COMMUNITY

I was shown a number of years ago to position the ball in the middle of my stance for a 8-iron and to move the ball forward with lower lofted clubs and backwards with higher lofted clubs. This is what I have typically done but it doesn't always "feel" right. I think I'll be trying Jack's approach even though he admits that what he does is not necessarily the best way, just his way. The thought of consistency does make sense to me however.

I'm with Jack. I've got the ball at my left heel on every shot I play that's not a chip or putt. No real reason behind it other than it's the most comfortable thing for my eye and my swing.

Three variables to consider: anatomy, balance and setup. Most professionals were taught to lean the clubshaft forward on setup, maintain their lag late into the downswing and get their weight fully over their front foot. Do those things well and consistently and Jack's advice will work great.

The problem is few of us do all those things.

If your stance is too wide, you can't get all the way over your front foot, especially with the longer clubs and you'll bottom out behind the ball. Similar problems result if you don't maintain lag, keep the shaft leaning forward until you cross the front thigh and so on.

The question is the middle of what? Is your stance width the same with all your clubs or does it vary, and if so how?

This is so true. I attempted this ball position before after reading Jacks book but if your swing is not in sync and done correctly it will create a lot of thin/topped shots or as Mark stated you will bottom out behind the ball and create one those embarrassing 20 yard fat shots with an iron.

Heck, I can do all of those without Jack's help! :) I do agree that the least amount of change can be easier to manage but then everyone's body and swing is not the same so some experimentation seems in order.

the golf ball is supposed to be at the beginning of the bottom of the swing arc.
THe bottom of the swing arc gets longer with longer golf clubs.

Make a few practice swing and notice where the bottom of the swing arc contact the ground.... put the golf ball at the beginning of the contact to the ground.

A few other observations. This one about distance from the front foot vs. where the ball is between your feet.

Most professionals teach that the longer the club the wider the stance, or conversely the shorter the club the narrower the stance. However, this is NOT consistently followed by amateurs. Commonly I'll see amateurs take the same width stance from club to club, some do that with all clubs except the driver and others actually WIDEN their stance with shorters clubs (apparently to compensate for the shorter club, instead of setting up closer to the ball).

If we aren't using the same stance guidelines all this talk about where the ball is (or should be) breaks down.

This one is "What's the difference".

If you are using the recommended stance width changes recommended by pros...

Let's say you set up 1-2 balls off your front heal and with a pitching wedge have the heal 3-4 balls apart from each other (pretty standard stuff). The ball will be in the middle of your stance. It will also be 1-2 balls off your front heal. Same thing, but ONLY if you are using the proper stance width.

There is a THIRD alternative.

Most professionals today teach setting up to the ball so that the ball is in line with the logo on your shirt (or just behind your front armpit). This is because with a proper swing the clubhead bottoms out directly below you front arm socket and you want to hit the ball with a slighly decending blow (ball then ground contact). Makes sense.

Not only does this make sense, but it becomes an excellent diagnostic tool. If you set up this way and have trouble with all or some clubs, you can actually track down swing faults.

* A reverse pivot will cause you to bottom out way behind this point with all clubs.
* Too wide a stance with the short irons will cause you to bottom out behind the ball with those clubs, but make fine contact with longer clubs.

and so on.

Thanks for the feedback. I recognize that this is pretty basic but such simple thing can make a big difference when trying to understand what went wrong or what went right.

I completely agree with the comments on stance. I also think that many recreational golfers do not have a consistent approach to set up in general leading to a number of problems including alignment.

I agree with this completely. I use practice swings for one reason and one reason only ( I use two practice swings) and that is to determine where the club is contacting the ground at that given moment and situation and that is where I place the ball in my stance. I consistently get ball first contact by dong this. I still hit fat and thin shots like everybody else, but far fewer than I used to when I had a specific ball placement for each club. There are no two lies on a course that are identical. Every shot we hit sits just a little bit different and each time we set up to a ball can be different. By using a practice swing to determine ball placement you are playing for that specific situation and frankly it keeps it simple and increases confidence. I am talking of irons after a drive that is. I always place the ball off the big toe of my left foot for my driver and one ball farther back for my hybrids if using them to Tee off with.

I also agree with Marks assessment on width of stance. My swing gets wider for longer clubs, but by very small increments. It also depends on the shot I am faced with and the lie.

Rest assured a lot of folks on here will benefit from this. It's made a huge difference for me and were lessons learned over a number of years. Also, while this might seem 'basic' these truths open the door to a much better understanding of the golf swing.