Comments on: Golf Ball Position at Address

By: Golf Ball Guru

Golf Ball Guru — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:24:05 +0000

Joe, I’m with you. For my short irons I’m more comfortable with the bell slightly in front of me, and with long irons and driver I prefer the ball in the middle. Interesting to see that this can have such a large impact on your game though…

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:44:40 +0000

I have tried both methods over the years and keep coming back to the varying of the position of the ball based on the club I am using. It seems to work for me.

By: Double Eagle

Double Eagle — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:03:46 +0000

Spinny, I did see the article and wrote about it back in January. You can see my thoughts here.

By: Spinny

Spinny — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:58:40 +0000

A recent golfing magazine article (either Golf or Golf Digest, I’m embarrassed to admit I can’t recall which) offered a method claimed to add 20 yards or more to your drive. In sum, the trick was play it well forward–forward of your lead toes, even. The theory is it enhances the upswing element of your hit, giving your ball a higher arc and hence allowing it to travel farther.

Personally I found the trick to work fairly well, though it’s hard to tell how much of my recent drive improvement came from placement as opposed to some swing changes. One problem is the chance of the dreaded sky ball, which in my case I believe to come from twisting my body too far to the left on the downswing hence moving the lowest part of the club travel too close to the ball.

By any chance did you see that article, and do you have an opinion on it?

By: Double Eagle

Double Eagle — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:30:23 +0000

Great points, TP. I tend to agree that the moving ball position is probably the more technically sound way, where the stationary position is probably a little easier to gain some consistency by removing that variable from the equation. While it may not maximize the design of the equipment, it can be argued whether the stationary position does more harm than good.

By: TP Golf Online

TP Golf Online — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:16:48 +0000

To paraphrase Harvey Penick, ball position is the second most important fundemental after the grip. Personally I vary my ball postion for each club and also for the type of shot I plan on playing. When I started I played one ball position mainly because the first book I read was Golf My Way and who would argue with Jack about ball position. Over the years I changed to varying the position. One more reason why I think ball position should vary is based on how each club is designed. Compare a driver versus a wedge. Sole each club as if you are addressing the ball. How does the shaft lean when looking down at the ball. A wedge should lean towards the target and a driver will lean slightly away from the target. If we set up address in a neutral postion our hands will be positioned near the same spot relative to our body. This "lean" in the shaft should place the club in the desired ball position. To see the subtle differences Aaron Baddley with an Iron Jack Nicklaus with a Driver