I'm standing to close to the ball on all my clubs

[Want2PlayMore]

I feel like I am wide on my backswing but by the I get back to the ball I find myself pulling my hands back inside to get to the ball. Any tips or points of reference of how far to stand away?

[drewdown]

Far enough away that you aren't feeling like you need to pull your hands in? IE practice practice practice and figure out what works best for you.

[flanagan]

You may not be standing too close. It could be that you are coming over the top, starting your swing too much to the inside, or even just ball position or alignment.

Have someone you trust give a look at your setup, or work on it in a mirror, there are hundreds of references, including on the internet, that will help you see a proper setup, but seeing and knowing you are doing it can be very different once you venture out to the range.

If it's more a swing than setup issue, or even to confirm the right setup, I'd take a lesson, will be worth it.

[Eeryck]

Perhaps change the way you come into the ball during setup.

My routine is:

1. Determine target, ball flight, intermediate target, go to movies sort of thing.
2. Approach the ball well away from where my stance will be.
3. With back straight and knees and hips slightly bent, sole the club behind the ball with my left hand only on the club. The entire sole of the club should be flat behind the ball
4. Step in with my left foot to my stance position without changing the clubs shaft angle.
5. Step in with my right foot to my stance position without changing the clubs shaft angle.
6. Add right hand to grip
7. Check for fist to fist and a half between grip and belt buckle
8. Check knee bend
9. Check hip bend
10. Check back straight
11. Check arms hanging straight down
12. Check club still properly soled
13. Look at target, slightly tense grip to allow for active relaxing of grip
14. Look at ball
15. Fire

The key here is that during each check after taking my stance I am also making sure the club is properly soled with everything else fairly relaxed. That way the club shaft sets my distance from the ball.

I probably have a few more steps in my routine that I am not fully aware of. Whole thing takes maybe 30 seconds start to finish. It took longer when I was working it up.

After the fire part there is no more thinking, it is time to trust that I have done it all right. During training mode on my swing there is a swing thought, perhaps for you it would be good to consider bringing your hands straight back on plane, with a slight move just before the downswing to get your hands under the swing plane so you come from the inside.

Regards,
-E

[theislandofpen]

Far enough away that you aren't feeling like you need to pull your hands in? IE practice practice practice and figure out what works best for you.

The solution for this is simple. I had the same problem. Are you ready? OK here it is...waggle. Waggle the club about 3 ft. back and bring it back and if it is past the ball you know your standing too close. The purpose of the waggle is to get rid of tension and too rehearse a mini swing, so you should get the club to return right back to address and you'll know your the right distance away. Another tip I've heard is that for every club, your hands should be the same distance away from your body. If your hands need to bee 5 in.'s away from your body, then they should be for driver through wedge. Hope that helps and good luck with your game.

[limotek]

I feel like I am wide on my backswing but by the I get back to the ball I find myself pulling my hands back inside to get to the ball. Any tips or points of reference of how far to stand away?

Distance from the ball varys with your height. try placing the club next to the ball and then let the underside of the club fall flat on the mat.

make sure you bend your legs slightly and keep your back straight!!!

[whip_it_out]

the ball with my left hand only on the club.

The sole SHOULD NOT be perfectly flat, for those who are unaware of this. The toe of the club should raise slightly above the surface of the ground at address. this is because the way the shaft flexes during impact, and the position of your hands changes, that the club flattens out slightly.

But if you feel you are standing too close to the ball, move back a few inches. It doesn't get much simpler. A good checkpoint is to hold the butt of the club 1 hand-width (thumb to pinkie finger) away from your crotch.

[colin007]

standing too close to the ball would be unlikely, most casual golfers stand too far from the ball.

take some practice swings, not thinking about form, or positions, just tension free, natural swings and try to thump the ground. that spot where the club hits the ground on a relaxed practice swing is about where the ball should be in your setup.

[hrossroth]

Something to think about : Hogan wrote that a players weight should be divided between the heel and the ball of the foot. He emphasized the weight on the the heel so that a player could lift his toes in his shoes if he wanted to. As I have experimented with this idea, I have found that my arms stretch a little bit as I reach for the ball. With this weight configuration I think it might help me to come more from the inside, instead of over the top. It might also help you to get to a comfortable position when addressing the ball.

[Chas]

I find that I play best when there is a slight feeling of stretching my arms forward (only slightly) at the shoulders as I address the ball. If I don't do this, my arms are pulled out a bit on the downswing because of the centrifugal force of the clubhead, and I am forced to compensate by pulling my shoulders in on the way down - just a horrible move.

I really hate that feeling of having to pull in the left shoulder to avoid really chunking the ball (rightie) - you know immediately what is happening, even before the ball is struck. All rhythm is lost, and much of the power.

[misty_mountainhop]

Take your stance and then drop your right hand off the grip (I assume you're right handed). Without leaning forward or moving the clubhead on the ground, swing your left hand, holding the club, towards you until it hits your left leg. You want it to hit mid-thigh.

[Dr_Fu_Manchu]

If you want to get really technical:

Golfers often ask me how far they should stand from the ball. To answer, I refer to a composite computer model that Dr. Ralph Mann and I generated from a biomechanical study using 54 PGA Tour pros. With the driver, the pros we tested addressed the ball with their left toe approximately 32 inches from the ball. Shorter golfers may want to increase that to 33 inches, taller players to 31. For a 5-iron, the pros stood 23 to 25 inches away; with a 9-iron, 19 to 21 inches. So, the next time you go to practice, slip a yardstick in your bag and see how you measure up.