Ball positioning does not take skill or talent to achieve properly, however this is one area that can create many problems in the golf swing. I like to explain this to my students as the “chicken or the egg theory”. Which came first? Did the bad ball position cause the flaw in your swing, or did the flaw in your swing cause the bad ball position. This is an impossible question to answer for any instructor. We can guess, but it’s impossible.
Awkward Positioning Can Get You in All Kinds of Trouble
The typical ball position for players that hit pushes and hooks is a ball position that is back in the stance. The reason for this is that the club comes too much from inside and therefore they bottom out before the ball. Moving the ball back helps them hit the ball first. The problem with moving the ball back is notice what a back ball position does to your shoulders. This ball position will force your shoulders to close and therefore will promote a more in-to-out swing and will cause greater pushes and bigger hooks. Once you fix the ball position, you must then change the swing plane or your student just started hitting the ball fat and would be unhappy. (Chicken or the egg) The opposite is true for players that hit pulls and fades. This player would typically move the ball more forward in their stance so they can make solid contact. Because the club is coming on a steeper outside-in angle the ball back would cause extremely deep divots and fat shots. These fat shots would be different however from the guy that comes from inside out. The inside-out player hits dropkicks, which is a shallow, club bouncing into the ball versus the steep chunky divots. When the ball gets too forward in these players swings the shoulders will open and cause the over-the-top guy to come even more over the top (swinging on body line).
Simple Steps to Check Your Positioning
First, take your setup with your six iron. This is a great club to start with because it’s right in the middle of your bag. Now that you have your setup, take two golf balls and place them right next to your big toes. Step away and view from face on. The only thing that should be on the ground is the three golf balls. Two of those represent your feet and the other ball is the ball position. For a six iron it should be just slightly forward of center. Imagine that wedges or short irons will be center, while a driver will be about two and half balls forward of that center position. Somewhere in between those positions are the rest of your clubs. There is not much movement so somewhere in that ballpark is a good starting position for you. Pay attention to your address position with your feet. I want your feet to be matching. I want your toes to be flared out about 15 degrees (or slightly turned out). If you setup with one foot square and the other foot flared way out then this will mess with the view of your ball position. Many people’s ball position looks ok, but they have one foot flared dramatically open. Once they square up their feet, it is very evident that their ball position is way off.
Ball position is a fundamental that is extremely important to your golf swing. There is no correct answer as to if the ball position or swing is the area of concern, however if one of these is off the other will soon follow. Focus on the small details, like ball position, and your game will improve.
