focusing on grip, alignment, posture, and stance, you remove guesswork and allow yourself to focus on making a free, athletic move through the ball. A deliberate pre-shot routine is one of the best habits you can build to improve your game.

Of course, understanding the fundamentals is one thing, but applying them to tricky situations on the course is another challenge. Facing an awkward lie or an uneven stance can bring all that doubt right back into your setup. That’s why we designed an on-demand coach that's always with you. With Caddie AI, you can snap a photo of any tough lie, and our AI analyzes your situation to provide you with clear, simple instructions on exactly how to adjust your setup and swing to play the shot with confidence. It takes the guesswork out of golf’s toughest moments, right when you need it most.