When placing your ball in the tee box, you will be thinking about which side you need to place it and the club you need to use for the desired outcome. However, something many beginner golfers forget to consider is the position of the ball relative to the body.
There are three basic ball positions when playing a golf shot and they relate to the middle of the stance. We have forward, centre and back, with centre seeing the ball placed in the middle of the stance, between the feet.
How you position the ball affects ball flight and we are going to begin by taking a look at how the ball travels with it positioned towards the front of the stance.
Having the ball positioned in the centre of the stance is considered the default position for a golf shot. The ball is placed an equal distance away from both the left and the right foot but when playing the ball forward in your stance you must move your feet and body slightly away from the target so your front foot is closer to the ball than you back foot.
You can slide you feet and body slightly to get into this position instead of simply placing the ball on the ground closer to your front foot.
The biggest impact having the ball forward in your stance is an increase in loft. This happens because the position of the ball in your stance changes the natural loft angle of the club. The face of the club will be pointing further upwards as the club will contact the ball later in the swing.
This lowers the chances of topping the ball but increases the chances of catching the ball fat, meaning the club will dig into the ground first and you will lose distance on the shot.
So, why would you decide to play a shot with the ball forward in your stance?
The real benefit of playing with the ball forward in your stance is the increased loft. This comes in handy when you are close to the green and need to hit the ball high, such as a flop shot for example. There may be a hazard between the ball on the green such as a bunker and you need to clear it to land the ball on the putting surface but have very little distance to play with.
You may wish to play the ball further forward in your stance if you need to hit the ball long and have a tail wind. Getting the ball higher in the air will allow it to travel with the wind and produce a longer shot.
As the forward ball position also reduces the chance of topping the ball, it can be used when playing from the bunker.
Our next article will look at playing the ball towards the back of the stance.
Recent Comments