By Kim Jeong-kyoo
Korea Times Golf Columnist

Here are two pre-swing basics to which every golfer at all levels need to stick to hit the ball far and straight on a consistent basis.

1. Align your shoulders parallel to the ball-target line, not your feet

One critical fault recreational golfers tend to commit during the setup is to focus on lining up their feet square to the ball-target line instead of their shoulders. The key to square alignment is to set your shoulder line parallel to the ball-target line. The club tends to swing along the shoulder line, not along the foot line.

Many top-notch pros have an open or closed setup with their feet, but for a straight shot they never fail to set their shoulders parallel to the ball-target line.

Recreational golfers tend to open or close their shoulders to compensate for their usual hook or slice, but the first step to straightening out crooked shots needs to be getting their shoulders parallel to the ball-target line at address.

To check if your shoulders are aligned parallel to the ball-target line, pick a target and put a club on the ground next to the ball so it is pointing toward the target. Assume your normal address position and then place the club you are holding across your chest. You've aligned square to the target if the club is parallel to the club on the ground.

2. Create a correct pelvic tilt and maintain it throughout the swing

One of the setup ingredients crucial to making a powerful swing is to establish a correct spine tilt and maintain it throughout the swing. It's impossible to hit with power and consistency unless you prevent your spine from wobbling.

Keeping the lump at the nape of your neck, or rather the top of your spine steady during the swing, for instance, makes it unnecessary to strive to keep your head still.

Similarly, for a solid hit you need to create a correct side tilt of your spine to the right away from the target at address and maintain it throughout the swing.

A good way to attain this is to create a correct pelvic tilt at address and anchor the bottom of your spine during the swing.

Stand up straight with your back in a military posture as you need to keep your spine that straight during the entire swing. Now, bend at the hip-joints, not your waist, keeping your knees and back straight. Then, protrude your rear end back as far as possible, evenly distributing your bodyweight on the balls of your feet.

Now tilt your pelvis upward so the lower spine is straight, unlocking your knees. You will feel yourself half-sitting with your feet flat on the ground, knees flexed and spine straight.

Finally, slide your hips a few inches toward the target. That prompts your upper spine to tilt a few inches away from the target, allowing your upper body to be slightly tilted away from the target. From that position you can hit the ball as hard as you want from inside the ball-target line as far as you maintain your pelvic tilt.

Better yet, that helps prevent in-swing problems such as standing up, leaning out or spinning out.