Golf Tips » July 1997: Address and Ball Position

The Address Position:
For reasons of clarity (because there are left and right handed golfers) I will refer to front and back rather than left or right. The front foot would be the left foot for right handed golfers.

A. Setup:

1. Width of stance – The stance should be approximately the width of the shoulders for the mid-irons. As in Picture #1) Slightly narrower for the shorter clubs and slightly wider for the longer clubs. (Please note the word "slightly")

Picture #1

2. Posture – As you can see from picture #2 the knees are only slightly bent (too much bend causes all sorts of problems with the backswing) and the arms are hanging down vertically from the shoulders. This helps keep any tension out of the arms at the address position. Tension in the arms at address again causes all sorts of problems on the backswing. The spine should be relatively straight and the chin held slightly away from the chest.

Picture #2

3. Hand Position – This is an often neglected position at address. It is important that there is a straight line from the top of the front shoulder to the ball as in picture #2. This sets the hands in the correct position relative to the ball position (covered next). Note: The butt of the club should be over the middle of the front thigh regardless of the club in your hand.

B. Ball Position:

There are three ball positions:

1. The irons – The ball position for all regular iron shots (not low/high/uphill/downhill lies) is about 2" inside the front heel. This automatically sets the hands slightly ahead of the ball and helps give the desired "slightly downward" blow that is required for crisp iron shots.

2. The Fairway Woods – The ball position for the fairway woods is directly off the left heel. This automatically sets the hands even with the ball and helps give the desired "bottom of the arc" blow required for lofted fairways shots.

3. The Driver – The ball position for the driver is off the instep of the front foot. This automatically sets the hands even with the clubhead and helps give the desired "slightly upward" blow required for good tee shots.