Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
There’s a lot that can go wrong during your swing. If you’ve ever played golf, that’s pretty self-evident. Which is why nailing your pre-shot fundamentals is so important.
These pre-shot fundamentals — grip, aim, ball position, etc. — might be boring to work on, but they’re crucial for consistency. Most elements of the swing happen while you are in motion, which makes them extremely difficult to control. With these fundamentals, though, you can make sure they are on point before every swing.
Despite the benefits that come with solid fundamentals, very few recreational golfers focus in on their importance. This is likely because they aren’t flashy or exciting to work on. However, if you can nail them on a consistent basis, you’ll find it much easier to make repeatable swings and get predictable results.
One of the most important pre-shot fundamental is ball position, and in the video below, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Debbie Doniger explains how you can nail your ball position with every club in your bag.
How to get the perfect ball position
Ball position is a crucial fundamental and one that can affect tons with your ball striking. Moving your ball position can affect your swing path and low point (among other things), but most recreational players still tend to ignore it when they go practice.
The good news is that you don’t have to grind for hours on the range to teach yourself the perfect ball position with each club. All you need to do is learn how to consistently step into address for each shot.
What Doniger suggests is that you start with your feet together and the ball directly in line with the center of your stance. Then, take a small step toward the target with your lead foot and an equal size step away from the target with your trail foot.
“That’ll put the ball in the middle pretty much every time,” she says.
This ball position is perfect for the shorter clubs in your bag (think short irons and wedges). But what about when it comes to longer clubs? Well, you want to start with your feet in the same starting position and take a small step with your lead foot. This time with your trail foot, you want to take a slightly larger step back away from the target.
“Now the ball is a little more forward,” Doniger says. “Often time because we are shifting, the low point is in front of the golf ball. This will accommodate us shifting forward.”
As you progress toward longer and longer clubs in the bag, you’ll want the ball position to gradually shift forward. Each time, start with your feet in that same position together and take a small step toward the target with your lead foot. Then you’ll take the step back with your trail foot, and the size of that step will depend on how far forward in your stance you want the ball to be.
“You’re doing the same [process] every time,” Doniger says. “You do that every time, you’ll probably hit the ball a bit better.”
