Is consistency an issue in your game?

The 2009 golf season is in full swing (pun intended) and you are already challenged with the lack of consistency in your game. A well played golf shot is accompanied by a handful of less than desirable strokes. You are not alone in having more variety in your results than you would like.

The very best players in the world spend hours on the range working to achieve perfection but settle for a degree of consistency. They focus on fundamentals to obtain the desired results. Golf ball position is a key fundamental which we will address here. The position of the golf ball in your stance is the most often neglected item in the set up and execution of the golf shot for many amateurs. Let’s agree that in your “tool kit” on the golf course, your golf bag, you have 13 “hammers” that are all different in length, loft and lie (we will exclude your putter for this discussion). The lie is the degree of angle from the shaft to the ground at address. With your driver you have the most length, least loft and least number of degrees in the lie; your wedges have the shortest length, the most loft and largest number of degrees in the lie.  All of these various lengths and lies require that you stand different distances from the golf ball at address. The various lofts coupled with the length of each golf club determine the distance you are able to “fly” the golf ball. Confused yet?

Added to this set of variables and in order to play good golf shots consistently, you must also alter the golf ball position in your stance at address. Fortunately there are not 13 different suggested golf ball positions in your stance. There are always exceptions to every suggested “best practice”, but here are the customary golf ball positions to utilize with each golf club. For your driver it is important to play the golf ball forward in your stance, which is slightly inside the big toe of your forward foot, left foot for right-handers and right foot for right-handers. With the least loft in your set, the driver requires that even though the ball is on a tee that you strike the golf ball on a sweeping and upward motion. Having the ball this far forward easily enables this to happen. Too often I see players with the golf ball too far forward, outside of their forward foot and the result is a high slice. Having the golf ball too far back in your stance most often prevents you from getting the ball in the air. Fairway woods (metals) and hybrids offer more loft and golf shots with these clubs should require that the golf ball be positioned just inside the arch of the forward foot. Most often players play these golf shots far too back in the stance, near the center of their feet and have little chance of getting the golf ball in the air. Fairway metals and hybrids also have significant weight in the bottom of the club-head that aid in getting the ball lofted and with the desired distance. However, they only work when the golf ball is struck with a slightly upward impact.

Long irons (the 2, 3 and 4) should be replaced with hybrids. However, if you are attached to your long irons, the ball position for these golf clubs is the same, which is about the width of one golf ball back of the ball position for fairway metals and hybrids. An easy way to check this is to put a golf ball in the position of just inside the arch of your forward foot and then a second golf ball next to and in line with the first golf ball. Push away the first golf ball and the second will be on the position to play long irons. It will be about half way between the big toe on you forward foot and the center of your stance, that point that is equal distance from one foot to the other. Those golf clubs we refer to as mid-irons, the 5, 6 and 7, are again all played using the same golf ball position on your stance. This position is slightly more centered in your stance than long irons. The best way to confirm that the golf ball is in the correct position to play the clubs is when you take your stance, envision an imaginary line from the buttons on your shirt to the golf ball then position the golf ball the width of one golf ball forward of that line.

Hopefully you are seeing a trend - the longer the golf club and the less loft, the more forward the golf ball is played. For the majority of golfers there are only 4 golf ball positions for the 13 clubs. Lastly, for the short irons, 8, 9 and wedges, pitching, gap, sand and lob, the golf ball should be positioned, using that imaginary line from the buttons on your shirt to the golf ball, directly in line with your buttons or the center of your stance. More accomplished players will know that in order to hit specific golf shots with a lower trajectory, they simply move the golf ball position back in their stance for each club from these suggested positions. However, this takes much practice and honed skills.

If you have the opportunity to attend a PGA, LPGA or Champions Tour event, spend some time watching the pros on the range. You’ll note that they work constantly on their ball position. They also work on their grip and tempo, which are two more fundamentals that deserve your attention to achieve the consistency we all seek to achieve.     Enjoy the greatest of games, John W. Boykin John W. Boykin, PGA CEO, Business Golf International www.businessgolfinternational.com John W. Boykin is an elite PGA Member Professional and International Golf Instructor.  John brings a wealth of knowledge about the game and industry to Privileged Play members. He is the founder and CEO of Business Golf International (BGI), a global firm specializing in helping corporate clients utilize golf as a tool to achieve their business goals. BGI also provides expertise in golf facility design, construction, operations, marketing and management services.