Ball target line
The ball target line is the imaginary line from the ball to the target on which the ball is to fly or roll.
The ball target line is the basis of every alignment in golf. It runs from the ball directly towards your target, be it the flag, the middle of the fairway or a tree on the horizon. Parallel to it you align feet, hips and shoulders, the so-called body line. The club, by contrast, is aligned at right angles to the ball target line, because it sends the ball on its way. Whoever confuses ball target line and body line aims with the feet at the target and inevitably stands too far to the right. That is the classic among alignment errors.
In practice a simple procedure helps: stand behind the ball, find the line to the target and fix an intermediate target a few steps in front of the ball, such as a leaf or a bright blade of grass. Align the clubface on this intermediate target, and only then your stance. An example: on a dogleg to the left, you choose as ball target line not the flag but the right edge of the fairway, from which the ball can work into the curve. With the putt the same principle applies in miniature: read the line, look for a point in front of the ball, align the clubface.
A typical misconception is mixing the ball target line up with the line of play of the rulebook. The ball target line is your planned flight or roll path; the line of play in the sense of the rules is the line on which the ball is actually played, for example when recognising an impermissible standing on the putting line of a fellow player. In training it is worth laying a club or a stick on the ground that points parallel to the ball target line. That way you get an honest picture of your alignment instead of relying on feel.
FAQ
How do I align myself correctly to the target without aids?
Stand behind the ball, fix the line to the target in your mind and look for an intermediate target a few steps in front of the ball, such as a leaf or a bright blade of grass. First align the clubface exactly on this point and then build your stance around it. That way you land reliably on the ball target line instead of relying only on your feel.
How do I recognise that I am aiming wrong?
The classic: you align the feet directly at the target and therefore inevitably stand too far to the right, because the body line must run parallel to the ball target line, not towards it. In training, a club or stick laid on the ground parallel to the ball target line helps, giving you an honest picture of your alignment. Recurring misses in the same direction are also a clear warning signal.
Is the ball target line the same as the line of play in the rulebook?
No, these are two different things. The ball target line is your planned flight or roll path, a pure alignment and technique topic. The line of play in the sense of the rules describes the line on which the ball is actually played, and matters for example when someone stands on the putting line of a fellow player.