drives...ball position!?!??!

[Hemps]

Hello again for another season (damn long Canadian winter)

Got a question..
I've had issues (thats an understatement) with slicing my drives they travel 75% of there path straight then the other 25% 90' right of the target line.. In my last round my friend told me to move the ball back in my stance (from just inside my left foot) to just above center.. For some reason this cured my slice (well maybe not cured but i hit a very high percentage straight compared to before). the only problem is I notice that i pushed the ball out to the right abit, be it not that much..My question is, is this just a temp. fix? is this telling me/you a flaw in my swing that I need to fix. Even with the ball in the middle (or close too) I was still hitting it around 280-300 on my drives with a nice ball flight? So did i solve something or just put a big bandaid on it?

[gord962]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

Driver ball position should be just inside your left heel (for righthanders) This gives your club enough time to come around and for you to get the clubface square. As for the ball starting right, that means you have an inside-out swing path. This is a good thing.

If the ball is not coming back towards the target, you need to get the face square to the target at impact. If the ball is going right, but no slice/fade hook/draw, this means your clubface is square to your swing path. To get the ball to draw back to the target, slightly strengthen your grip (rotate your hands very slightly on the grip to the right so more of the back of your left hand is up).

[TeachingPro]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

It could well be that the best position for your driver is more to the middle than the front. Look at Eduardo Romero, he plays his driver out of the middle of his stance...

It all depends on where the bottom of your swing is with the driver. For most of us, it is just forward of centre so the forward ball position enables an upwad blow. If it is too far forward, the club has already started to move around towards the left already when it contacts the ball, causing a shot to the right (open face relative to the initial swing path).

I'd really suggest you experiment over a few practice sessions and take Grord's advice but keep in mind that everyone swings differently. Experiment and find where your ideal ball position is.

[thebigman]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

I personaly drive it better with it opposite my left toes. I've tried with opposite my left heel but i drive it low and puting it a bit further forward gives such an amazing difference for me personally. So gords right with the general left heel thing but as golf is golf theres always an exception

[Hemps]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

Thanks for the info guys.. As a lot of people have, i've been fighting this demon of a slice for a long time..I solved it for my irons last season (not a clue how ) but the driver is still an issue..And after a few holes of slicing it O.B. it starts to mentally effect the rest of my game due to frustration. My last round with hitting a better drive really made for an enjoyable round. Hopefully this will hold true for awhile and I can drive it past all my golf buddies (which i always do) but this time within the confines of the fairway LOL.

[fatneck]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

I'm making inroads (slowly) with my sliced drives by practising hooks.

My problem is the timing of my release.

Starting with a very easy swing and aiming to go wide to a target to the left.
Gradually increasing to a normal/full swing to a central target only when the shots are going as planned.

I had even tried teeing the ball up well in front of my left foot 2-3 inches - this worked well occasionally but feels too bizarre.

I've also noticed an improvement following practice with a momentus style club (unrequested birthday gift).

[gord962]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

I used to have to tee my ball outside my left foot a while ago. After reviewing my swing I realized that I was 'throwing' my weight towards the target. It happened because I started with a big sway away from the target on the backswing and then a big sway back towards the target on my downswing, which caused my impact zone to move towards the target. Try to start with 70% - 80% of your weight on your right foot when set up with your driver to keep your impact area with your driver inside your feet.

[fatneck]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

The sway is something that was pointed out to me during a recent lesson. The pro lined up an iron on the bay directly in line with my chest.

It was quite surprising to see how far forward I had lurched on completion of my swing.

My back was nearly 3-4 inches clear of the line of the iron marker when I held my finish and looked back.

Another swing thought for the collection.............

[Hemps]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

Sometimes I almost fall flat on my but after my swing...but I just blame in on the windy prairies .. lol jk I need to keep my body in a more standard position cause i seem to fall back sometimes (altho they seem to be nice shots or equal to when i don't fall over and remain balanced)

also most are you are saying you put the ball outside of of your left foot? Like in front of your entire body position? I feel like i'm reaching for the ball if I tried that..maybe again thats cause I seem to fall back on my swing, But that just seems odd. to each there own I guess

[fatneck]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

The feeling is like you are reaching for the ball but it helps to get an idea of what the club needs to feel like to get the ball not slicing.

For me it worked quite well as a range drill.

I also tried to really exaggerate the slice which wasnt too hard to do but it really helped gain a better understanding of feeling in my swing.

[Hemps]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

Most of the time that I do have a really bad slice, I can finally feel what is wrong (or atleast I think) which is nice cause before I was dumb founded as to what was wrong before. Everytime I slice I can feel my body miles ahead of my hands, therefore not allowing my hands to catch up and square up at impact. For me feeling it is one thing.,..stopping it is a whole nother story.

but now that I read the above..This is no longer talking about ball position Which I will update my theory/progress/whatever you'd like to call it after my next round.

[gord962]

Re: drives...ball position!?!??!

Sometimes I almost fall flat on my but after my swing...but I just blame in on the windy prairies .. lol jk I need to keep my body in a more standard position cause i seem to fall back sometimes (altho they seem to be nice shots or equal to when i don't fall over and remain balanced)

also most are you are saying you put the ball outside of of your left foot? Like in front of your entire body position? I feel like i'm reaching for the ball if I tried that..maybe again thats cause I seem to fall back on my swing, But that just seems odd. to each there own I guess

Are you falling away from the target? If so, this is caused by an incorrect weight shift. Make sure your weight is on your right side when you are in your address position. On your backswing, ensure your left shoulder is over your right knee. If you do both of these, you can't have your weight on your left side at the top of the backswing and will keep you from swaying.