We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Ball position

Tadashi70

Tadashi70

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
62,648
Reaction score
385
Location
Orlando
Handicap
2.7
I am wondering where everyone positions their ball with the Driver, FW, utility clubs, irons, wedges and putter.

I see a lot of interesting positions from various golfers. Some play everything in the middle of their stance. Some play everything forward or back. Others vary their positions based on the shot they want to hit.

What is your perceived ball position? Are you sure it is where you think it is? If so how do you check to make sure the ball is really off the left heel or middle of stance?
 
Tadashi70 said:
I am wondering where everyone positions their ball with the Driver, FW, utility clubs, irons, wedges and putter.

I see a lot of interesting positions from various golfers. Some play everything in the middle of their stance. Some play everything forward or back. Others vary their positions based on the shot they want to hit.

What is your perceived ball position? Are you sure it is where you think it is? If so how do you check to make sure the ball is really off the left heel or middle of stance?
Click to expand...

Great questions Freddie and I will be very interested to see the responses. Ball positioning is something I feel like I struggle with quite often. I hope the magic solution comes out in this thread!
 
For driver, I keep the ball between the heel and toe of my left foot. A bit forward in my stance. For the rest of my clubs I've been keeping the ball in the middle of my stance.

Is there a proper placement for each club or does that very? Please explain oh wise Panda.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My feet arent straight when I set up to a ball. They point a little outward. My driver I play a little farther foward than most. I play it off my second toe on my left foot. I have a little sway in my driver swing, ifni play it closer to the middle I tend to fade it a little. Irons I mainly play centered. Unless I need to hit it high like over s tree ( foward) or low (back). Same goes with wedges. If its just a standard wedge I open my stance a very little play the ball back a little. I like to make sure I hear the ball contact first on wedges.
Do I feel that the ball is in the correct spot . Yes. Is it? Probably not..lol. ive been trying to add the lower body movement right before the backswing is complete, so right now its a learning curve untill I build some muscle memory with the new addition.
 
Golferbest said:
My feet arent straight when I set up to a ball. They point a little outward. My driver I play a little farther foward than most. I play it off my second toe on my left foot. I have a little sway in my driver swing, ifni play it closer to the middle I tend to fade it a little. Irons I mainly play centered. Unless I need to hit it high like over s tree ( foward) or low (back). Same goes with wedges. If its just a standard wedge I open my stance a very little play the ball back a little. I like to make sure I hear the ball contact first on wedges.
Do I feel that the ball is in the correct spot . Yes. Is it? Probably not..lol. ive been trying to add the lower body movement right before the backswing is complete, so right now its a learning curve untill I build some muscle memory with the new addition.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing. That lower body release should not I cure until the club has reached the top of the back swing. Pull that left hip off the line (back away from the ball) once the club reaches the top. Also square up the back foot. An open stance like you have will lead to a very long swing and improper weight transfer
 
I tend to fight my ball position, especially with my irons. I will usually have the ball too far forward in my stance if I do not pay attention.

I prefer to play mid and low irons at the middle of my stance, with longer irons and FWs forward, maybe a few inches behind my left heel. Driver is off of left toe.
 
To get the right ball position I start with my club behind the ball at address. Feet together. Then I adjust either my back foot, both feet or front foot to get into position. Do a quick check and adjust from there. I struggled with wedge shots because I was leaving the ball off to the right to much. Brought the ball back closer to center and it helped keeping it on the target line.

ball positions:
Driver of the front big toe
Fw inside the front heel
hybrid inside the front knee
long irons inside the front knee
midle to short irons center
putter middle using the SPI Technique to establish it.
pitching and chipping depend on the shot
 
Driver - inside left foot

Irons - just left of center

Wedges - depends on the shot, front if I want to hit it high and soft, center if I want a little release, and back if I want it low with some roll out.

Putter - varies a lot and needs some work but most of the time it's close to center.
 
For a normal swing: Driver is even with left heel, it moves back ever so slightly as i go down in club, but it never goes past the middle. There are other swings that are based on course condition's/weather where the ball could be farther back(punch shot) or while chipping.

Mickelson had some interesting comments on "Morning Drive" on the Golf Channel a week or so ago about amateurs and chipping, basically saying if you want it high put it up in your stance, you want it low and running put in the back, but never in the middle when chipping that is a sign of "indecision." (Mind this is the best short game artist saying this so it may not work for everyone)
 
Interesting topic Freddie, and often times, this is something that I dont pay attention to enough unless I am trying to do something specific (wedge shot, front/back of stance).
 
Driver at inside of left heel, enforced by starting address standing with feet together, ball smack in the middle, then only moving right foot to right (RH).
Fairways about a ball and a half inside that, just judgement on that, should formalise really.
8i and up, in the middle, judge it on course but occasionally check at range by holding a club at sternum when upright.
7i and down, about half a ball left of centre for each club down, again just by eye.

I have lessons periodically and ball position generally ok.

Looking forward to other tips....
 
I start with my feet together with the ball in the middle. With my driver, I move my left foot about an inch to the left. My irons I move my left foot about 2 inches to the left. FW and hybrid I move my foot about 4 or 5 inches to the left. This is the only way I have found that I can hit these two clubs. I putt with the ball just ahead of my zipper.
 
Driver is off the inside of my left foot;
My 4W is a couple inches further back of my left foot. 5W is usually left of center, which is where it is with my hybrids as well.
Irons are usually center, but to be honest, I probably don't pay enough attention to ball position with them, which I need to fix.
Wedges are typically off the inside of my back foot using the Pelz method.
For putting, I've started setting the ball up just left of center as opposed to center proper because I'm seeing pretty good results and my pro recommended it with the putter I've ben using.

As for checking ball position, I don't do anything other than a visual when I'm setting up. Is there any other way to check it during a round?
 
Driver right around the center of my left shoulder where that little bone sticks up. Wedges will be around left eye to left ear. Everything else progresses in between.
 
Putting and driving, it's just inside my front foot. Irons I play all really close to centre, though will move it up a bit if I want to hit it high, and back a bit to hit low. FW wood I'll have about halfway b/w centre and where it'd be if hitting driver. Saying that, I'm sure I'm not consistent with it, though it's not as bad for me as being the proper distance away from the ball, that I have a lot of trouble with.
 
Ball position

Driver- just inside my left heel

Irons - usually middle, but depending On the shot I'm trying to hit it might shift up or back

Wedges usually middle or slight back

Putter - always in the middle (not sure if that's right or wrong) but always felt comfortable there

As far as how I know the ball is in the right position at address? I address the ball with both feet together & widen my stance based on the shot & that helps me put the ball in the position I believe it needs to be in.


Tapping away on my iPhone
 
Driver is just inside of left foot. Everything else is middle of left pec.
 
Driver - 3" forward of center
FW's - 3" forward of center off tee, center off deck
Hybo through 7i - center
8i through lob wedge - 4" back of center
Putter - center
 
I never really payed much attention to it until I started to get lessons. Now I play everything pretty much forward of center. When I practice I move it even more forward, that way it helps me get a more proper weight shift through the ball instead of hanging back.
 
ddec said:
I never really payed much attention to it until I started to get lessons. Now I play everything pretty much forward of center. When I practice I move it even more forward, that way it helps me get a more proper weight shift through the ball instead of hanging back.
Click to expand...

The exact thing the guy at golftec told me on wednesday. I'd always been dead center with the irons prior to.
 
I read somewhere (maybe Tiger's book?) that ball position will do more to ruin a golf shot than any swing flaw, and even still, I pretty much play everything center of my stance.

Or...I did until I played a round with Freddie. After 7 holes or so, he asked me if I wanted to know why I draw/hook my tee shots. Of course I said yes, and he indicated that I was playing the ball too far back in my stance. For some reason, this was the exact opposite of what I thought.

After hooking another tee shot, he asked me I was aiming my drive. I told him over the bunker on the right side of the fairway (slight dogleg right). He told me to retee and address the ball which I did. Then he moved my whole body one step right (back) moving the ball what seemed to me to be an unreachable distance outside my left foot. Then told me to take my normal swing....POW...a dead straight bomb directly over the bunker where I aimed. Eye-opening for sure.

I haven't played much since returning from Florida due to the weather, but I hope to get to the range tomorrow and work on one thing--ball position.
 
:act-up: All forward,.learned this eons ago..and have it engrained. Gives me nice impact look..IMO... Once you engrain a lot of things in your swing, hard to change it..or should I say impossible

there is as many possible ball positions as there ways to swing a golf club..a million. And thousands of tour winning professionals have used a million ball positions. No one set way to do this, nor one set way to swing a golf club. Why golf can be so confusing at times..when one person says "you can't do that"..you can find an example of a professional that does this "wrong" way successful. I love golf, and love learning. About it..but after 33 years now,,I'm learning that you have to do what makes "you"comfortable. I played with guys that break 70 constantly..and win everything. Their swings look awful, but they can play..and play better than anyone around.

Mm
 
Last edited:
This is something I have always struggled with. Currently, my driver is off my left heel. Fairways and hybrids are one ball left of center, irons are center and wedges depends on shot but usually one ball right of center. Putter is one ball left of center.
 
Mostly progressively left of center depending on club but I will go just right of center on some shots such as low chip shots. I usually stick to my left heel or a little forward of that with my driver but have found success playing around with a little more forward/back to fade/draw.
 
I play my driver off of my left heel. My woods I play off of the logo on my shirts or basically off of my left nipple. I play all of my irons one ball off of center, and just move closer or further away depending on what club I am playing. Full and half wedges I play dead center and then for anything under 20 yards it depends on what I want the ball do do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top