Ball positions for diggers?

[sickyspider]

This question is aimed squarely at those with a steep swing not a shallow or sweeping swing.

I have been advised to place the ball further forward but today I couldn't get it quite right. A few times I felt it helped me make really sweet contact with the club but other times it didn't. The forward ball position sometimes caused me to do a horrible sway moving my C of G forward resulting in gauging the club!

What do you do to cater for your swing type?

 

[dhjkelly]

Best thing to do would be posting this in the Golftec Ask the pro section. Their you can get some great advice

 

[Smallville]

Moved to Swing Tips.

 

[Seamus MacDuff]

Changing this was one of the toughest things I've done in golf. My cap rose, I threw clubs, I nearly quit.

Give yourself lots of time for this to sink in, and be deliberate in your practice. To make it feel correct, I actually had to make what felt like a steeper swing ... And then push the ball up and away from you and on the follow through rather than hammer down on it.

Obviously theres more, but try that and listen to what others say and don't give up on it. Since figuring it out my swing gets better and better and I can hit it higher and hold more greens. It's a good change, but will take time for it to feel natural. Don't worry if your miss is a push for a while.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

I am working on flattening my swing right now...but I am an upright digger of the ball and I play almost everyshot forward of center

 

[sickyspider]

Changing this was one of the toughest things I've done in golf. My cap rose, I threw clubs, I nearly quit.

Give yourself lots of time for this to sink in, and be deliberate in your practice. To make it feel correct, I actually had to make what felt like a steeper swing ... And then push the ball up and away from you and on the follow through rather than hammer down on it.

Obviously theres more, but try that and listen to what others say and don't give up on it. Since figuring it out my swing gets better and better and I can hit it higher and hold more greens. It's a good change, but will take time for it to feel natural. Don't worry if your miss is a push for a while.

Thanks buddy! The inconsistency this action gives me can be a bit soul destroying but I have no plans to give up! I love this game way too much for that!! Gave up once when I was 20/21 and immature. All I knew then was power and a massive fade/slice. Putting used to drive me mad because I never took lessons and always ran out of patience with proper set up routine. Life happened and I was just not able to restart even though deep down I wanted to. Roll on 2011, hitting 40 and a bunch of school buddies having a mid life crisis and here I am!

I'll put in some work off season both alone at the range and with a few lessons and hopefully hit the ground running come the 2013 season! Next year is my handicap season!!

Looking forward to Golftec's input!

Cheers.

 

[Tadashi70]

Ball position is the same for "diggers" and "sweepers", back of stance or right of navel.

 

[Chunkylover77]

I play the ball basically in the center of my stance. Maybe a ball forward or backward depending on the club. Works pretty well for me but there are certainly days that I struggle

 

[sickyspider]

Ball position is the same for "diggers" and "sweepers", back of stance or right of navel.

Appreciate your input Tadashi but I am getting conflicting messages from PGA professionals. I have been advised to go forward of middle by 2 separate coaches but how much is the question?? That's huge variability in set up for me!

 

[Tadashi70]

Appreciate your input Tadashi but I am getting conflicting messages from PGA professionals. I have been advised to go forward of middle by 2 separate coaches but how much is the question?? That's huge variability in set up for me!

I'm a class A PGA pro and I have always advised back of the stance. If you take a practice swing, where does your club first make contact with the ground?

 

[sickyspider]

I'm a class A PGA pro and I have always advised back of the stance. If you take a practice swing, where does your club first make contact with the ground?

Thanks once again - I had already gathered you were a pro!

As for ground contact I am not too sure but I reckon before the ball.

My occasional coach also tells me to start attacking the inside of the ball to create a more in to out swing plane. He advises placing the ball with any visible logo pointing a little to the right and my only swing thought is to make contact with that logo when striking the ball. He tells me I may push a few at first but it will help.

 

[War Eagle]

Appreciate your input Tadashi but I am getting conflicting messages from PGA professionals. I have been advised to go forward of middle by 2 separate coaches but how much is the question?? That's huge variability in set up for me!

I'm a class A PGA pro and I have always advised back of the stance. If you take a practice swing, where does your club first make contact with the ground?

Sickyspider- I have a steep swing. I am quite the digger with my clubs as well. One of the best range session I have ever had was with Tadashi and we worked on figuring out exactly where I was making contact with the ground first and then worked on my alignment and ball position. Two things that Tadashi helped me with are things that I still do to this day. I widen my stance just a bit, and play the ball just slightly back of center with my irons and wedges on full shots. I found that the point of contact that my club was making with the ball was about 6 inches from the middle of my stance, and through working on my swing and adjusting my alignment, have been able to play my game quite well, even though my swing is about as steep as they come.

 

[Tadashi70]

Thanks once again - I had already gathered you were a pro!

As for ground contact I am not too sure but I reckon before the ball.

My occasional coach also tells me to start attacking the inside of the ball to create a more in to out swing plane. He advises placing the ball with any visible logo pointing a little to the right and my only swing thought is to make contact with that logo when striking the ball. He tells me I may push a few at first but it will help.

Ok, now I'm confused. Are you working on swing path or ball position with your wedge?

The tip you speak of is something used to fix the over the top move. And if you move the ball up in your stance with a shorter iron, your right shoulder will push out past your left. This brings in a whole list of issues.

 

[sickyspider]

Ok, now I'm confused. Are you working on swing path or ball position with your wedge?

The tip you speak of is something used to fix the over the top move. And if you move the ball up in your stance with a shorter iron, your right shoulder will push out past your left. This brings in a whole list of issues.

Sorry old chap! I'm working on swing path and ball position with all clubs not just wedges.

What you say about ball position makes sense in terms of shoulder movement and associated bad consequences!

 

[Tadashi70]

Sorry old chap! I'm working on swing path and ball position with all clubs not just wedges.

What you say about ball position makes sense in terms of shoulder movement and associated bad consequences!

Sorry spider I though you were looking for wedge position.

 

[sickyspider]

Sorry spider I though you were looking for wedge position.

It's ok I'm going to try playing my wedges slightly further back from middle!

 

[sickyspider]

Sickyspider- I have a steep swing. I am quite the digger with my clubs as well. One of the best range session I have ever had was with Tadashi and we worked on figuring out exactly where I was making contact with the ground first and then worked on my alignment and ball position. Two things that Tadashi helped me with are things that I still do to this day. I widen my stance just a bit, and play the ball just slightly back of center with my irons and wedges on full shots. I found that the point of contact that my club was making with the ball was about 6 inches from the middle of my stance, and through working on my swing and adjusting my alignment, have been able to play my game quite well, even though my swing is about as steep as they come.

Thanks for your input WE!