Hands VS Ball Position

Hands VS Ball Position

  • In front of the ball?

    Votes: 52 57.1%
  • Even with the ball?

    Votes: 31 34.1%
  • Slightly behind the ball?

    Votes: 8 8.8%

  • Total voters
    91
The whole "straight line from left shoulder to the ball" thing always confused me with the driver. I just don't know how it's possible without delofting the driver. I know that very few tour pros have a straight line with the driver.
 
Good thread.

This is one of the things my coach worked hard to ingrain into me. I used to have my hands in front of the ball on irons and the like.. the result hooks and pulls. I now start all shots with my hands ever so slightly behind the ball. I'm much straighter and more consistent. Where your hands start should not have too much bearing on where you are at impact position because no matter what you have to lead with the hands. Otherwise you'll tend to flip and add loft to the club. Then you end up with weak shots that get caught up in the wind and ultimately they'll be more like weak slaps.

Alex

100% agree. Position at impact is much different than position at address. That goes for feet, legs, hips shoulders, too, not just hands.

My hands are always slightly behind the ball at setup and far ahead of the ball at impact.


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Hands too far forward can be pull-city for me.
 
I have been taught by multiple teachers to point the shaft at you left hip and place the ball on the left side of your zipper, therefore placing your hands in front of the ball slightly. This is for stock shots, as different shots create different situations.
 
I still think mine are ahead of the ball at address though. I just tend to yank it more if I forward press. No clue why.
 
Mine are just a touch ahead at the moment. Before this change they were just above the ball, hell...for all I know they were behing the ball.
 
I still think mine are ahead of the ball at address though. I just tend to yank it more if I forward press. No clue why.

You don't know why? Here's the reason. When you forward press whether you know it or not your hands tighten as do the muscles in the forearm and bicep. Basically, the entire lead arm tightens and the pulls are the effect of the cause.

Alex
 
Great thread. As of this week I have been changing my grip and hand position. Was advised by ny coach at E Watts that my grip looked too week. I have made the change the wrist certainly looks bent but I see the knuckles now. This has helped me square the face at impact for sure. Taking some getting used to but I just left the best range session I have ever had. I actually had a neat pattern of divots. I was compressing the ball like never before and gained some distance as well. I need more practice but so far.I am loving this. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow on the course. Also i have reduced the forward press and my hands are just slightly behind ball on irons.

TapAhoy!
 
Today on my irons, I kept the shoulder down through to the ball in basically the same line and hit some awesome golf shots. It's when I put the hands to the middle of the left pocket that my pulls started to pop up. So for me I will be working hard on my hands being just inside my left thigh or a tad left of the zipper. It really helps a ton of you are prone to pulling or duck hooking the ball!
 
I voted for ahead of the ball, but in reality the hands are always between my left pocked and my zipper on all my full shots. Ball position determines how far forward or behind the ball my hands are. I believe in keeping my hand position relatively consistent in relation to my body to achieve most consistency. I will move the ball forward or back depending on the club, so for shorter clubs my hands are more forward, for the driver probably in line or even behind the ball.
 
My hands feel a ton more comfortable in front of the ball however when I moved them directly over the ball, I was hitting the ball much straighter with less pulls. This should be an interesting thread.

You may want to try a weaker grip with your hand slightly in front of the ball. A forward press aids in getting on top of the ball at impact. Hands behind the ball can create some long term inconsistencies in your ball striking.
Now hands directly over the ball with your current grip could be a good move just be careful because the miss will be an open face at impact.
 
Old Gray.....funny you brought this up as this is exactly what I've been working on the past week or so. I started over-cooking my driver and irons a bit and could not figure out why. I was making great contact but they were all drawing more than what I liked. Then on the range I remembered a long time ago a teacher of mine was getting me to work on cutting the ball and had me put my hands back at address, so much that it really felt my hands were behind the ball. But true to form, the ball would cut/fade and a new shot was formed. Well, went back to basics and what do you know.....the ball straightened out and the overdraw was gone. It's amazing what a little swing adjustment can do for a practice session or round of golf. But this last week I've been lining up my hands even with the ball placement. Every now and then when I decide to draw it a bit, I'll put the hands out a bit in front and the draw reapears.

Great topic.
 
My hands are always in the same spot, right around my left pocket. It is basically where my left hand hangs naturally. The ball position changes based on the shot I'm hitting, so for wedge shots my hands are a good bit in front of the ball, for mid irons they about even with the ball, and for the driver they are behind the ball.

I admit I tend to feel more comfortable with my hands in front of the ball, so sometimes I do let them drift forward with the longer clubs....usually with really poor results.

My biggest problem is bunker shots. I try to keep the ball even with my left heel, which means my hands should be behind the ball, but since its a wedge shot my hands want to get in front of the ball. Then again, I cannot line up with the club right behind the ball, so I guess my hands should be in front of the clubhead, but the forward shaft lean kind a freaks me out in the bunker. I just try to ignore it.
 
Depends on the shot, to hit different trajectories or move it one way or the other right or left I setup a little differently for each.
 
i always have put my hands even with the ball.... but im now putting them a little in front of the ball cause thats what my lessons have shown to help me with trapping the ball.
 
You may want to try a weaker grip with your hand slightly in front of the ball. A forward press aids in getting on top of the ball at impact. Hands behind the ball can create some long term inconsistencies in your ball striking.
Now hands directly over the ball with your current grip could be a good move just be careful because the miss will be an open face at impact.

This is a good check point for me and I will work on this a bit this week.

Old Gray.....funny you brought this up as this is exactly what I've been working on the past week or so. I started over-cooking my driver and irons a bit and could not figure out why. I was making great contact but they were all drawing more than what I liked. Then on the range I remembered a long time ago a teacher of mine was getting me to work on cutting the ball and had me put my hands back at address, so much that it really felt my hands were behind the ball. But true to form, the ball would cut/fade and a new shot was formed. Well, went back to basics and what do you know.....the ball straightened out and the overdraw was gone. It's amazing what a little swing adjustment can do for a practice session or round of golf. But this last week I've been lining up my hands even with the ball placement. Every now and then when I decide to draw it a bit, I'll put the hands out a bit in front and the draw reapears.

Great topic.

I think us that have the tendency to hit to many hooks that experimenting with a hands position above or sligthly behind the ball could pay dividends. It certainly did for me and it's a work in progress so we shall see how this holds up. I will report back once the weather warms up again :banghead:
 
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I try and stay even with the ball on all my clubs except for chipping and maybe a little pitching.
Keeping a forward press in these instances helps keep my club low through my chips for better contact...

I try to do the same also but it is a struggle for me. I tend to have my hands in front of the ball and I lose distance and the dreaded hook.
 
Hands slightly in front for me. Freddie described it perfectly. I seem to follow Freddie around in some of these threads and say he's got it right. When it comes to swing advice there should probably be an ask Freddie forum. The dude really knows his stuff.

Kevin
 
at address: slightly in front
at impact: further in front. Seeing my swing on film, I see that I have a significant amount of lag.
 
Hi all, first off great topic. This thread suits me down to a tee. I have hand ahead of the ball and forward press issues. As mentioned in previous posts hooking and pulling are big problems with this set up. Don't get me wrong, when I do hit a straight one it goes high and long. Problem for me to change is this set up feels so comfortable, I know I need to change this to a more centred set up but it just feels wrong :arrogant:
 
Hi all, first off great topic. This thread suits me down to a tee. I have hand ahead of the ball and forward press issues. As mentioned in previous posts hooking and pulling are big problems with this set up. Don't get me wrong, when I do hit a straight one it goes high and long. Problem for me to change is this set up feels so comfortable, I know I need to change this to a more centred set up but it just feels wrong :arrogant:

I know how you feel - I had issues until a couple weeks ago. (see my golftec thread)

When I started lessons you could draw a vertical line from the ball up through the center of my grip. Now that line would go through the bottom of my right hand on the grip. (right handed) It was a slight move caused by weakening my right hand on the grip.

The other big shock was where I was aimed with the club at address. I was aimed right and didn't know it until my coach pointed it out. Suddenly everything was going strait or drawing slightly.
 
I've really been focusing on this more and more, I think getting a consistent setup and hand position is going to be key for consistent success moving forward!
 
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