Question:
Here’s a guess in the dark about your longer ball flight with the ball back in your stance on your fairway woods. When playing the ball in the old position how much "help" were you trying to give the ball to get up. Did you feel as though you were scooping at the ball? If so, you have have been releasing your hands early. Moving the ball back in your stance, maybe you still have the problem, but it’s effect is lessened because you are now hitting the ball "earlier" in relation to the release of your hands. Generally the further forward in your stance, the more likely you are to hit the ball slightly on the upswing, minimizing backspin, maximizing roll. This position is ideal off a driver, where you tee the ball and strike the ball almost as though you are coming up to the ball. This position is tough to hiut cleanly off the turf. Moving the ball back and hitting slightly down on it will result in better backspin, which will cause the ball to rise and carry. When you release the hands early, you can kill off some of your clubhead speed and you also increase the effective loft of the club — generally you end up with weak, high shots. Delaying that release — or a better thought is the release is forced by a good turn of your lower and upper body through the ball and not a conscious act — will increase your clubhead speed and result in a lower launch angle that will quickly. If you are releasing early (kind of the sensation of swinging with mostly your hands and your arms rather than a full turning of the body), you really need someone watching your swing and guiding you to a better turn away from the ball on the backswing and through it on the downswing. Try a couple of lessons with the pro. In any case, it can’t hurt. Like I said, I’m just taking a shot in the dark. A pro will have a lot more to go on and be better able to diagnose and correct what might be wrong with your swing. And another thing is maybe that pro will nothing wrong with your "unorthodox" swing and can put your questions to rest so you can feel free to swing away. — Joe – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I’m a 50 year old woman golfer starting my 3rd golfing season in NJ. Finally starting to hit the ball decent distances. Having problems with ball position – what I’ve been taught and read about proper ball position doesn’t seem to work for me. When I started, my irons (especially 9 iron) were my favorite clubs/easiest to get up, etc. Had put pall in "standard" so called correct ball position. Now I’m much better off with my woods on fairway. I’m finding that I’m having trouble hitting my irons (especially short irons) well now! Does this change about my now hitting fairway woods better than irons tell you anything about what I could be doing "different" at this time. Also, I read an article by a woman golfer saying that one should sweep the fairway when using your fairway woods. I find it easier to hit the ball further on fairway if I move the ball back in my stance a bit and take a divot with my 7 wood, for example. Maybe I’m theorizing golf too much and should just hit the ball the way I’m doing it now since it is going farther. However, I’m wondering if this "unorthodox??" swing of mine will cause problems down the road. Thanks. Barbara Please email
Response:
I’m a 50 year old woman golfer starting my 3rd golfing season in NJ. Finally starting to hit the ball decent distances. Having problems with ball position – what I’ve been taught and read about proper ball position doesn’t seem to work for me. When I started, my irons (especially 9 iron) were my favorite clubs/easiest to get up, etc. Had put pall in "standard" so called correct ball position. Now I’m much better off with my woods on fairway. I’m finding that I’m having trouble hitting my irons (especially short irons) well now! Does this change about my now hitting fairway woods better than irons tell you anything about what I could be doing "different" at this time. Also, I read an article by a woman golfer saying that one should sweep the fairway when using your fairway woods. I find it easier to hit the ball further on fairway if I move the ball back in my stance a bit and take a divot with my 7 wood, for example. Maybe I’m theorizing golf too much and should just hit the ball the way I’m doing it now since it is going farther. However, I’m wondering if this "unorthodox??" swing of mine will cause problems down the road. Thanks. Barbara Please email
Response:
I’m new to the list and am also 50 of which 45 years I’ve been golfing — pretty much every day (in season, Canadian, eh) over the last ten years or so. Let me say before I begin that it took most of these last ten years and a super teaching pro who would explain the why’s to ‘fix’ the swing I had developed over the first 35 or so years. I played to a 10 handicap for most of those years and it was only in the last ten that I’ve been able to reduce this down to 4 thanks to my pro. :) The best ball position, physiologically, is where the ball is directly under your lead shoulder at impact. Since your lead arm is straight at this point you’ll get the maximum power from your swing, the club head being at it’s furthest distance away then. You can vary the ball position and then vary your lateral movement to achieve this. And/or it may be better to have the clubhead slightly shut at impact by having a slight ‘press’ or wrist break, full extension happening after impact. This would probably result is a divot of sorts. Some teach that the ball should always be in the same position regardless of club — others that from driver to wedge the ball should be positioned from the lead foot to the centre of the stance. The comment about ’sweeping’ the fairway wood is more properly assigned to spoons and three woods. A seven wood could very likely take a divot. I take a divot with my driver sometimes depending on what I’m trying to do. I’ll position the ball forward and take no divot for a wedge shot that needs to fly high and stop quickly over a bunker. Take some time to review the styles of the Lee Trevino’s and other ‘unorthodox’ swingers to gain an appreciation for variations. One of the best ball strikers of all time is Moe Norman — check him out. In general whatever works for you is the best approach but you should probably become aware of the various ‘basics’ so you can make your own, educated, decisions about this and other swing related points. Neither do these ‘rules’ apply forever! You will find that as your game progresses you will be ‘questioning’ more and more of the fundamentals in order to get what you want to happen, consistently, on the course. Just make sure you understand why moving the ball position or changing your swing plane or whatever causes the results it does. The risk now is that you change the ball position to achieve one thing and really mess up your overall swing as a result. I’m am constantly amazed at how clever the human body is when it ‘outthinks’ me and adapts to swing changes in the most unlikely ways. You really need to know all the nitty-gritty about the swing to make that decision on your own. Go ahead and change the position but pass your total, modified swing by someone knowledgable to ensure you’re not introducing something bad into your swing too. I move the ball around depending on what distance and trajectory I want. Ideally you should be able to move the ball around at will and adapt your swing to suit. Always return to the fundamental basics when you’re having trouble and build back up from there. But above all make sure that each trip around the course is enjoyable. Even when I end a round in a blue funk I know when I wake up the next day I’ll be itching to get back out there again. That’s the ultimate objective! Rob Wong ( Old Man ) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m a 50 year old woman golfer starting my 3rd golfing season in NJ. Finally starting to hit the ball decent distances. Having problems with ball position – what I’ve been taught and read about proper ball position doesn’t seem to work for me. When I started, my irons (especially 9 iron) were my favorite clubs/easiest to get up, etc. Had put pall in "standard" so called correct ball position. Now I’m much better off with my woods on fairway. I’m finding that I’m having trouble hitting my irons (especially short irons) well now! Does this change about my now hitting fairway woods better than irons tell you anything about what I could be doing "different" at this time. Also, I read an article by a woman golfer saying that one should sweep the fairway when using your fairway woods. I find it easier to hit the ball further on fairway if I move the ball back in my stance a bit and take a divot with my 7 wood, for example. Maybe I’m theorizing golf too much and should just hit the ball the way I’m doing it now since it is going farther. However, I’m wondering if this "unorthodox??" swing of mine will cause problems down the road. Thanks. Barbara Please email