Ball Position Mistakes That Nobody Tells You!
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- The subject of Ball Position in golf doesn't get much attention, but it plays a significant role in how you deliver the club to the ball and the resulting shot that you hit.
Ball position should not be set in stone. Instead, ball position is a variable and should be used to manage your swing path and intended shot shape which we can do with the Stack & Tilt GRID system which I explain in more detail here (and also show you how to build it) - • Video
The biggest mistake made with Ball Position happens with the Driver and comes about because people are incorrectly using the FEET as the reference point for measuring their ball position. The correct place to measure the Ball Position from is the lead shoulder, as this is the centre of the swing.
In this video, I'll demonstrate this common error and show you how to measure the Ball Position correctly to help you improve the quality and consistency of all your shots.
🎥 OTHER BALL POSITION & GRID VIDEOS CAN BE FOUND ON THIS PLAYLIST - • Playlist
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#golftec #gridlife #stackandtilt
Robby. I’m surprised the subscribers count isn’t 27 million. Your instruction videos are literally the best out there. My game has gone from zero to hero. Thanks! Keep up the great work!
What about same length clubs...like the guy on the tour lol
감사합니다.
Brilliant
This video just solved my driving issues. Much appreciated!
This channel is very good. i have one question. Should I have a wide stance on the 5 irons and a narrow stance on the 9 irons? Or should all irons have the same stance width?
This video came up on my feed via UA-cam algorithm and I am so glad I watched it. I typically struggle with hitting hard draws or hooks with my irons but with my driver and fairway woods the issue I have is controlling the slice. If I align the ball position relative to just my heel (Where my perception of the ball position to my shoulder may be off) I tend to slice. If I align the ball position to an 1 inch or so inside my right arm (left handed golfer) then I tend to hit my driver and fairway woods straight or with a draw. This video explained why that is so important. Thank you!
Excellent tip and something to focus on
Can’t say enough how I appreciate this lesson. Never knew that really. Thank you very much.
I have recently started to hook my drives and thought my ball position was spot on. Now I’ll try your advice and look at the ball position relative to my left shoulder. Thanks Rob
I am still amby this video. I mist of watched 4 times since it came out. I hit all my irons striaght even my hybrids. As soon as I get to driver out of 10 swings 5-6 slice. I have been doing it all wrong. Amazing thank you can't say it enough.
So how do you hit in to out and up?
Nick Taylor suggests that to hit a fade, play the ball forward which he says open the face to the target but closed to the swing path. I do not understand this. I do understand by placing the ball slightly back in my stance and opening the face a couple of degrees I can hit a draw. Given that, closing the face, playing the ball slightly forward should produce a fade. Is this true? Thanks.
i would like to know where the ball position of armpit is at contact for all of the clubs as some people do not move through the swing and some do move fwd to target . i was just hitting my driver perfectly straight then without realizing it i moved the ball too far fwd . and started to hook everything . moving the ball back to just inside of left foot straightened it out . i didnt take notice to armpit position or arms to target .
Great stuff I do tend to push to the right, with driver. I’ll be more detailed at address with shoulder and ball position. Thank you
This is exactly the information I was looking for!
Great tips! Thanks!
So, for a driver, based on your explanation of the front shoulder position to the ball, the entire upper body should lean so the front shoulder is lined up with the ball. Where should the end of the club be pointing using a driver? Towards your front hip? And what about the club face? Should the face always point to parallel to the shoulders or if farther back in your stance should it point to the right and farther forward in your stance to the left ? thx
This is so helpful! I’ve got 2 take is mind thought out 2 the range tomorrow! Thanks again!
Definitely an aha for me. Never thought about the left shoulder. I keep looking at my feet for alignment thinking it looks good but your video makes so much sense, thank you.
This was excellent
This actually explains a lot of the issues I've had recently with my driver.
This is spot on Rob, i've just started varying my ball position to control shot shape. Always had it miles too far forward and could only hit low bullet fades low in the face with my driver!
This is brilliant thank you. For me this issue was somewhat disguised because I tee it up like Moe with my clubhead positioned about a foot behind the ball. I see now that this makes it easy to let the position shit a bit without really noticing it. I can't wait to take this to the range. Much appreciation.
Should I keep 100% of my weight on front foot, but tilt shoulders back?
@@golftecasia lots of pull lefts now
Going through too good :(((
Jack Nicklaus hit everything off his left heel at set up
@@golftecasia Also when you move to your left side in your swing the ball moves back without moving .
I’m 65 years old and have only been golfing a little over a year. I have a bad slicing problem and am looking forward to applying what you presented tomorrow on the course. I’m now certain that I’ve been playing the ball way to far forward in my stance.
Russ...my situation is similar to yours .....I can hit my irons fairly straight , but slice my driver badly ...let me know if you figure anything out...Robs videos are great.!!!...thanks
Rob, I played a round of golf today with stack and tilt for the first time after two range sessions. Quite pleased and a bit amazed. The improvement in consistent contact was great. 44-38 for a total of 82. Not record setting for sure but more than reasonable considering my lack of experience and training with this swing. I found there are 3 certified stack and tilt instructors in my area in Sarasota, FL. I will be scheduling a lesson next week. Wish you were in Florida instead of Singapore. Thanks for your excellent videos.
@@golftecasia I had a lesson today with Cathy Schmidt in Sarasota, FL. She was very, very good. Thanks to your videos, I had made nice progress already. Cathy tweeked my grip, caught some slight head movement backward in the backswing and made some significant improvement in my footwork, especially getting to a full follow through at the finish. I'll be seeing her again. And by the way, I've shot my 3 best scores for this last year of 75, 72 and 76 in the past week. That's a testimony to your videos, kind of amazing actually.
I’m erratic on fairway woods and Hybrid strikes. Some people say position the ball for fairway woods just inside the lead foot a couple of ball widths and for the hybrids to position the ball over the logo of your golf shirt. For the fairway woods some say sweep the ball and some say hit it like a iron shot? For hybrids some say the same thing. I’m having mixed results trying both but I seem to have better results sweeping the fairway and hybrids instead of striking them like I would an iron.
This could be the reason for the slump I’m in with my driver and woods. Can’t wait to experiment with this at the range!
Wow this has been my issue. Any other clib I can hit straight and my driver every other shot.is a sloce.I have been positioning ball to my heel not my shoulder wow. Thank you. Great video
Rob, great lesson. For driver, I tilt to the right which brings my left shoulder further behind my left foot at address. That makes neutral ball position just forward if middle which seems too far back. Should I play the ball there or tilt less and put more weight on my left foot to bring the neutral ball position more forward? Thanks.
Coach, here's a specific, detailed question based on this explanation and proper swing geometry: if ball position is relative to shoulder, where should the tangent line of the grid align relative to the shoulder joint? Is it dead center for a zero degree impact and toward the armpit for in to out impact? Thx
Great
Quite an interesting eye opener. Thanks a lot for this very well made video. Does GolfTec only provide indoor teaching lessons or are you also available at a range in Singapore?
Brilliant thanks Rob.
What is the correct position for the driver shaft ? I thought it was towards the centre of the body but looking at your position it looks more of the left inside thigh.
Thanks
@@golftecasia thanks for the reply
Jack Nicholas: The GOAT said there is 1 ball position.
I played today & used this idea once again. It seems to be accurate. I thank you for posting this . Do you have any thoughts on useing Top Spin like in Tennis to keep the ball flight straight . I've had night mares about my Slice.
@@golftecasia No , just self taught I prefer online instruction so I can go over it as often as I want to & review . Thanks.
You have to watch tee height when teeing the ball back further in your stance It's easy to get to steep and hit the ball to high on the face or worse. If you sway forward you will sky it, so finding the optimal ball position to get some height on the ball as well as avoiding the slice is key for me with driver...
Can't wait to get back to practicing and playing, but it will be a while. Going for a surgical consult Tuesday for hip replacement. Have a torn labrum, bone spurs, and arthritis. Not to mention a stress fracture of my sacrum. Not asking for a pity-party, just good vibes!
Thank you sensai
Great insight Rob!
But what about the stance. I have the same stance for all my clubs except driver & putter. Should we have a more narrow stance with shorter clubs?
I assume there would be a correlation between the two.
What is the difference when I hit outside in path , sometimes ball go ďirect to the left side. But sometimes ball go slice? Is it cause the ball position? Thank you.
@@golftecasia thanks for your help.
If your spine angle is tilted to the right as in a typical driver setup, the ball will ALWAYS be outside your leading shoulder. This tip is for mid to high handicap players, not for advanced players…ask Rory
Is the shoulder position measured from the arm pit or the outside edge of the lead shoulder?
This might be the eureka moment I’ve been looking for. Would be going to the range if it weren’t Father’s Day lol
Wouldn't moving the ball back promote a downward or negative angle of attack..
How much adjustment do you do to the club face when you change the ball position
Does Tee height change, notice your ball is level to the top of the driver or a little above but not Half...
I 100% disagree. Putting ball even with left heel/toe will NOT produce an "out to in path". Relative to clubface tells the ball where to go. Thus ball further forward does not change in to out path atol. It will only chang if you take club OUTSIDE or straight back. My ball is off left heel/toe and I have a 10-12 yard draw. Simply make sure your left hand is BOWED.
From an amateur expert point of view which I attempted to share your expertise on ball position. This expert claimed that due to body mechanism not the same and hand, leg and the swing, your way of basic golf technique isn’t always work for every golfer. Which means there is no standard basic in golf as kindly demonstrated by you. Could you confirm and elaborate that golf basic does has standard such as you mentioned or others. Thanks
I fade. I've moved the ball back w driver, but then I feel awkward and hit bad shots off the tee. But I'll keep trying bc fading is not fun.
How do you factor in side bend at setup? For driver I thought we should tilt slightly to the trail side have a more upward impact position. Do you compensate by shifting more weight on lead foot? would you say 70% weight on your lead foot?
Why not the sternum? I've heard left shoulder and I've heard sternum. Personally, I fee I have more success using the sternum as the ball position reference point. In reality, I suppose it's probably a combination of the sternum and the lead shoulder, when both arms come together to grip the club.
You are prescribing a weight shift forward to get the shoulder in line with the ball. Really not a ball position tip per se. Seems like a change with significant ramifications, as opposed to a simple ball position change. You mention stack and tilt as well… is this that?
The ball position with the driver would have to take into account the forward hip movement and upper torso tilt as per the wrench drill video?
hi Rob if you move your weight 100% to your lead side by moving your lower body foreward and your shoulders are back and tilted with your driver is your lead sholder ok being behind the ball beacuse it can never be over the ball how do you overcome this schenario ?
Hi Rob. Thanks for this. How do we know the lead shoulder is ahead of the ball when we are at address?
"If you are a hooker..." I hope you don't get caught while hooking. 🤣 Sorry about that, couldnt help myself. Thanks for the informative video
Iron ball position. I moved the ball back in my stance on my irons and increased my consistent ball striking and distance increased. Moved my ball position back into the center of my stance and haven’t hit well since. I hit in a simulator over the weekend and with pitching wedge through 7 iron my ball position was in the middle of my stance and moved it forward 6, and 5 irons and 3 wood. Playing to warm up on the driving range in the morning before my round and plan to move my ball position slightly behind middle and up. On my swing monitor data my club face and swing path indicates a out to in (over the top swing). Let you know how this helps me change my club path more in to out.
Rob when hitting a 3 wood off the tee where should the ball position be relative to your shoulder .Thanks
Place the ball way back and see what happens, then you play around with it. There is no right and wrong , ball flight is the proof
Hi, I'm a 10 Hcp but I top on occasion. Why?
Bha ha then you are the only 10 handicapper in history to be topping the ball🤣🤣🤣
Is it fare to assume that for shorter wedges the ball should be aligned to the outside shoulder for right handed golfers?
@@golftecasia Thanks for the advice Rob!
Videos often lead with "what nobody is telling you," but this one actually delivers. I have never heard the shoulder, rather than the foot as a guide for ball position. Nice!
Excellent explanation of ball positions! I have a draw set up and because of this I play my driver ball position around the left armpit. Fairway woods are a ball to two balls left of center, mid-irons one ball left of center, short irons at a center position. As you state, it's a preferred position. Golfers should appreciate your suggestion that they find their own ball position. Well done Rob!!!
I went to Golf Galaxy today as a bad "slicer" to see the computer data and mechanics of my swing. I hit irons well, so the frustration was always with the driver. 210 balls later and I have changed my grip some and I am hitting the driver from center stance (rather than the forward stance everyone has been telling me,) with a draw and consistent length down the middle. This should shave nearly 10 strokes from the game. I came back to research if I was on to something and here you are, corroborating what I believed to be true (for my build.) Now you have a new subscriber.
Rob, very useful video 👏
Went to the range today and worked through all clubs in the bag - driver through PW and applied your concepts to get rid of my slice tendency. All session I've been hitting nice draws with great contact and ease. Yardage dispersion is a lot tighter too. All this with no technical change to my swing!
Can't wait to hit the course. Thanks a million.
Question - do you have ball position guidelines on putting too??
👌
This concept explains so much about what causes our bad shots. Well done!
Great video on a very overlooked topic. In the video, it almost looked like you changed the ball position relative to your lead shoulder by reducing your tilt at setup. I always thought side tilt with the driver was desirable. Is that not something you advocate?
Hi Rob - a great video. Before watching this video I was convinced my ball position when hitting the driver was correct however I had developed a hook and found most of my drives landing in the left rough. I got to the course yesterday and checked your point about the lead shoulder. I adjusted the ball position slightly and was much straighter and found 8 out of 13 fairways. Thanks.
Another to video Rob. Used it along with 2 or 3 others as a bit of revision before playing 18/3/23 as I've only had 2 rounds this year. Result, felt good on the range, shot 73 (+1) and felt so.confident. Keep up the great work, Cheers, Fraser.😊
Very interesting and well explained. My most frustrating miss with driver is a sky ball, usually a hook, which is either a lost ball or less than 100 yards down the fairway. Any suggestion about set-up fault that could cause this? Thanks Rob
Try setting up your driver to the right of the tee. That worked for me.
Mr Cheney Sir, "Angels & Demons". Firstly, you pro's were all born with the ability to stike each ball perfectly, and therefore cannot really understand the true reason why we amatuers just can't do the same, no matter what. We've been watching for the past 100+ years UA-cam videos telling us about different ball positions for different clubs, but all of them are MISSING THE POINT! Question - how come you pro's can hit perfect shots (especially playing on the course) no matter where your ball position is, and we amatuers are always hitting our usual disasters no matter how carefully we have placed the ball at the perfect position? Answer - it is because the little angel in the pro's' head tells him that the ball position has moved, and so he just makes the necessary adjutments to his swing and hits a perfect strike, yet again. Vice versa, for us, different ball positions changes nothing, because the little demons in our heads also tell us that THE BALL POSITION HAS MOVED, and so we also make all the necessary swing compensations to duff/thin/shank our shots every time without fail. So, what can we do to change our little demons to angels? Endless practice just won't do it. Is the answer simply to tell our little demons to keep quiet so that we don't know that the ball position is different for each club? ie 'same' swing arc and low point for all ball positions? Or is it much more complicated than that? (You are the first pro that I've put this question to. Hope I've made myself clear.)
14 degrees, wow. I'm definitely going to try moving the ball position around with my driver.
Man this is excellent one issue I'm having is body posture/ position like how much knee flex vs how much bent over i should be I've been experimenting with erratic results proper ball postion might indeed help i have trouble adjusting from short clubs to long clubs ill start smoking my long irons then can't hit my short and vice versa its very frustrating lol
Great video .. no one ever explained this before . Could you please go through hybrids and awkward lies and ball positions .
This video has caught me at the perfect time. I have been thinking about this exact thing. The bottom of the arc has to be where your left arm pit is.
Rob. Never heard of the shoulder positioning. Like most of the comments, I use the front heel as my guide with the driver. My biggest problem is launching the ball too high with my driver. Sometimes in the mid-20's launch angle and lose crazy distance and too much spin. Will the shoulder position help with the angle & spin?
Very interesting video. I'm a senior golfer (81 y/o) who uses a 12*, senior flex driver. I've always had trouble with getting my drives on a higher trajectory (hence the fixed 12* head). I now get lots of height but very little rollout. I was recently watching a video on gaining a little more distance and realized that I'm teeing the ball up placed at the leading heel causing lots of center face hits and the high trajectory. I've been moving the ball back 4"-5" and taking my normal swing and making impact closer to the top of face. The ball now has a lower trajectory and getting some decent rollout with improved overall distance., I've also been using an open stance (Eureka Swing) which relies on moving the ball pretty much to the center of the stance, particularly with irons. Should I try and move for my ball position driver closer to the middle of my stance. Thanks for the great info regarding ball position.
I have found that as I move the ball further back in my stance with driver, I'm hitting down on the ball which is messing with my launch/spin. What's the fix for me?
I tried this today on my round and the results were pretty darn straight. I'll keep working at it
Rob ,
Since I watched this video my ball is MUCH straighter . The distance will come later .
Thanks again, John L.
brilliant ,I think that's been my problem ,going to the range to practice ,thanks
Too complicated,better off with the Ben Hogan method
Always fought a fade/slice played off 6 at my best . Few years off through injuries to my left knee. Latest snapped ACL. Struggling to get anywhere near my normal distance with driver. Tried hitting up no different. My carry is awful only 210 yards.. seem to hit my 3 wood better. Gone to a 12' Loft Driver no better. I feel I need a better smash factor to max a poor swing speed due to the knee. What would you suggest.
thanks, you just solved my slice issue!!!
This is Valuable infromation. Many thanks.
Great stuff ,Rob. could you talk about ball positio/shoulder with irons? I can't hit a 3 or 4 irion anymore but i am still inconsistent with my 5 and 6 often fatting them.
Great drill Rob!!!
Many Thanks, Stavros
Best information ever!
🤯. Why does that make perfect sense? I'm going to stop moving my ball about my next round. That directly relates to what Jack Nicklaus said in golf my way 50 years ago. And who doesn't want to emulate Jack?
I will try this sure thank you
Great video.
Left shoulder mobility issues, I'm 55 and short about 5ft 5 my driver is 43' I'm pretty much consistent about 200 straight on average, can hit it at 237 but that's probably within 2 out of 10 times but I want to increase my distance.
If I set up am I right thinking that if I slightly put my right foot back this would help with my swing?
This was great! Super helpful in helping me understand something I had all wrong. Thanks
Great stuff and great video…on the last swing, I would think the only way you make that ball draw is to close down the club face, no? Or else, you should have a club face that is pretty square to the path which is going far to the right, resulting in a straight push…If your club face is closed to the club path with the ball on your back foot, and did that same swing with the ball under your left shoulder, you’d more than likely hook it, no?
@@golftecasia So the follow up would be is it preferred to then open your stance to the line and play the straight push, or to shut the face more to still get the draw? Is there a preferred way? Is it based on preference or situation?
Senior golfer here and Robby's point is well taken. I'm come from an extremely closed position with an in to out path e.g. Jim Venetos. By moving the ball position for driver back in my stance, I can get to it better with more consistency and square the face with nice drives. Move it up to the inside of the left heel and it's a struggle. Thanks for for confirming my doubts and letting me know it's okay to do it.
Otherwise all good, but you did not address angle of attack. Move it back, in addition to getting more in to out, you will also get steeper impact (aoa may even be down) at the ball. This will increase backspin and in case of slightly open clubface it will also exacerbate sidespin ie slice. The key to really get upward aoa and not come out to in is to move your swing path ie address alignments and body tilt. In a way that the club would be travelling upwards and neutral to slightly in to out (relative to target line) during impact. That will kill your excessive spin and eliminate the slice as well. How it is done: feet / stance slightly closed, slight tilt away from target and tilted shoulder plane on impact (ensuring level shoulders don’t sweep across the ball).
@@golftecasia how is this possible, please explain the mechanics? Assuming swing bottoms under your left shoulder, and any upward aoa absolutely requires the shoulder-arm-club unit to be travelling upward at impact (note: flipping clubhead up & loft increase does not produce positive aoa - only upward movement relative to bottom of swing before impact does this). Assuming you get positive aoa off of your backfoot. How are you getting swing bottomed out before the clubhead reaches your backfoot?
You are absolutely right, not the foot but the shoulder!!!! Never heard this version of the right ball place.
Thank you, nail on the head, great tip and saved me a few sleepless nights!
Mr. Cheney,
Your golf intellect is deep.
After 30 years in management, I learned that all problems are most easily solved when they are thoroughly understood/stated.
The devil is in the details.
Nearly all other golf instructors can be categorized as: If one were to wade into the depth of mens' minds, he'd scarcely get his feet wet.
I'm going to try this on the weekend thank you