ball postion in relation to left heel.

[bill reed]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

hi
this is more like how i play, you see the ball seems to be further back with my open stance.
cheers
bill

[jambalaya]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

hi Jambalaya
look at page 125 of hogans "the 5 fundamentals of modern golf" has i good diagram in it.
cheers
bill

Holy Moly! It is no wonder killiansred, and apparently I, am so confused. Jack says play off the left heel and people go out and do just that without considering anything else. Jack says it so it is good enough for most. Then that person proceeds to screw up his swing even more. One needs to be very precise about the golf swing or not be precise at all. Lesson: If something sounds simple in golf, it probably isn't. Follow up an instruction given you with some study to make sure you understand what someone is trying to tell you.

[bill reed]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

hi jambalaya
its the same if you set up with both feet pointing forward with you big toe pointing to the ball and you then move your left foot out as normal without moving your heal and the the ball seems to be further back in your stance but you have not moved your left heal or the ball.
try it and you'll see what i mean.
cheers
bill

[killiansred]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

Holy Moly! It is no wonder killiansred, and apparently I, am so confused. Jack says play off the left heel and people go out and do just that without considering anything else. Jack says it so it is good enough for most. Then that person proceeds to screw up his swing even more. One needs to be very precise about the golf swing or not be precise at all. Lesson: If something sounds simple in golf, it probably isn't. Follow up an instruction given you with some study to make sure you understand what someone is trying to tell you.

now you see my confusion, haha. I've really been working on trying to keep the ball in the same position almost right off of the left heel, like Jack's method. What I've found is this is to far forward for my swing, I need to play it back just about 2 ball lengths or my club face is to closed and I end up hooking the ball. So right now I'm currently trying to play the ball in this position, but I'm still experimenting.

[jambalaya]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

hi jambalaya
its the same if you set up with both feet pointing forward with you big toe pointing to the ball and you then move your left foot out as normal without moving your heal and the the ball seems to be further back in your stance but you have not moved your left heal or the ball.
try it and you'll see what i mean.
cheers
bill

Yeah, I understand, but that information is what is left out of the discussion usually. Somebody just says "I simply play the ball three inside my left heel (or off my left heel) and widen my stance or move my right foot according to what club I hit. That is obviously is not all there is to it as your diagrams would suggest. But now that I understand the subtleties, maybe I can work on it. Here's to better divots.

[jbrunk]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

I play everything UP, UP, UP. I feel that it requires that you make a good pivot to "get to it" For example, I play my driver off my front left pinky toe.

[jambalaya]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

I play everything UP, UP, UP. I feel that it requires that you make a good pivot to "get to it" For example, I play my driver off my front left pinky toe.

UP, UP, UP is not good for me. The bottom of my swing falls short of the ball too many times. But that indicates something on which I need to work. I have gotten some good ideas about how to attack that problem from this thread an another. I would love more comments about it though to see if I have it right. One thought is my axis tilt to the rear. I am thinking that I have a little tilt to the rear even with my short irons which according to what I am reading is not good. I should at least be straight up and down wiht the short irons and possibly even I slight tilt forward to get the weight properly on the front foot. Of course the other is ball position possibly another is a closed versus an open stance. If I could find a way of systematically setting those things for each club I think it would help.

[BrianW]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

UP, UP, UP is not good for me. The bottom of my swing falls short of the ball too many times. But that indicates something on which I need to work. I have gotten some good ideas about how to attack that problem from this thread an another. I would love more comments about it though to see if I have it right. One thought is my axis tilt to the rear. I am thinking that I have a little tilt to the rear even with my short irons which according to what I am reading is not good. I should at least be straight up and down with the short irons and possibly even I slight tilt forward to get the weight properly on the front foot. Of course the other is ball position possibly another is a closed versus an open stance. If I could find a way of systematically setting those things for each club I think it would help.

I have explained how to set the ball 2 to 3 inches back from the lead heel, I have explained how to move the right foot and sternum to suit each club, I have shown how the trail foot should move from closed with the driver to open with wedges. What else is there to explain? If you have any specific problems with this advice then please PM me so that I can attempt to clarify further.

[jbrunk]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

UP, UP, UP is not good for me. The bottom of my swing falls short of the ball too many times. But that indicates something on which I need to work. I have gotten some good ideas about how to attack that problem from this thread an another. I would love more comments about it though to see if I have it right. One thought is my axis tilt to the rear. I am thinking that I have a little tilt to the rear even with my short irons which according to what I am reading is not good. I should at least be straight up and down wiht the short irons and possibly even I slight tilt forward to get the weight properly on the front foot. Of course the other is ball position possibly another is a closed versus an open stance. If I could find a way of systematically setting those things for each club I think it would help.

Are you talking axis tilt at impact? If so, you need axis tilt at impact with every club in the bag (except putter ) this is how you get your right shoulder on plane in the downswing. Maybe you are talking about at setup. If not, I would strongly disagree with those who have told you to be at least straight up and down or in front of the ball with short irons. Please clarify.

[BrianW]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

Are you talking axis tilt at impact? If so, you need axis tilt at impact with every club in the bag (except putter ) this is how you get your right shoulder on plane in the downswing. Maybe you are talking about at setup. If not, I would strongly disagree with those who have told you to be at least straight up and down or in front of the ball with short irons. Please clarify.

With short irons and particularly when making chip or pitch shots it is favourable to setup in the impact position, this will allow the sternum to be slightly ahead of the ball, the head must keep behind it though. Look at this picture of Nick Faldo set up with a short iron, His weight is favouring the lead leg and his sternum is in line or marginally ahead of the ball. This position will allow a steeper angle of attack as required with shorter irons. You will see that the ball is around 3 inches inside his lead heel.

[jambalaya]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

Are you talking axis tilt at impact? If so, you need axis tilt at impact with every club in the bag (except putter ) this is how you get your right shoulder on plane in the downswing. Maybe you are talking about at setup. If not, I would strongly disagree with those who have told you to be at least straight up and down or in front of the ball with short irons. Please clarify.

I am talking about setup.

[AvidGolfer]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

Look at this picture of Nick Faldo set up with a short iron, His weight is favouring the lead leg and his sternum is in line or marginally ahead of the ball. This position will allow a steeper angle of attack as required with shorter irons. You will see that the ball is around 3 inches inside his lead heel.

Faldo is not favoring the left leg (with his weight). If you read the book in which those pictures appears he states that his weight is 50-50. If you draw a line straight down from his shirt buttons more of his body is behind the ball than in front of it. The one thing I do agree with is that Faldo plays his ball three inches back of the left heel (which he notes in his other book Golf the Winning Formula).

[AvidGolfer]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

now you see my confusion, haha. I've really been working on trying to keep the ball in the same position almost right off of the left heel, like Jack's method. What I've found is this is to far forward for my swing, I need to play it back just about 2 ball lengths or my club face is to closed and I end up hooking the ball. So right now I'm currently trying to play the ball in this position, but I'm still experimenting.

Jack Nicklaus had a significant lateral movement in his downswing, and that brought his contact point in line with his left heel. As Nick Faldo noted in his book Golf the Winning Formula if you don't make a lateral move (driving the hip(s) or back knee) then you contact point will be two to three inches back of the left heel. There is nothing wrong with playing the ball in the position you selected (you've got it in a good position, so you can stop experimenting ).

[BrianW]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

Faldo is not favoring the left leg (with his weight). If you read the book in which those pictures appears he states that his weight is 50-50. If you draw a line straight down from his shirt buttons more of his body is behind the ball than in front of it. The one thing I do agree with is that Faldo plays his ball three inches back of the left heel (which he notes in his other book Golf the Winning Formula).

In my opinion he IS and he should be. His right hip is higher than his left, his hands are forward and he is in a position to create a steep downward attack.

Before you start drawing lines and quoting from publications I don't want to discuss it with you thanks. Please give your own advice and leave me to do the same.

[bill reed]

Re: ball postion in relation to left heel.

hi
from the picture it does look like he had more weight on his left side, maybe when he starts his back swing more weight moved on to the right foot and that why he thinks its 50/50.
if you stand like the picture as i did in bare feet i did feel more weight on the left instep than the right.
cheers
bill