My golf coach, as one of the first things he taught me, gave me the right way to position the ball for a good swing. This might not seem important to non-golfers, but if you play you’ll already know there can be big differences depending where the ball is on the ground.
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.
To expand this, stand in your normal stance, with your legs apart, and hold the golf club in your normal grip, with the club head on the ground in front of you, as though about to make a swing. The ball should be on the ground where the club head is, such that the club and the direction of the shot are at right angles.
Golf clubs, of course, have different lengths, so the distance of the ball from your body will be determined by the shot you’re playing – ie which club you’re using. Drivers are the longest clubs, so the ball will be at its furthest point from you when playing a driver. When playing a wedge club, the ball will obviously be much 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.
Mike Jackson runs an online golf equipment store, where you can buy golf clubs, golf balls, golf gifts, golf bags etc.
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