Most people board a plane feeling safe...

knowing that their plane will arrive at the destination without issue. Sitting in a metal tube suspended 37,000 feet in the air apparently isn’t that big of a deal.

That’s largely because pilots follow strict procedures to get you from Point A to B.

All those buttons you see the pilots pressing before your flight?

They’re running tests, inputting trip data, and inspecting the plane to ensure it’s all “good to go”. If something’s just a fraction off, it’s a ‘no go’.

And, regardless of who the pilot is, you get the same checklist and procedures for that airplane. You’ll never find yourself saying, oh no, we’ve got Captain Bob again… he never follows procedure.

The preflight checklist is what practically guarantees your safety in the air.

In golf, your pre-flight checklist is ‘the setup’...

everything you do before you start your swing.

What you do here is the difference between hitting a perfect, crispy shot, or blasting it right into the woods. It’s you making a good, smooth feeling swing versus having a sloppy, rickety feeling motion.

Unfortunately, there is so much conflicting setup advice online that it’s hard to know exactly what to do.

There are so many different grips, stances, postures, and ball positions that it’s like everybody has their own checklist and procedures.

No wonder so many golfers struggle to hit it crispy… there’s no preflight checklist!

It’s so confusing. I remember one summer where I changed my grip three times – absolute madness!!!

Back then, I didn’t have a checklist, I was merely grasping at straws.

Grasping means guessing, and ‘guessing’ means I have no clue what’s going to happen next.

No wonder my ball striking was all over the place...

I stopped guessing the moment I discovered the preflight checklist.

The manual that explained ‘exactly’ what to do before you hit the ball.

This wasn’t generic, vague phrasing or theory. No, it was like a scientific calculator with direct instructions:

• Establish your stance like this to create a consistent ball-divot strike.
• Place your body in this position to complete a full, powerful turn.
• Set your arm like this to automatically shallow the club in the downswing.

And, by golly the checklist was right!

Every step I followed did exactly what it said – without fail. At that moment my confusion was replaced with clarity. The relief was experiencing something real, true, and concrete.

If you’ve found yourself grasping and guessing, just know that it’s not your fault. You’re just trying to figure things out like I was.

Nobody gave you a checklist – in fact, nobody gave anybody a checklist.

Even experienced, scratch and elite golfers are making setup mistakes that cause them to miss cuts and lose club championships.

Ted experienced a breakthrough just by tweaking his setup...

Ted was a scratch golfer who struggled with distance and hit these weak, push-fades. He knew these problems were keeping him from being competitive – and he loved to compete. It was his lifeblood.

Ted had a beautiful motion - a ‘picture perfect’ swing. You could tell he was a high-level player.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary except for his setup - Ted had neglected his ball position. It was 1-inch too far back, causing push-fades.

Once I got it back in line, the distance came back, and the ball flight straightened out. Ted was flabbergasted I could’ve sworn there was something wrong with my swing. You fix my ball position and ‘all of a sudden’ it’s game-on now.

A one-inch change and this guy’s life is back to competitive golf. He shot 73 in his next tournament round and nearly won the event.

That’s just one adjustment in the manual. Now, consider the adjustments you need to make right now and what impact they’ll have on your ball striking.

That’s why I created this video which gives you a taste of the manual at work.

I compiled a simple ‘setup audit’ of the most common setup mistakes and how to fix them.

In this video, you’ll understand how setup tweaks affect your swing and ball striking. Watch one setup piece be the difference between swinging ‘over the top’ and getting the perfect, ‘shallow’ downswing path. No swing change required.

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Now setup tweaks may look simple, but they will probably feel weird the first time you do them.

When you work on your setup, always use a mirror or record yourself with a camera. You’ve got to get these pre-flight pieces right, or they won’t work.

Practice them at home. Practice them while watching TV on commercial break. Practice them often and correctly.

Let these pieces sink into your muscle memory.

After watching the video, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Did a particular setup piece improve your game?

99.99% of the lessons I give involve setup tweaks. If we had a lesson, there’s a darn-near guarantee I’d be fixing something in your setup today.

Keep it crispy!

Tom

P.S. Your setup is the pre-flight checklist that determines whether you hit a good shot or a bad one. Most golfers guess their setup, but this only causes more headaches.

Don’t guess… use the ‘manual of truth’ instead. Watch this video and fix the setup mistakes holding your swing hostage.