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Making sense of ball position

Like a few others I have been mucking around with the ball position recently - just trying to find a way to make it simple on course. When I practice I often use alignment rods and it makes the process pretty simple. I go with the club head off the left heel approach recommended by Tom. On course it is not as simple for some reason so I worked out a method that seems to make it a lot easier for my brain to understand.

I start with a comfortable shoulder width stance and put the pall in the middle. When I stand over the ball my brain can feel the ball is indeed centered and I tested this many times using the alignment rods. Form there when I put some weight on my left side the ball position shifts to my right eye - again I can feel this very consistently, and my club path low point is just ahead of the ball. Then I just keep my left foot in place and move my right back, depending on what club I have in my hand, to get the balance and power position I want.

With this method it makes it easier for me to consistently move the ball forward or back in my stance if I want to move the ball at all - which I am learning to do. This works for pretty much all clubs with the exception of the driver which I still prefer to have more forward. It just feels right and keeps me from hitting the ball to much on the heel.

9 comments

9 Comments

GolfLivesMatter

Dec 17, 2022

Interesting discussion because Nicklaus maintained a constant ball position (or so he illustrated in his books), meaning he aligned the ball to the inside of his lead heel. After that he adjusted his trail foot forward or back pending the length of the club. I'm sure he actually did move the ball around, but in the grand scheme of things it makes sense to position the ball at the low point, which is (more or less) slightly to the right of the lead armpit. Moving the ball around is fine, but IMO one should only do so after one can consistently hit the low point.

bajaralph

Nov 26, 2022

Tom' setup of centering the ball a club width from the left heel and then adjusting the stance for each club by moving the back leg to the right seems to conflict with his system for controlling draws and fades based on moving the ball more forward or further back on the arc of the grid. The latter method works well for shaping shots but it changes one's relationship to the ball, a practice which Tom stresses to avoid.

bajaralph

Nov 27, 2022

Replying to

Setting up with the ball further back for all clubs in my bag is my stock setup now. For me, this yields more accuracy, adds distance because it shallows the club more and also produces a nice draw if I close my stance a bit. For hitting fades try the same setup but open your stance by degrees until you get the desired result. Let me know how it goes.

Tom Saguto

Nov 28, 2022

Replying to

@bajaralph - It should first be noted that the Shot Shaping Course and the Grid are advanced level instruction for golfers who have mastered a consistently good downswing path and solid/crispy impact.

Now, while you do have some leeway, in general once my students and members show some level of proficiency with the swing I suggest that they migrate to a stock ball position that is in the middle of the stance for short irons, two balls inside the lead heel for middle irons, and creeping more forward for the longer clubs - the farthest forward being even with the inside of the lead heel for the driver (with the stance width increasing as we move from shorter to longer clubs). From there they can "invoke the Grid" by making incremental tweaks to see how different positions affect shot shape.

Tom Saguto

Nov 28, 2022

Replying to

@alan_edwards - Here is the Fade lesson from the Shot Shaping Course. Pay close attention to the fact that your hand position does not change - the hands are always even with the inside of the lead thigh regardless of ball position. So for the fade, we move the ball position forward of the zero-point, keep the hands in the stock position, and make our normal swing, trusting that the Grid and our resulting path will impart the appropriate flight plan upon the ball. This is the "Grid Pull-Fade". As @bajaralph suggests, you can also play a push-fade by using the back side of the Grid, aligning your shoulders, hips, and feet to the pull side of the target (where you want the ball to start), aligning the clubface with the target, and then simply making your normal swing along the shoulder line. I demonstrate the push-fade in this YT episode from the archives.

shackle-osmosis.0u

Nov 12, 2022

Thanks for sharing your system for ball placement to control the shot shape. I follow Tom's "grid" system and it translates to the course pretty well so fat. To start, set up with an imaginary ball in line with the Left heel (I'm right handed), then place the ball one club length to the right of that line and open the face slightly and take a normal swing. It should be inside out or neutral but not out to in and gives a straight shot or baby draw. To increase the draw, move the ball to the right, opening up the club face with tracing the path of the "grid" arc making sure that you shallow the club in the downswing. This is the easiest, most consistent method to hit draws that I have encountered. It takes all the guess work out of it. Hitting fades is follows the same system... you just move the ball forward of the "neutral point". I agree that with the driver its not quite that simple. You get more distance placing the ball forward but in my experience that often results in a fade or worse. I think you are supposed to compensate by increasing the forward tilt (the "reverse K") at setup but doing so doesn't work consistently for me yet. I wonder if violating the Stack and Tilt code a bit by momentarily shifting the weight to the right leg on the backswing would help. Suggestions?!

Tom Saguto

Nov 14, 2022

Replying to

Nice job defining the Grid and putting it into action!

It can take a little longer to build in a comfort level with the driver. That's normal. You don't want to increase the forward tilt at setup. Just bump the hips forward a little bit more - while keeping your upper torso in place - so that you get your front leg weight load at around 60%. Also, with the driver push your hands out an inch at setup to encourage more of an around-the-body path needed for that longer shaft.

While there is tolerance for a temporary shift into the trail side in the takeaway, you may ultimately find it to be unnecessary.

Tom Saguto

Nov 11, 2022

Sound like you've engineered that to suit yourself quite well, Alan! This is definitely one of those areas where we need to infuse a bit of our individuality and then let our ball striking and shot shape be our guide.

Nice work, and thanks for sharing your process!!