Ball Position For A Peak Performance Golf Swing

MarilynChipping from about 50 in to the green requires heaps of practise, I'll be honest and say the time spent should be twice that on the range. In fact
I spend at least 3-4 times a week on chipping & putting, 1-2hour  sessions.
These two elements are totally a "FEEL" part of the game and can't be grooved any other way. Usually I can get a ball inside 1M from off/around the green, but this is only because I have sacrificed the range time for
chipping/putting. I'm lucky in that I go after work and practise a lot, mainly
to clear the head and have some fun.     

Reminds me of a story from circa 1974..........
When as a teenager I lived in the Bahamas for four years I was barefoot much of the time. Another boy and I got a little side job stripping a tile floor. We were using some kind of strong acid based liquid supplied by the home owner. They left us to our work fr the day and we had at it. i was barefoot. Before this job I had some seriously thick callouses on the bottoms of my feet. Two hours later as we cleaned up and were finished i noticed my feet were a bit soft and sensitive to walking on the hot pavement and beach. Hmmnn......
Took a look and noticed my feet were clean and fresh and as soft as a babies butt. The only thing that protected me were the thick layers of dead skin and calouses a I had built up from continuous barefoot lifestyle. Needless to say i had to where slaps (slippers) for a while until my feet recovered.
Painless, fearless and dumb as most 17 year old boys are:)

Yes I do. My favorite place to shop is Ebay. The cost is generally fair and they bring it right to your door. Here's a link to several on Ebay. Good hunting.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...

I saw one with a spot for card and ball at $79.00. That's a little steep, but you have a very special occurrence that most of us Never Achieve. Congrats again.

Robert, There's a message there somewhere, ie "See a Pro before your Throw",
preferably a PPGS Pro as well, otherwise you'll spend about another five years
before you get the wake-up-call, lol.
  

Yes, of course because it was sprinkling and not seriously raining it was enough to keep most golfers away. I told Cindy when we were debating the weather that it would turn out okay. Sure enough the winds calm down and the 'rain' was intermittent. We got a little wet, not bad. Felt a bit like Miami. Had a good time anyway and were never pushed or waited for anybody. Rare. After living on the north coast of Oregon, rain? What rain?

 I disagree with the theory. there is no logic to changing the ball position based on the club length. The bottom of the swing arc is in the middle of the stance. The only exceptions are, if the ball is tee'd up or in a bunker where you must make ball contact first and in some chipping situations. Otherwise for a ball on the ground, from a 3 wood to a lob wedge, keep it in the middle of the stance.

I find that when I pull left it,s always because I go into the SBg on my bus. Make sure you,re verticle!

Keep at it  Marilyn, you never know if the next par 3 might just be YOUR  hole in one just like Tina had. I love your diligence. Good luck

Robert;

Do you spot align in your process.  On the tee box, I always pick 2 ground spots first, I then tee the ball on this clearly visible line and align parallel left to it. On ground shots I always look for two ground spots, one ahead and one behind the ball line, and do likewise with parallel left. Often as a 3rd step I will lay the club against my upper thigh's to see where it's pointing.

As you say, we can even use our club on the ground if we desire. Just pick it up and toss it aside before swinging at the ball. That's not much different than the caddies lining up the pro's and stepping away just before the swin.

I have a tee time in about 90min, looks like rain/storm heading our way. I'll be playing the next 3 days, weather permitting. I played Monday, had a 47 with 7 three putts. Seven 3-putts, that sucks the big one. Time for some attention to putting practice. Constantly playing on  courses with different greens and speeds does not help, but seven 3-putts still suck

PYP:  Practice your putting

You may get lots of advice on how to stop pulling the ball BUT if I were you
I would start with your set up, especially the ALIGNMENT.
I would beat the farm (if I had one) that you are lined up way right assuming your a righty. Many golfers line up so far right of target that they instinctively have to pull it to be anywhere close to at the target. When you practice, always make sure you have an alignment rod (or lay down a club). When you play and pull a shot always lay your club down by your feet after the shot to see if you were aimed parallel left of the target or right of. Most compound their pulls by aiming even further right to avoid left. That simply gives you more pulls. Remember Golf is often a game of appearant opposites. If you want to stop hitting them left (pulls) start making sure you're aimed far enough left, yes aim more left.
As Surge preaches, " 90-95% of all poor results are because of alignment."
     Additional thoughts on a 'helper routine';
When you play, after you are set up and ready to swing stop and lay the club down at your foot line BEFORE you swing. Correct the problem before it happens.
Also, make sure your knees, hips, and shoulders are evenly parallel with your FEET too. We can have our feet nicely parallel left but our upper body aimed too far left relative to our feet, especially off the tee and with the long irons,woods and hybrids because the ball is more forward in our stance and we are "Xed" as Surge says (feet right and shoulders left). Notice I'm still talking about correct alignment as your #1 pull cure.
    Get back to us and let us know what you discover about your actual alignment, not how you think you are aligned.
If it's not alignment then you can move on to the other 5-10% of the possible reasons and cures which would still likely be set up related.
PMG

Ps. There and dozens of articles and blog discussions on alignment and pulling to be found on this site in the archives. Look over at the right side of this page and you'll see the 'search' box.

Edit; Did think of one more issue and that is lie angles. If you are often hitting pulls with one or more club(s) you may need your lie(s) adjusted more flat. This is one of the most ignored and unrecognised possibilities. Especially if you pull or push a particular (or several but not all ) club(s) in your bag. It is cheap and really important for all golfers to ocassionally have thier lies checked. You may be making great swings and not know it is your lie angle(s) causing your direction challenges. Too, if you have a "favorite" club, it is also likely that the lie is perfect but a pure coincidence. You don't need a complete and expensive fitting to find out if your lies are off.

BTW It has been noted that most amature golfers push the ball right of target more than pull and therefor they likely would benifit from more upright lies.
See video below-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

I want to understand your recommendation SGW. You want Cindy to see if I am keeping my eyes parallel to the choosen line?

Like Lynn, if I ever get a hole-in-one, I will be ecstatic with or without a witness. The last few days out on the course, I've been reminded just how much work I need to do to get back into a good rhythm. Stress really kills your golf swing.

I'll third that emotion guys. Really hoping we get an announcement soon for an event this fall.

Yes I was going to take Ginko Biloba for memmory improvement but kept forgetting to take it.
I'll be interestted in your results between the two grips.

Congrats Tina. I have never gotten one, but have witnessed two by others in my foursome, both about 150yds or so.

You need to buy or have a hole in one display plaque made for it.

Congratulations, Tina!

Though not wanting to I must have been channeling you yesterday. I had the same putting woes. Too many greens in reg with three putts that followed. I do go through phases of up and down results on the greens but I am ready to put my old reliable (not) back in the garage and buy a long putter for the first time. After that the only one left to try will be a face on long putter. I think it has alot to do with my eyes. As I like to say, "can't see close, can't see far but at least my hearing is failing."
Hope Billy Chrystal was right that "it's not how you feel(add see, and hear) but how you look. "
As for alignment, I like your idea of picking two spots ahead and behind. I do pick a spot but seriously because my sight and new glasses have me almost vertigo on the course I benifit from laying down a club before the swing most. Put 'em on take e'm off . try with glasses, try without. Ugh! Hell, I may start laying my putter down on the line before my putts! Hmmmnnn...... that's actually a good idea, especially on the lmid to longer ones.

Yeah, the rain never got very hard, and one of the many great things about Chamois grips is you don't have to worry about slippage from them getting wet. :)

WOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WaaaaaaHooooo!!!!!!!!
Awesome Tina! Way to go!

I have still not had an ace. The cosest I've experienced is the 8 chip ins I have had from 10 yards to 150. Most recently from 45 yards at muni two months ago on # 2. Maybe yet before I check out:)
Again a big congrats!!!!!!

Thanks, yes,,,I know practise, practise!!  I will keep at it for sure!  I miss allot of pars, not getting close to the pin on the darn chip shot.

Happy 4th!

I will back at it Thursday,,

Aye laddie, tis a sad day indeed! Were it not for thy good name, we could scarsely believe at all. But believe we shall, and strive we shall, till we all might have one of our own. 

Empty your browser's cache, restart and try again. That may fix it for you. Most of us see the videos just fine, but sometimes system junk can cause problems for individual viewers.

Solid day at the Greenbrier for DJ. Nice work recovering from a couple holes where things went south. Keep grinding, Deej. We're with you.

Yes. It isn't easy to learn right away, but the benefits can lead to successful putting. A poor stroke can make putts when the eyes are lined properly and a great stroke can misfire when they aren't.

I found out years after the fact that a lesson I gave had a profound influence on a player that became a two-time player of the year.

EDIT: Posted on the wrong comment.

Also, as a Vegas resident, I'm hopeful things will come together for the fall event again. I know the Trahan family has had a lot of setbacks this year, though.

Sorry for the bad vibrations. On another note got home from golf about an hour or so ago and the Enlow was in the mailbox. I have it installed already. I sure do love the air compressor method. I originally thought I'd put it on a mid iron for trial, but after holding it and getting a feel of the grip, it's on the driver. I am anxious to try it out tomorrow now.

In regards to the size, he was a bit off in my opinion. The butt end is 1" and the head end about 1 1/4". It does feel rather large in the hands, almost like a baseball bat. These are a little more expensive than yours, so I hope yours feel as good. The other thing is, or will be, how well they do in play.

Now, as to laying a club down while putting, even just for alignment and then removing it. I'm not sure about the legalities. Does it have anything to do with the rule about not touching the line of putt etc.... I know the caddies line the Ladies up on the green. I'm just not sure and would like to here from some one who knows for sure.

PMG

Thanks Surge for your advice regarding ball positions. This has troubled me for all time as many coaches say that you should reduce the distance between your feet as you move from woods to your wedges. Your advice is much easier to follow.

Thanks, Steve.

I guess my barefoot friend has primal wisdom. His feet, apparently, have become conditioned. Depending on the course and the marshall, he keeps his flip flops handy just in case "footwear" is required. 

Seriously, how does a person play/walk 9 or 18 holes in the Sierra foothills without any shoes?

Let's see: 

1. Don't walk the hot, paved cart path. 
2. Have plenty of beer handy. 
3. Consume beer as needed.
4. Do not hit out of bounds.

5. _________________________?

Jim, I play quite a few rounds as a single since I go out in the heat of the day when most sane people are sitting inside with a cold one. ;0)

I'm convinced that, if and when, the golf gods ever smile on me with an ace I will be playing alone.  I'm fine with that because I and the Man upstairs witnessed it.  I'm really not interested in any recognition for it, just the satisfaction of knowing I was fortunate on one shot. 

Afterall, golf is about honesty.  I've always said you can find out more about someone in a round of golf than you would knowing them for years.

 Congratulations,Tina, I can only imagine your elation when peering into the cup! Well done, Ma'am!

Hadn't thought about the touching the line aspect. Im sure you're right and it's a no no.
Enlow grips sound cool.
Did you say you ordered a Jumbo Max too? Now that's a base ball bat thickness. love 'em.

I have question on ball position I hope someone can answer. Our tee boxes are not level. They have a 2-3 degree (maybe more) slope to them so the ball is below your feet. If I'm using the driver how do I hit that? Should I move it back toward the right foot? I have a problem hitting off the toe on these tee boxes.

Surge...The info on ball position was great.  Please review the hand/arm position as I believe it's responsible for inconsistencies in my results.  Thanks and Happy 4th!

Kevin in Naples, FL

Amen Steve.

I saved the ball AND the scorecard, any suggestions on where to look for a plaque or similar???

Robert....

Awesome explanation on ALINGMENT!

My biggest headache, but improving with Dave's and Surge's suggestion from clinic

Phillip

BRIAN,

Good advice from Robert, also if the rest of the page loads, just scroll down a few lines below the black picture to where it says (IN GOLD) if you can't see the video click here. Give it a try, it might allow you to see it.  Good luck

Absolutely, DJ's over all game was better today. Had several one putts after good approaches or recovery chips. Nice two putts too. Was leaving short 1-2 footers after his birdy attempts. Only one bad hole really. Great to see and let's hope for a good Friday.

Don't change the ball position. Just flex your knees more rather than bending more at the waist. That should keep you balanced rather than over-balancing forward which causes you to fall back as you swing to keep from falling onto the ball.

Thanks Surge,   played pretty good today, had fun!   I think I forgot about wedge thru seven in middle.   Sometimes for some reason the ball gets up front a little to much.  Once last night and once today I did hit my my sand wedge to fat!   Maybe ball to far in front and maybe I was dipping???   I use my sand wedge allot to chip up, what do you think of that.  If I hit my pitching wedge anywhere from 50 under, I go over the darn green.   Chipping is hard to learn.   Last night was the first time in five years I played with a group of women in a little outing.    Always thought I was not good enough, well, guess what, IM!!!  There were 12 women, picked numbers, our group got one, so, guess who had to tee off first, me, I hit the ball good, right down the center.   I thought oh dear, but, just kept my eye on the back of the ball.  

Anyway, to much talking, thanks for all of your help, think I will go back next Monday night again.   They did a match play, of course I know nothing about that, but, it was fun.

marilyn