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Ball position

For my driver I put the ball even or just forward of my front foot. For my irons I play the ball in the middle of my stance and my wedges I put back in my stance just ahead of my back foot. This is all from what I have been taught.


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I am most careful with the driver - ball position is super important for me with driver, if I get that wrong I've got very little chance of hitting it well. I make sure it is off my left heel by stepping into the ball with my left foot opposite the ball then "stepping back" with my right foot to create my stance.

Ball positions move progressively back from there with each club, although I am not as diligent about making sure it is consistently in the right place.
 
In general, for me 7i through wedges are center. I make sure center means centered between ankles, not toes. 5 and 6 one ball left of center, 3 and 4 two balls left of center, 3w 3 balls left, and driver off left ankle.

I will change this depending on the desired trajectory...I will move the ball back in the stance for some chips and punching out, for example.


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Mystery Meat said:
: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
Click to expand...

I'd like to see you open you stance to the target but still play the ball forward. Only you lower body keep your shoulders square. I'm pretty sure you will like the results
 
I tend to play most of my clubs a little forward of centre and always have, unless of course I want to flight a shot down.
 
I have started to try to let my setup and the club I'm using determine where the ball is. Basically try to set up with hands in the same spot then the length of the club and where the club head is determines where the ball needs to be. At least with the wedges/irons/woods. I tend to put the ball in the center with my putter, though I"m not sure if that's the best or not.
 
Great topic Freddie. I'm taking more note of this exact thing now that I am getting better, trying to get rid of unnecessary mistakes. Driver is usually just inside of left foot. Every club down I tend to move it back a little until I reach the middle of my stance at 8 iron or so, then it stays there. Sand wedge or Lob wedge, if getting bladed recently, will be put just back foot of center to help eliminate that. Putting, just front foot of center.
 
When hitting a normal shot...

Driver- Front big toe
FW/Hybrid- Front heel (my front foot is slightly open)
irons- Hit all of them from the middle of my stance
Putter- Middle of my stance

If I want to hit the ball lower I will put the ball back in my stance about halfway between the middle of my stance and my back foot. If I want to hit a high shot, I will move it up so it is in between the middle of my stance and front foot.

Freddie; just curious, where do you position the ball for different clubs and shots?
 
i have a golf app dedicated to this. the first app of four. to be found thus :
Radically reduce your handicap, type "Malcolm Pugh Apps" or "Stiffsteiffs Blackberry Apps" into google to download golf apps

I am an ordinary player and am sharing fifty odd years experience to help others to dramatically improve.

These apps have recently been used by a top USA college team, with markedly improved team results, and greatly enhanced individual stats

the app you want is the golf app ball position number 1 of 4
i hope this helps you and others out there.
i was taking the ball too far back and recently sorted it out.
ben hogans book the modern fundamentals 5 lessons does it well
too on ball position last page but one as i recall.

malc
 
For me position depends on the shot. With driver I'm off the left heel for a fade and back slightly for a draw and I'll tee down to keep it down. All the other clubs depends on the lie and needed ball flight/shot shape.
 
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?

Driver- just inside my left shoulder
3wd- center of left chest
Hybrid- center
4-5 iron just in front of center
6-AW center
wedges depends on shot but stock shot is center
putter ball is just front of center and putter is center(hide the red dot)

I check my ball position using an alignment rod when practicing. I have bad habit of letting the ball creep forward and inside which causes me to hit fades. On the course I check it by drawing imaginary lines (target line and then a 90* line) set up to that when things are off.
 
Tadashi70 said:
I'd like to see you open you stance to the target but still play the ball forward. Only you lower body keep your shoulders square. I'm pretty sure you will like the results
Click to expand...

Thanks,..I agree,,I'm just trying to swing where I don't injure myself ( back) ...if I preset open, maybe that will help me turn without forcing it. I used to chase the "hogan" golfswing..no more. It isn't worth the aggregation anymore.

a great thread..so many ways to play this goofy game we love. :)

cp
 
<------- Driver FW 2H-4i 5i-9 wedges
_____________________ putter _____________________________
Left Foot ----------------------- center -------------------------Right Foot
 
Because I splay me left foot open some I play the driver off my left heel. After that the ball moves back about a ball width for the 3 wood, again for the 5 wood and then hybrid and irons roughly centered, where I can get my hands in front of the ball at address.
 
I think my ball position may be one of the reasons I am struggling with pull hooks with my mid irons, right now anything 6 iron and under is pull hooked. 7 iron and up is a nice 5 yard draw...need to spend some range time ironing it out.
 
Driver, normally inside the front foot or back a little further for low draw or up for high trajectory.

Irons, a little in front of center. I will put the ball further back and swing a little easier with more club to hit low shots.

Wedges, center or about one or two inches toward the front. Inside the back heel for chips.

Putter, center.
 
Ive been working on ball on front foot for driver and it has helped a ton. I guess I never realized it was closer to center.
 
I play the whole range. Driver I play middle of left foot. 3-5hy I play left of center. 6hy is about center. My hybrids are new clubs so it's still a process of finding the right points for those clubs. 7i-9i is right of center. All wedges are right toe for grass, sand I keep it right of center. Putting is a little left of center, not much.

I work it backwards in some ways. I put the club head down and get the shaft angle where it feels right. My hands are always in the same spot, and I'm good at keeping my head steady on my swing. I use that as my baseline for where the ball needs to be. Since I started doing that last summer, my ball striking improved a great deal over what it was before.
 
I play my driver more in the front of my stance and as I go down in club length I get closer to the middle of my stance.
I also shorten the width of my stance as my club length shortens.

So my driver is in the front with a wide stance and my LW is in the middle with a narrow stance.

Sometimes I will vary that to alter a shot but not much.
 
Driver is just inside left foot.
Woods and long irons are about even with left chest.
Short irons and wedges are typically about 1 ball left of center depending on shot.
Putter is about 1 ball left of center.
 
This is something I am working on being consistent with this coming year. Especially inside 80 yards. Driver - inside (slightly) left foot - heelish. Fw and hybo slightly more towards the right. My iron marker is my 6 and 7 iron with are nearly square with my body. 8,9, pw are slight behind square towards my right foot. Putter lines up with my zipper. Wedges are (next year) going to be farther back- towards my right foot than square than before.
 
Update: just finished playing (rather poorly) my buddy told me I had at least 7 different ball positions today, so evidently I have no idea where the ball is
 
This has been a funny topic of my own all year, its kind of day to day as my ball stricking, or swing comes and goes. I'm really not sure whats effecting it, but on good days I can stretch the ball out close to my front (left) heel or even towards the toe, while other days anything much past center and I start spraying balls.

I need the Panda for a 10 minute evaluation session one of these days.
 
I've recently changed things up going for a bit more consistency and just based on some research on how to get the best strike on the ball for my swing. I used to line up my left big toe with the ball for driver, but have since dialed that back to just inside my left heel, in line with my left armpit. Pretty much I try to let my left hand be my guide with the driver. If I were in my stance to drive the ball, and the club were floating behind the ball at the address position without me touching it, and I kept my arm straight but relaxed at my side, then brought it up to the golf club and was able to put my hand on the club in a neutral, straight, and relaxed position facing down the target line (that is, the position I'd want my left hand at impact), then that's where the ball should be. My coach showed me that drill and held the driver in place while I moved my feet and body back and forth until I got to where I could just reach out very naturally to take the club. Did wonders for my consistency off the tee.

Fairway woods I take about a ball more toward center, so pretty much right under my left nipple. Works best for me to get a sweeping strike on the ball.

I've recently changed my ball position with my hybrids and irons to hitting all of them with the ball in the middle of my stance. I give up some yardage with the longer clubs, but I've gotten a lot more accurate and consistent, and even if I'm missing, I'm missing about the same way with all my irons.

Wedges, depends on the shot I'm trying to hit.
 
I've always used a very simple method to where to place my ball.

Driver: Even with the outside of your left shoulder (for right handed golfers)
Hybrid or fairway woods: Even with your left arm pit
3-6-irons: Even with your left ear
7-iron-wedges: Even with your left cheek
Putter: Even with your nose and right below your eyes and for me I tend to try to keep the ball directly under my dominant eye (my left)
 
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