ball position

[bobby]

I find that my putting seems mor consistent when my ball is virtually in the middle of my stance rather than off the left heel - your comment?

[LowPost42]

Re: ball position

Putting is a personal thing.

That said, I'm glad you've discovered something that works better for you.

That said, I'm sure that a few people will read this, and try it out for themselves (if you can save a few strokes/round, why not try it?)

I know for short shots (pitches and chips), Dave Pelz recommends playing the ball in the middle of your stance (or further back). It would logically follow that the ball in the middle of your stance would work better for your putter. Especially if you're a pendulum-type putter; as the bottom of your swing arc would naturally be in the middle (or slightly back) of your stance (assuming a normal putting grip).

[ubizmo]

Re: ball position

Ball position is a confusing subject. From what I've heard and read, the "received" view is that the position of a teed ball should be in front of the inside of the left heel. For a wedge or short iron, it should be in the middle of the stance. For the rest of the irons, the longer the iron, the farther forward in the stance it should be positioned.

As I say, that's what I've read and heard, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I can understand positioning a teed ball (i.e., teed UP, not a low-teed ball simulating a perfect lie for an iron shot) forward in the stance, given the assumption that the goal is to strike the ball slightly on the upswing, which would be past the lowest point of the swing arc.

But for every other iron shot, it seems to me that you want the impact to happen at the bottom of the swing arc. That spot will be a different distance from the feet, because the length of the various irons is different, but I can't see any reason why it should be farther forward for longer irons.

I'm posting this not to recommend something other than the "received" view. I shot a 121 yesterday, which is typical for me, so any recommendation I might make is worthless. But I like to understand the reasons for things, and this is something I've never understood.

Note: I understand that for "special" shots, it can be necessary to position the ball in a special way. I'm just referring to "normal" shots on level ground.

[GreeBoman]

Re: ball position

take your normal stance, mark the where your feet are and take a swing with several clubs
note where the divot starts with each one, just before the divot is where the ball should be.
The ball is forward for long irons etc because you are sweeping into the ball, the swing bottoms out past the centre of your stance.

[gord962]

Re: ball position

Ball position for putting - the best position for putting is to have the ball DIRECTLY below your left eye. You should be able to stand in your putting stance and drop a ball from your left eye so it lands on the top of your ball. This ensures that you are looking down the target line and that you are not striking down on the ball. The other important thing to remember that your hands are AHEAD of the ball at impact.

[msklar92]

Re: ball position

the ball should be hit wherever the bottom of your swing arc is, not on the down stroke or upstroke.

[pinyo8]

Re: ball position

The only time where your impact is on the upswing is actually your driver off the tee. As you all know, the ball position is well on your left side when hitting the driver to allow the club to come up on the ball and create a better launch angle. Most pros, when they so call "bomb" it off the tee actually tee up the ball higher than normal ensuring the impact point is during the upswing. You can easily gain an extra 10 yards on your drive from this. I definitely do it when the fairway is wide and there are lots of room to play with (even better when downwind).

[killer]

Re: ball position

The great man jack nicklaus says play em all from the same position as you will get used to e a lot easier than moving it around, now dont forget all coaches and pros bang on about the swing being the same for every club in the bag. Then why would you want to keep moving the position of the ball this will only serve to make things harder than they alredy are, remember try to keep every think as simple as you can