Why proper ball position is so important in the golf swing

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

Fundamentals are vitally important to a solid golf swing — yet they’re also easy to overlook. While they may be the building blocks of a consistent golf game, most recreational players never even give them a second thought.

It’s funny that many weekend warriors think this way, because the pros’ mindset is the exact opposite. Each and every practice session starts with work on the fundamentals. Watch a pro practice and you’ll see what I mean. The first 10 minutes or so when they arrive on the range they’re getting dialed on their basics.

Among these building blocks is ball position. Recently, we’ve talked about how you can find the correct ball position with each club. Today, we turn to GOLF Teacher to Watch Christy Longfield for more on why ball position is so important.

Why ball position matters

Any time you hit a golf ball off the ground, you’re trying to compress the orb between your golf club and the turf. And because every club is a different length (unless you’re Bryson DeChambeau), the low point of your swing will be different depending on the club.

“We want to make sure we have compression of the golf ball on every shot we hit,” Longfield says. “Ball position plays a huge role in that.”

The swing has a natural arc to it, and ideally the low point of that arc will be just in front of the ball (i.e., hitting downward on the ball). But, depending on the club, that low point will be either further back or forward in your stance. That’s where having a consistent ball position becomes important.

For example, with a shorter club — like a wedge — you’ll want to make ball-first contact with a negative angle of attack to hit the most solid shot. In that case, the ball position being more toward the middle of your stance will help you hit the ball more crisply. But if you were to use the same ball position for a driver — a club you want to hit with a positive angle of attack — that same ball position wouldn’t do you much good.

“You would also notice that if you put your pitching wedge or sand wedge up [in your stance], you’re having to make compensations,” Longfield says. “So, practice ball position with every club and check it to make sure that it’s in the optimal position.”

If you’re having trouble making consistent contact throughout the bag, be sure to check your ball position. If you can get it in a consistent spot with each club, it will become much easier to hit solid shots.