Position the Ball for Golf Improvers
Among the first things I was taught during my golf coaching was the correct position for the ball when taking my swing. If you don’t play golf, this seems pretty trivial, but all of you that do play will know there are major differences between the possible positions of the ball.
Standing side-on to the direction you’ll be aiming, there are two main elements to consider. The first is how far away the ball is from you if you drew a line directly away from your eyes (ie perpendicular to the direction of the shot). The second is the distance of the ball on the ground from each foot.
Starting with how far from you the ball should be, you basically want to put it on the ground at the distance of the club head during your swing. So that the natural point of impact of the club with the ground is where the ball should be.
That is to say, with you stood in your normal stance, legs apart, hold the club as normal and put the head of the club onto the ground, at the point where you would be in your swing when you strike the ball. The club will be at a right angle to the direction you wish the shot to go, with the club head at the right point for impact.
Obviously, with golf clubs having shafts of different lengths, this distance away from you will be different according to the club. For instance, the driver is the longest club, so the ball with be farthest away from you. Whilst a pitching wedge is a very short club, so the ball will be nearer to you.
Now you want to find out where to put the ball in relation to being nearer to your left or right foot. Currently, the ball will be in the middle of your stance, a club’s length in front of you at the right distance for making a swing.
With the ball in this position, make an imaginary line through the ball in the direction of the shot, with the line extending along the line both ways from the ball. (ie from the ball along the line in the direction of the shot, and also going beyond the ball away from the direction of the shot).
Along this line, the ball will be placed at different points for different types of shot. For the driver, woods and long irons, the ball should be placed nearer to your front foot (left if you’re a right hander). For the shorter irons and pitching clubs, the ball should be placed in the middle, equidistant between your two feet.
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