Keys to a Good Set-up

[Boyder]

Early on in my game I realized I needed to spend a good bit of time working on my set-up and alignment. I still work on it on a regular basis, but as I stand over the ball 2 things in particular stand out in my head .. 1. how far am I from the ball, and 2. the ball position in relation to my stance (forward, center, etc.).
I have discovered that for my ball striking to be consistent, not only does my alignment need to be right, but if one of these other 2 factors are not right, it doesn't matter. Ball too far forward, I'm gonna hit it left. Ball too close to me - any number of catastrophes can happen (tops, shanks, etc.).
I bring this up just to share with others ... so if you're struggling with the ball striking, try paying more attention to your ball position in relation to your alignment ... it could help.

[Shripe]

I definitely second this importance. As I practice more with my clubs (getting 'new' clubs always helps to motivate me ;) ), I can definitely start to see what happens as I experiment with where I'm standing. I don't think I'll be able to really focus on manipulating this information well until I'm at the range aiming at things (versus using Floppys and hitting short iron/wedge shots against my house), but I can definitely start to see at least a little bit how my positioning affects what's going on as I hit the lil' bugger. ;)

[Dave H]

I think setup in general is extremely important - especially for us higher handicaps. I've been struggling with good contact all year and I've recently taken a few lessons. I thought my pro was going to have me changing my whole swing since I felt so out of whack, but the reality is that he's mainly had me work on my setup. Some other things too, but I've realized that without a good setup - which will achieve what the OP is talking about - you don't really have a chance to make consistent good contact. For me, what follows a good setup is good swing tempo and grip pressure through the swing - it's made a world of difference in just a couple weeks and it starts with the setup. I've still got a long way to go, but I feel so much more confident having a base to work with.

Just as an example, this past weekend I was playing and I shanked a 4h on a par 5. Normally when I would do that, I'd start freaking out in my head, wondering what I did wrong and would I ever be able to hit a decent shot again and pretty much ruin my round. This time, I knew I just got a little unfocused, so I took a deep breath, went through my setup checklist before I approached the ball, took a couple of casual swings, then stepped up to the ball and hit a great shot. It helped a lot to have that mental checklist to go through and reset, so to speak.

[Shripe]

However, there is a balance you do need to reach, at least in my opinion. If you start overthinking your setup as you prepare for your shot, you might end up messing up on your swing. I've noticed that as long as I've been at least practicing and trying to make the setup more thoughtless/natural, the shots end up better. If I overthink things, or focus too much on a certain aspect of the setup, something else in the swing goes awry.

[MasterP]

Distance from the ball is just a simple "does this feel comfortable? Are my arms in a natural position?", if yes then I put it out of my head. Ball position, forward to back is just forward of center for most irons and off the front heel for the driver. This is really 2nd nature so I just set up to the ball, and if I'm not set up right I won't feel comfortable and I'll back off or reset.

Any more thought than that about the set up is usually a recipe for a bad shot.

[Dave H]

However, there is a balance you do need to reach, at least in my opinion. If you start overthinking your setup as you prepare for your shot, you might end up messing up on your swing. I've noticed that as long as I've been at least practicing and trying to make the setup more thoughtless/natural, the shots end up better. If I overthink things, or focus too much on a certain aspect of the setup, something else in the swing goes awry.

Well, I agree and I hope that I get to the point where it's natural and I don't have to think about it. Right now, if I don't think about it, I'll hit bad shots. Also, I guess part of my point was that by thinking about the setup and getting prepared, I'm not thinking about the swing during the swing. If that makes any sense.

[Boyder]

Distance from the ball is just a simple "does this feel comfortable? Are my arms in a natural position?", if yes then I put it out of my head. Ball position, forward to back is just forward of center for most irons and off the front heel for the driver. This is really 2nd nature so I just set up to the ball, and if I'm not set up right I won't feel comfortable and I'll back off or reset.

True to a point ... "is it comfortable" is a good key for distance from the ball ... but as for ball position - every swing is a bit different. For me - most irons are dead center to 1 ball back of center - at least that's what works for me.

[CarlSpackler]

As has been revealed in a video lesson in May, my posture needs work, more knee bend and I need to stick my bum out more. My tendency is play the ball to far forward as well.