Ball position

**Rukus43** · December 9, 2009

So when I learned to play golf I was taught shorter irons the ball was placed in the middle of my stance, longer irons a ball or two forward of middle and the driver the ball was placed at the left instep. Recently I took a lesson from a teaching pro (not a PGA pro) and he taught all shots should be played from the left instep. Is he wrong or just different? His explaination made sense that it reduced the amount of variables for the swing. Is this a good idea or does it depend on the golfer?

**flatom** · December 10, 2009

As you know, there are many ways to play the game. You need to find the ball position that produces the shot you want most with the swing you most often have on the course.
That being said, ball position is a personal preference for many good players. I like driver played off left shoulder because with my particular driver and my driver swing, I get the most reliable distance and shot trajectory.
I play most other shots from the logo on my shirt except on pitches, fairway bunkers and specialty shots.
Find the spot that your club bottoms out and decide whether for irons, this is where you hit the best shots or the shots you most often want.

**WUTiger** · December 11, 2009

Ball position relative to front foot: There are two schools of thought...
* Shifting ball position
* Single ball position (usually just inside the left instep)

Juniorlinks has a web page on this:
http://www.juniorlinks.com/instructi...ew.cfm?aid=308

In his book Golf My Way (1974), Nicklaus says that, "...The basic objective in positioning the ball is to locate it at the point where the path of the descending clubhead momentarily coincides with the target line" (p. 89).

**The Road Dog** · December 11, 2009

IMHO, the limited loft of a driver requires you place the ball forward in your stance to hit it on the upswing. The higher lofted clubs though will lift the ball when hit at the bottom of your swing. So for me with the driver the ball in just inside the left instep, but every other club I hit best from the center of my stance. Otherwise I'd have to move to my left during the swing and that opens the club face causing a fade every time. I'd like to know if anyone uses different ball placement for tees than from the grass?

**groovezilla79** · December 12, 2009

There was a pretty good golfer that wrote a pretty good book a long time ago. In his book there was a diagram and he stated that he played the ball at the same position (left instep) and moved his trailing foot depending on the club and type of shot needed. I think his name was Hogan something or other.

Then there is the machine named Tiger. He also wrote a book. In his book he talked about how he moves the ball around and alters the stance slightly to play a cut or draw.

Pick your poison, but it's really about what YOU are most comfortable with.

**wedge player** · December 12, 2009

ive done both i prefer moving the ball from center,then up versus single ball placement.just my .02 though

**Nickynoodles** · December 12, 2009

When you swing a club, it does not go back to forward. It goes in a circular motion. Depending on your stance, the shot you are hitting and club length determines where in the circle of your swing plane the ball should be posistioned in your stance to make optimum ball contact and flight. To hit draws and fades is a whole different monster. I personally i play my wedges to my 9i 3 inches forward of my back foot. I take about a 7-9 inch divot infront of my ball and depending on conditions get a good amount of backspin. I hit my 8i and 7i a little more up in my stance but still more towards my back foot. I dont posistion the ball in the middle of my stance till i hit my 5-6i. 3-4 go 3 inches inside my front foot and my woods a little inside my front foot. Its all how you want to hit the ball and most importantly whats comfortable for you. Noone can tell you where to place the ball. You yourself need to find out where your comfortable and hitting the best shots from.

**iammpspeer** · December 12, 2009

When you swing a club, it does not go back to forward. It goes in a circular motion. Depending on your stance, the shot you are hitting and club length determines where in the circle of your swing plane the ball should be posistioned in your stance to make optimum ball contact and flight. To hit draws and fades is a whole different monster. I personally i play my wedges to my 9i 3 inches forward of my back foot. I take about a 7-9 inch divot infront of my ball and depending on conditions get a good amount of backspin. I hit my 8i and 7i a little more up in my stance but still more towards my back foot. I dont posistion the ball in the middle of my stance till i hit my 5-6i. 3-4 go 3 inches inside my front foot and my woods a little inside my front foot. Its all how you want to hit the ball and most importantly whats comfortable for you. Noone can tell you where to place the ball. You yourself need to find out where your comfortable and hitting the best shots from.

I hope you mean the length of your divot is 7-9inches long and not 7-9inches deep...

**wedge player** · December 12, 2009

I dont posistion the ball in the middle of my stance till i hit my 5-6i..

i found this out the hard way but playing the ball behind center is a real good way to get swing plane issues,it will do decently for a while but you will regret it one day,the day i stopped doing that was the day i started improving dramatically

**Nickynoodles** · December 12, 2009

I hope you mean the length of your divot is 7-9inches long and not 7-9inches deep...

Dont quote the obvious, If your leaving divots 7-9 inches deep you got problems. I dont even think you could break 100 doing that let alone shooting low 80's. I dont even think you could leave a divot that deep with a swing of a shovel let alone a golf club.

**Nickynoodles** · December 12, 2009

i found this out the hard way but playing the ball behind center is a real good way to get swing plane issues,it will do decently for a while but you will regret it one day,the day i stopped doing that was the day i started improving dramatically

Hey like i said. Everyone has there own way of playing and what matters is whats comfortable. My problem with middle and forward placement was scooping. Either hitting chunky shots or getting semi good contact but no backspin and leaving a divot through the ball. I have taken lessons from a few different pros in my area. I first shot in the 100's then got to high 90's then got stuck around the mid to low 90's for a few seasons. I started training stack and tilt with a pro and doing alot of swing changes. Not untill i learned the physics with the stack and tilt method and watched countless videos of my swing did i realize that for me to feel comfortable , get great ball contact and be able to bring the ball back on a string, that that was the ball placement i needed. Then i broke 90 then broke 80 in 1 season. Everyones different and thats what i stated in my 1st post. It all comes down to what your most comfortable with and getting your best ball striking with. I appreciate your comments to me, but im not the one looking for help. When i have problems i wount hesitate to come on here and look for advice myself, and will be gracious in defeat when you tell me i told you so

**gspjeb** · December 13, 2009

for me I had a lot of problems with ball position and it wasnt until I started keeping my left foot the same distance from the ball always (4" inside instep" for irons) and changing the balls position by how far I moved my right foot out that I got consistent. I had to experiment from 1 to 6 inches until I found the right distance for me. My drives are directly off of my left instep with my feet about 1" outside my shoulders. Only time that I have any ball behind center is for punches and chips etc. I have seen so many great golfers on the tour have different placement that I think that it is tough to have a hard and fast rule. good luck

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