Back Ball Position

[Stumpy]

Traditional 'setup' tells us over and over again, and the proper ball position is somewhere between right in the middle of your stance for short irons, and more and more forward as the club length goes up.

I tend to top the ball pretty regularly, and I've noticed recently, that on all my practice swings, divots, etc, my club is touching down a little after it passes my back foot, and is already on its way back up by the time it gets to about the center of my stance. Which seems to tell me that 'my' ball position should be a lot further back than 'traditional'.

Wondering if I'm just doing something incredibly wrong, I've started paying more attention to it when watching the tour players. It seems with iron shots, a lot of tour players are playing the ball further back then the center to me.

So, Any thoughts? Am I just doing something very wrong?

[NormH3]

you may need to adjust the width of your stance a bit

[deronsizemore]

I'm a fan of having the ball position set in one general position (a few inches inside my left heel) for everything except driver. I position the ball in the same place each time and from there, I adjust the width of my stance accordingly depending on what iron I'm using. The shorter the iron, the more narrow my stance gets. If you're moving the ball all over the place in the your stance AND slightly adjusting the width of your stance each time, it's going to be difficult to be consistent (or at least it is for me). With the static ball position, I figure I'm at least eliminating one variable and only have to worry about getting my stance the correct width for the shot.

What you describe in your post sounds like you're simply keeping all of your weight on your back leg on the downswing. If you never get to your left side on the downswing, you will hit behind it a lot or top it. If the ball is too far back in your stance you'll also have a tendency to hang back leading to these types of shots.

[Leftygolfer]

I am guessing you swing very flat footed. If your wieght is moving foward as it should the divot wouldn't be so far back. I would work on the wieght shift and not a band aid approach of putting the ball way back.

[Stumpy]

Tried all sorts of stance modifications, same results.

[TakeDeadAim]

  Stumpy said:

Tried all sorts of stance modifications, same results.

No wonder. The problem could be a few things, but none to do with your stance.

Could be that you are releasing your hands early, or "casting". Could be that you are dropping your shoulders on the downswing... Hard to say. A video showing your swing could help us.

[dummyisdumb]

  Stumpy said:

Tried all sorts of stance modifications, same results.

This post was made 36 minutes after your original post. Not suggesting anything, just pointing this out to people who didn't know and for future reference.

[flopdarock]

i tend to agree with a few other posts...
it seems to me that youre hitting with most of your weight on your back foot seeing as the divot is further back... if you can get over on your front foot at impact... your swing should bottom out after the center

[pittpanther]

  Stumpy said:

Traditional 'setup' tells us over and over again, and the proper ball position is somewhere between right in the middle of your stance for short irons, and more and more forward as the club length goes up.

I'm going to assume you're a beginner to the game. Telling you things like "maintain your spine angle" or "stay down through the ball" are just going to confuse you.

The reality is that if your stroke bottoms out on the right, then your swing is WRONG. No amount of trying to justify it by what you think you saw on TV is going to change things. If you're topping a lot of balls, putting the ball near your right foot will somewhat reduce the number of tops. But it will not eliminate them - because your swing is WRONG. You asked more than once "Am I doing something terribly wrong?" The answer is "Yes." The solution is not easy, but basically consists of LOTS of practice, telling yourself to stay down and HIT THE D*MN BALL! Try this - use a short iron, put the ball in the middle of your stance, but keep your eyes 2-3 inches to the LEFT of the ball. Don't look AT the ball, look LEFT of the ball. Keep that up for a month, and get back to us with your results. It worked for me... I can now hit anything of the ground - long irons, woods, even my driver.

[TakeDeadAim]

  pittpanther said:

I'm going to assume you're a beginner to the game. Telling you things like "maintain your spine angle" or "stay down through the ball" are just going to confuse you.

I couldn´t agree more with the response and the tips. Outstanding.

[Stumpy]

Thanks for all the words of wisdom. I am indeed a newbie, just started a few months ago. I've gone from shooting around 130s to around 100 in that time, but every time I go out, even just to the driving range, I feel like I make some sort of realization that has helped. Thats why i posted about this problem, its the one thing I can't seem to do, is hit consistantly, and I want to fix the problem.

Someone mentioned not transferring my weight to my front foot properly/at all, so I messed around a little this morning with trying to 'throw' my weight forward on purpose, and it seems to change the position of my ball contact. My normal swing definately is more 'back foot centered'.

[Jay-Bird]

Agreeing with the above posts.

The BEST way to see your flaws is to shoot video. Even if you never post it here, seeing yourself on video should point out some things that need fixed.

[WUTiger]

Stumpy, Quite a few golfers put the ball back in the stance for chip shots or pitch-and-run shots. As for regular shots, I've seen some people do it, but they are a rarity.

I would suggest you take golf lessons with someone who can give you a video analysis of your swing, and a video lesson summary e-mailed to your home computer. (You review the lesson summary before you hit the range, and can also download it to an iPod to play at the range.)

If you just work on it yourself for a month of trial and error, you may develop bad tendencies which will hurt your game for the long run. You are concerned enough about the game to study the swing and to practice, so make sure you are practicing positive things.

Good luck! I just switched out my clubs this spring, so I have some frustrating days too.

[golf4ever]

I used to hit a lot of fat shots too. Most fat shots are caused by releasing the club too soon (casting). Two things that helped me were:
1). Hold the wrist angle. To get a feel for this, purposely do not release the wrist until after you hit the ball. Purposely keep the right wrist angle bent back through impact.
2). Getting your weight on the left side means shifting toward the target from the waist down and keeping your head fairly still until after impact. This can be done by a left hip bump (right handed golfer) or turn.

I hope your game improves.

[michaeljames92]

I had this same problem and was struggling with pushes/push hooks. The cause was that my downswing was coming way from the inside and as a result I was positioning the ball back of center. Since having a lesson a couple of weeks ago, I have moved it just forward of center and am currently adjusting to the change. Your best bet is to see a pro. they will be able to make it right.

[wmiller]

I am 6'3" with a rather upright swing, and play the ball back of center all the time. I have a narrower stance than some, and during the backswing, I already have more weight on the rear foot than most, so little is shifted, and I feel 'on top' of the ball if you will. I wear tennis shoes because I have very wide feet, so I have little to no leg drive, as I would slip if I try. (guess I could do the Hogan bare-foot routine)

I hit down on the ball, producing a 3-5 inch divot in front of where the ball was. Trajectory is high, with a draw. Don't hit 'em like I used to, but can still get a 9 iron out past 150 when the need arises.

Point is, different people have different physiques, different abilities, and so on. If you can repeat a swing (Jim Furyk comes to mind), play it and forget the 'one swing for all' mantra most pros try to shove down your throat. Better yet, if you can find a coach as opposed to a teacher, go for it. Found one 20 years ago. Haven't had a lesson since.

Just my opinion mind you. You asked, we answered.