Jim, who is now using the Peak Performance Golf Swing, had a very good question that I know all of you can appreciate. Among other things, he wanted some advice on ball positioning.
Jim,
You ask that I cover ball position for the long, medium and short irons, Well, here it is, and I will be addressing these positions as for playing normal shots, for right-handers. I use these same ball positions when I play. Note: Because the PPGS stance is a maximum of shoulder wide for the driver, the changing of ball position from the wedges thru the long irons will be the equivalent of no more than a few inches or 2 -3 balls left from center.
For short irons, from the wedges to the 8 or even 7 iron, I believe the ball position should be in the CENTER of the stance.
For mid irons, 6 – 4, the ball will move slightly left toward the left and forward foot, around 1 inch or 1 ball
For the long irons, 3 and 2, which very few players carry anymore even on the PGA Tour, the ball moves another inch , or ball ro the left, which will place it a little inside the left heel. This is also the position that one would play hybrids that replace long irons.
Fairway woods, the 5 and 3 could be played from the same position as the hybrids or could be moved a little more left.
The Driver will be played just about straight off the left heel.
There are a few key points to remember about ball position when you use the PPGS setup of 30 degree flared feet. The first point is that stance width and ball position is determined relative to your ankles and heels, not the toes. This is especially true if you flare one foot more than the other as I do, flaring the front foot at least 15 degrees more. Ball position may look and feel a little more back, relative to its position off the left foot, because with the left foot flared, the heel is closer to the middle of the stance than would be if the foot were pointing straight forward.
The second point to be aware of is, since the left foot is flared and the ball, for many players, will look and feel a little back in the stance, there is a tendency to move the ball more forward in the stance. This will likely lead to hitting thin shots, and/or the upper torso shifting left to get to the ball.
The best practice to learn and check ball position is to place a club or thin stick (many players us a shaft with no head that you can get from a club fitter) on your toe line. Then place another club or thin stick (shows ball position line) perpendicular to the toe line out from the center of your heels toward where the ball will be hit to use as a reference point to learn the view of center ball position. Once you learn center ball position, then you use it to learn the forward ball position to just inside the left heel for the driver. This will give you a good perspective of the total distance the ball moves from the center, for the short irons, to the driver. Once you have a feeling and view of the range the ball moves, then you can hit balls using the ball position line to more clearly and quickly burn the picture in your mind from seeing and feeling the correct ball position as it points out, relative to your left foot.
The Surge!