ball position

MR MIZUN0 · October 15, 2007

I tend to play everything forward in my stance, and today I went to play and my friend said to put it back in your stance, so I did ( I also tried to limit my lower body rotation, and rotate my upper body more), and WOW I smashed my 6iron 180 yards, when before it would only go 165 yards (sweet spot). But when I tend to put it back in my stance, I tend to push it. Help? ;)

rosskoss · October 15, 2007

You're obviously pushing it because the club is travelling inside-out at the moment of contact.

Ball position depends a lot on your setup and alignment and how active your lower body is during the downswing (lateral leg drive versus stacked).

6-iron for me is just forward of center. Sometimes I find my ball position creeping forward but then I notice that my shoulder alignment is open. Once I square my shoulders, the ball moves back in the stance. Check your alignment before attempting to establish proper ball position.

pocketfulladoubles · October 17, 2007

I find that moving the ball up in my stance works better if I aim to play a bit of a fade. For this, I'll lose about 5 to 10 yards of carry. Putting it back in my stance allows me to draw it a bit better. I feel a little more aggressive with this shot and can gain a touch of distance (vs. straight shot) and get some roll. Are you cutting it a bit by moving it up?

MR MIZUN0 · October 17, 2007

no, surprisingly, I do not cut it when I move the ball up, I just hit a tiny draw, same thing when I move it back, I just got back from playing, and I felt my ball stricking was better, and I hit it alot higher. It even works with my driver, I teed it lower (a smidge higher than Applebee) and my tee shots were higher, and more consistant.

rosskoss · October 17, 2007

In that case, check your alignment.

JHardey · October 17, 2007

i typically play the ball a couple inches off my front foot... about 1/4 off my left foot on every club... when i wanna control my ball a little more and work it right to left... or knock it down... i just choke down and play it a litttle closer... and also in the middle of my stance... when i start to put it past middle of my stance... i start to hit the ball dead right as well... its because when im comming down to contact... my hands arnt rotating around fast enough and my club face is wide open. u have to roll ur hands faster because u have less time to roll ur hands over when u start ur down swing and therefore ur face isnt getting back to perfectly square at contact.

pocketfulladoubles · October 18, 2007

no, surprisingly, I do not cut it when I move the ball up, I just hit a tiny draw, same thing when I move it back, I just got back from playing, and I felt my ball stricking was better, and I hit it alot higher. It even works with my driver, I teed it lower (a smidge higher than Applebee) and my tee shots were higher, and more consistant.

hmmmmm. you got me there. I guess if I were you I'd really try to work on adding a fade shot to my game. Generally easy to control and more predictable than a draw, but you'll need an extra club. Just work on learning to cut your 3, 4, and 5 irons a bit and I promise you'll have them sticking right on the green where they land.