ball position , closer to front vs slightly back in stance

[maiorano46]

I am 47 years old and my ball flight is very high and I seem to get very good distance out of all my clubs , but I always see other descent golfers playing their ball I different positions than I do for example my driver is off the inside of my front foot sorta the same as everybody. But when I get to my wedges and short irons my ball position is slightly behind center and they r centered or slightly forward and I notice on my days when I am struggling I usually hit a little fat could this be ball position and is it ok to hit behind center

[Patch]

I use the same ball positions you described, and I also hit a fatty every so often. Only difference  would be on my  normal full shots, I don't move the ball back any more than center regardless of the iron being used.  Other times, depending on the situation, I might  move the ball back as far as my back toe.

The times I hit a fat shot are the times when my timing, and/or  rhythm is off a bit from my normal swing.  Other poor swing issues can also cause fatties, regardless of the ball position.

There has always been two schools of thought about ball position. One was is the same spot every time, and the other was various spots in the stance, depending on the club being used. I don't know which one is better, but I do know which one works better for me.

[maiorano46]

That's good to here , because I feel comfortable where I play it and this year I have a goal of having a single digit handicap and I know my weak spots and I dont want any radical changes, I also play it way back sometimes if I am in trouble under trees or something and need to hood the club to keep it real low but that's about the only time I go way back any way thanks , sometimes I think I need to stop watching everybody else and so many of the golf channel lessons they get me thinking way to much , haha

[DrvFrShow]

What has always worked for me is to play the ball at the bottom of my swing arc. Center GW - 6i, one ball ahead for 5i - 3H. 2 balls ahead for 5W. Wedges I play where I need to depending upon the shot. In windy conditions I'll move the ball back one ball in the stance to keep the flight lower and play more or less club depending upon wind direction.

[mvmac]

I am 47 years old and my ball flight is very high and I seem to get very good distance out of all my clubs , but I always see other descent golfers playing their ball I different positions than I do for example my driver is off the inside of my front foot sorta the same as everybody. But when I get to my wedges and short irons my ball position is slightly behind center and they r centered or slightly forward and I notice on my days when I am struggling I usually hit a little fat could this be ball position and is it ok to hit behind center

If you tend to hit it high, it's not the ball position, good chance it's that you dynamically add loft at impact, you line the lead arm and shaft up before impact.

Ball position for the driver is forward of the left heel , for wedges I play it a ball or two forward of middle. If you hit it fat, it's not the ball position, it's the same reason I described above. Playing it too far back can create some bad habits and it's a band-aid anyway (unless you're trying to hit a shot really low).

[joekelly]

Nice input, Mike.

See what MCrossfield shows us about dynamic loft here:

Lately, i've been mostly on practicing my short game, 60 yards and in, and learning to feel around the clubhead and it's relation to the ball using different clubs.  Heretofore, my attention has mostly been on the overall swing and controlling the OTT problem.  So, am getting closer to accepting my own abilities and starting to focus on clubhead control.

[maiorano46]

Crossfields videos are very good, i don't do what he mentions in the video, i guess i just hit it higher than the guys I play with but I also hit it farther I just notice they play their irons a little more forward I play the long irons a little forward of center but I play the short irons slightly back , I am just trying to find out if their is a definite ball position for every iron on full shots not pitches or chips and is a ball length or two gonna make a difference , thanks for all the replies

[vangator]

If you play the ball back of center, you probably don't have much of a weight shift. If you shifted your weight very much, you'd be hitting it pretty far back of the bottom of you swing. I'm trying to work on a better weight shift, but I have a bad left knee. I slide into 2nd base one time and the base won.

[Liam97]

I keep the ball in the centre of my stance when hitting wedge shots and just put more weight on my front foot. If I had the same setup with the ball back in my stance I could see myself topping or hitting fat shots.

[staysimple]

I only put the ball behind center to control trajectory and spin. Use a small range with wedges to control these. In my experience, moving the ball back makes fat shots less likely (thin shots equally more likely though), so there may be something else going on (swaying or extra movement). There is a phase where playing an  iron from middle stance is good, but long term I've moved my back foot forward slightly until pw was slightly in front of center, depending on the club. Some people play all irons from middle stance, so it is best to find a position you are comfortable with, without manipulating your swing.