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DRIVER - Ball line up.

Boston_golfer

Boston_golfer

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I saw a guy with a training aid that basically showed the ball placement in relation to the left and right foot. Basically the left foot and ball was never moved, only the right foot would move between 3 different positions. short irons, mid iron, and long clubs including driver (according to him)....but according to this, he would be plaing the ball a little forward of center for driver....My understanding is most instructors teach to play the ball right at the inside of the left heel (I've even seen some who say the outer part of the left heel.

I forgot what program he said this was part of, and I didn't actually see him hit the driver...anyone else heard of this?
 
NewGlfr said:
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This is what my pro advocates. I work it into my preshot routine and it works well and takes the guessing game away. Thanks for posting.
 
Nicklaus says the same thing in his golf my way video. Ball off inside of left heel with all clubs. Stance gets wider as clubs get longer.
 
Boston_golfer said:
I saw a guy with a training aid that basically showed the ball placement in relation to the left and right foot. Basically the left foot and ball was never moved, only the right foot would move between 3 different positions. short irons, mid iron, and long clubs including driver (according to him)....but according to this, he would be plaing the ball a little forward of center for driver....My understanding is most instructors teach to play the ball right at the inside of the left heel (I've even seen some who say the outer part of the left heel.

I forgot what program he said this was part of, and I didn't actually see him hit the driver...anyone else heard of this?
Click to expand...

I'm happy that guy did not teach me how to play golf...........
 
Did anyone else notice the amount of flex in that driver shaft?
 
It's not that simple.

One ball forward of center up to the left heel depending upon the type of shot you want to hit, and depending upon the club you're using. If you're playing a long iron like a 4 or 5 iron you'll want to play it more forward due to the lack of loft in the club so you can catch the ball with the most loft, so you'll play that ball probably about an inch or two off the left heel - more in the mid thigh - again depending upon the type of shot you want to hit. If you want to play it more punchy, you'll play it in the more back position.

Your mid-irons like your 6,7 and 8 irons you'll play more in the one ball forward up to wherever again depending upon what type of shot. If you want to hit it high you'll play it more forward. If you want to hit it low, you'll play it more back.

Also you have to take into consideration the swing arc and the direction of the club face at impact. Playing the ball more forward, due to the nature of the swing arc produces more of an out to in path, whereas the further back you play the ball the more inside to out the club path. Depending upon the club face alignment you could have pulls and pushes, so you might want to adjust your aim accordingly.

If you're playing in windy conditions you'll want to play the ball more in the center of your stance so you have a lower ball flight and your shot isn't affected by the wind as much.

And you can't even say one ball position for all clubs because your lie will also determine how you play your shot.

There's no one answer.
 
My irons are center stance. Driver is either off left toe or instep (still working on the new driver for location). 3W is back a bit more than driver.
 
Ball position has been one of those things I could never really get a straight answer. I guess different positions work for different people depending on swing (?!?) ... I think that my lack of consistency with ball positions plays a huge role in my inconsistent hitting.
 
This is just a basic, generic way of doing it. Would probably be good for someone struggling with consistency.
 
I have actually done something like this the last half of my season. Kind of started it on my own but had good success with it. Definetly simplifies things for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
For the sake of discussion, Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons advocated this adjustment, with one more factor - the right foot came forward to create a more open stance as the clubs grew shorter, in addition to the feet coming closer together. That said, we all know Mr. Hogan was fighting a hook.

As for me, I make slow, easy swings while looking at the ball and target. On the course, I rarely get an ideal flat lie, so I adjust my feet and turn with the easy swings before committing to the real swing.
 
Yeah, early on I tried using the diagram in Hogans book:
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but to be honest, I would keep hooking the ball as well...
 
The Milk Man said:
Nicklaus says the same thing in his golf my way video. Ball off inside of left heel with all clubs. Stance gets wider as clubs get longer.
Click to expand...
I follow Jack Nicklaus's advice too. ( except fairway wood, the ball is in the middle of my stance, dont ask me why because I dont know why ....., I found this ball position after some trials and errors ..... it took me 1 year to notice this ) .
 
Golf is goofy. I've never been taught a "one ball position" method. For full swings, I try to keep a pretty consistent width and slightly change ball position.
 
I tried the whole "tee it high and let it fly" thing with the ball up by my big toe and it just never worked out. Moving the ball back a bit and teeing it lower has given me much, much better results. I came about this by using foot spray on my driver face and seeing what setup positions gave me the most contact close to center, and the results at the range and the course verified that.

When I step up to the ball with all clubs, I always put it in the center of my stance. I take a small step with my left (front) foot, then a step with my back foot - much larger for driver, then incrementally smaller for each club.
 
Well.....I was taught to hit down on wedges and irons (ball back in stance) and to sweep woods (ball forward) and to hit up on a driver. To hit up on a driver, the ball has to be off your left heel. Pretty hard to hit down on short clubs with the ball off your left heel.
 
FYI, in the most recent issue of Golf Digest (the one with Jason Day and his son on the cover) there is a short article by Butch Harmon talking about exactly this.
 
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