Ball position in stance and divot questions

[GrantTotten]

Hi Colin (and others),

I've been playing for 3 years now, and this year I decided it was time to finally get some instruction. I've had a couple of sessions so far, and I'm making progress.

I've got a couple of questions, though.

1. Where in my stance should the ball be at address for the various clubs? I've read Dave Pelz's short game bible and he recommends stance-center for wedge shots, in general. I've been using this as a generic guideline for all of my clubs, long irons and woods included. I suspect that I should vary the front-to-back position of the ball in my stance, depending on the length of club in my hands and type of shot, but I don't really know. Can you shed some light on this (newbie) question?

2. In general, I don't take much of a divot on my approach shots. Should I? I notice that a lot of pros seem to take a relatively large divot when they hit approach shots. Again, I suspect this is related to club lengh, shot type, and ball position, but I'd like some clarification.

Thanks in advance,
Grant

[Colin Orr]

Grant your ball position should remain constant with all irons, that is to say that with all irons the ball should be about 2 inches inside your front foot (L foot for R golfer ). What changes is the distance your feet are apart , with the shorter clubs your stance is narrower which gives the illusion that the ball has moved back in the stance when in reality the right foot has moved in towards the center of your stance.

[Colin Orr]

Grant in terms of your divots some people take pelts some people prefer to sweep. It has more to do with steepness of swing than anything else.

[GrantTotten]

Thanks for the info! Looks like I've got some stance practice ahead of me...

With respect to stance width, could you give me an idea of the outer bounds (widest with driver, narrowest with LW) that I can expect? I've been playing wedges at about shoulder-width or a little less and experimenting with significantly wider stances for long irons and woods. I've found, perhaps not surprisingly, that a narrow stance encourages/allows more turn-away and through. When trying a wide stance with a driver or 3-wood, I've felt constrained -- that I can't turn my body well. Is this normal? Is it "right"?

Thanks again,
Grant

[Colin Orr]

GRANT A GOOD GUIDE LINE IS YOUR STANCE SHOULD BE ON THE INNER PART OF YOUR SHOULDERS FOR SHORTER CLUBS AND OUTER PART OF THE SHOULDERS FOR LONGER CLUBS. YOU ARE CORRECT IN NOTING THAT A WIDER OR TO WIDE OF A STANCE INHIBITS YOUR TURN AWAY AND THROUGH THE BALL AND CAN LEAD TO SLIDING INSTEAD OF TURNING.

[GrantTotten]

Thanks Colin!

Grant