Golf Ball Position Is Key To Great Shot Making

One of the common traits of good golfers is their ability to hit any type of shot – high, low, fade, draw – and handle any type of uneven or imperfect lie. Watch a good player work on shot making, and you will see that the swing looks essentially the same. The subtle adjustments that allow golfers to control their impact conditions and ball flight can be found in the fundamentals of the setup and start with ball position.

Ball position influences the takeaway and virtually all of the impact factors. When the tour players I work with struggle to hit the ball solidly, ball position is one of the first things I have them check. Proper ball position – combined with the other elements of a good setup – maximizes the natural release of the hands and arms, which allows you to generate more clubhead speed and produce a better impact position.

For normal shots, there are three basic ball positions:

1. Short irons – play the ball about one inch to the left of the center of your stance.
2. Mid-irons – play the ball about two inches left of center.
3. Long irons and woods – three inches left of center, or just opposite the left heel.

The Low Point of Your Swing

Ball position should match the low point of your swing, and should make the clubhead strike the ball before it strikes the ground. This helps you contact the ball crisply and get the proper trajectory on the shot. You can locate the low point of the swing during your practice swing. Just pay attention to where the club naturally hits the ground. Remember that the low point of the swing can change due to many factors. From a downhill lie, for instance, the low point of the swing will be farther back, meaning you should play the ball slightly behind the normal position for the club you’re using. Likewise, an uphill lie calls for a slightly more forward ball position.

Setting Up for Ball Placement

Establish ball position as a part of your standard setup and pre-shot routine. As you visualize the shot prior to hitting it, note the ball flight that you are trying to create. For example, a low shot such as a knockdown or punch shot will require you to play the ball farther back in your stance. If you need a high shot over a tree, you’ll want to move the ball slightly forward in your stance to set up an impact position where the hands will stay just behind the clubhead to create a higher launch trajectory.

Your Game Depends on You

The type of player you are is a factor in determining the correct ball position for you. If your swing is more of an arms swing with minimal lower body activity, the low point of the swing is slightly farther back. This helps you strike the ball with more of a descending blow, which will give you more control of the flight characteristics of the shot.

In general, mastering the normal ball positions for short irons, mid-irons, long irons, and woods will help you develop more consistency in your ball striking and give you better control over ball flight. But be sure to experiment when you practice to see how ball position can help you handle the shot making conditions you will encounter on the golf course.

Tips For Playing Golf In The Rain

You have a tee time at 9:00 a.m. You made the tee time a month in advance at your very favorite course. You’ve been looking forward to a game with good friends. Your clubs are clean and you’re ready to play. But now it’s 7:30 a.m. and a few raindrops have fallen. The sky is full of gray clouds. You’ve turned on the radio and heard that the forecast is mixed–possible showers or thunderstorms. What do you do?

Your first reaction, if you are like most golfers, is disappointment. You’d clearly rather be playing when it’s 70 degrees and sunny or just slightly overcast. However, you’re also thinking that you have a lot invested emotionally in this particular game. You want to play with these friends. It’s your preferred course. “So,” you say, “what the heck? What’s a little rain?”

I’ve listed below some handy tips that will help you have a great round of golf even if it becomes a little wet out there on the course:

If lightning threatens while on the course, take shelter immediately wherever you can. A tunnel or a shed (not under a tree) is a good place to be. Or you can crouch in an open space. Try to take up as little room as possible and get to the lowest piece of ground. Be especially careful not to give lightning something to strike, such as your golf clubs or umbrella. Don’t carry them. Don’t hold them. Put them down somewhere away from your body.

Invest in a good quality rain suit and hat to protect yourself. You’re not going to play well if you’re soaked to the bone. I’ve found that a Gore-Tex suit or something comparable is the best because it keeps out the rain while also allowing the body to breathe. The rain suit should be comfortable. Pants with zippers up the legs help you get the suit on easily over your spikes. You’ll also want one with pockets so that you can easily reach your balls, tees, divot repair tool, and ball markers.

Use a bungie cord stretched across the roofline of the golf cart as a clothesline for hanging extra towels and gloves. You can also use the bungie cords that attach to your portable windshield if you have one. If your grips are wet you run the risk of having your golf club come loose from your hands and fly into the fairway along with your ball. You could hurt yourself or injure someone else (as well as almost guaranteeing that your next shot will be pretty difficult).

Use a plastic windshield on your golf cart. Rain is one thing, but wind and rain together are hard to conquer. Using the windshield will help keep you, your clothes, the seat of the golf cart, and your equipment fairly dry.

If you wear glasses, bring along a baseball cap or “bucket” hat to keep your head and your glasses dry. You won’t be able to play too well if your glasses are fogged up or dripping with raindrops. It helps to carry a couple of extra paper towels along as well.

Make sure you have a rain cover. Most likely one came with your golf bag when you purchased it. Some covers on the market have zippers and are easier to get over your clubs. No matter which cover you choose, be sure to carry it with you at all times.

Carry at least two all-weather synthetic gloves. These gloves will allow you to keep your grip tight even when the gloves get slightly wet. If one set of gloves gets soaked, slip on your extra pair. And, while waterproof shoes are not a necessity, wearing them sure makes a round in the rain a lot more pleasant.

I hope these tips will let you enjoy that long-awaited game of golf.

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Driving Straight

Since the life of many double bogeys (and worse) begins with an errant tee shot on a narrow hole, I’d like to examine a couple effective points that can keep the ball in the short grass a lot more often, thus eliminating the need for trouble shots.

First order of business in hitting a straight drive is to select a club that gives you a reasonably good chance of accuracy. For many golfers, this means using the driver…not the 3-wood, 2- or 3-iron. True, the fairway woods or long irons can be more accurate, but only if you’re familiar with them and have used them enough to exert better-than-average control. For most players, the driver is the second most used club in the bag and the unfamiliarity of the fairway woods and long irons can spell disaster.

Pick a definite target

Pick a definite target in the middle of the fairway and aim at it. This focuses your attention on the target rather than on the trouble, plus it helps you align properly. Next, align properly! Can’t say it any simpler than that.

Finally, swing free and easy. Focus on making a good swing rather than on the result. Did you ever wonder why you can usually hit a great drive on a wide-open hole? Because the tension of getting into trouble is removed by the “safe” margins of the fairway. It sounds easier than it is, but concentrating on the swing rather than the result is a method all good players use.

So, the next time you face a fairway so narrow a dog can only wag his tail up and down, remember:

1. Use your most confident club;
2. Pick a spot in the fairway and aim at it;
3. Align properly;
4. Focus on the swing and not the result.

The top of your game

Many people have trouble topping the ball. While the universal cure-all for consistently hitting the ball in the forehead is “keep your head down,” the reality is that straightening of the knees and upper body is the main cause of striking the ball above its center.

I have several extra-short clubs that I use in my trick shot exhibitions and I have found that practice with a 36″ driver is an excellent way to train the knees and upper body to stay flexed until after impact.

Take an old driver, cut the shaft at 36″ and hit about 25 balls. Then switch to your regular driver and you’ll be amazed at how easy it becomes to stay in position until after impact.