How does ball position affect your swing? Let’s take a look

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the mechanics of the golf swing. There are countless adjustments you can make in the way you swing the club that will influence how you hit the shot. However, the easiest (and often most effective!) tweaks you can make come before you ever take the club back.

Setup is an easy element of the swing to overlook. It’s not exactly “sexy” to grind over how you stand over the ball. But without consistently nailing this essential element of the swing, you’ll never be in a position to find success.

One element of the setup that is incredibly important is ball position. And while you might think this positioning is mundane, it can drastically impact your swing numbers.

Instructor Adam Young — a terrific follow on X for anyone obsessed with game improvement — recently posted a thread explaining the basics on ball position, and we break it down below.

Ball forward

When you put the ball more forward in the stance, it achieves a couple things immediately. 1) It helps shallow out the angle of attack, and 2) It helps add more dynamic loft to the clubface. This will typically help you hit the ball higher — perfect for someone who struggles to increase the apex of the shot.

Along with the elements highlighted above, moving the ball position forward also affects the club path as it comes into the ball. Typically when you put the ball more forward in the stance, your club path will be more to the left.

Ball back

With the ball further back in your stance, you will see the opposite effects of those listed above. You’ll get a steeper angle of attack and lower dynamic loft, resulting in a lower ball flight.

Additionally, with the ball position at the back of the stance you will also have a club path that is more out to the right.

Which is better?

There’s no hard-and-fast rule when it comes to optimal ball position. It all depends on your swing and what you’re trying to do with any given shot. It’s normally recommended that you put wedges just behind the middle of your stance and then move the ball forward a bit for every longer club.

For best results, do some experimenting yourself. Start with the ball in the middle of your stance and move it forward and back with every club, noting how the ball reacts. After a little practice, you’ll understand the nuances of ball position and how to change it for the best results for your swing.