Ball position

[Big Johnny69]

I heard something very interesting when I was at the Golf Show. An instructor was talking about how to place your clubhead behind the ball. He said all golfers create on or two types of centrifugal (sp?) force. You either pull away from the ball during your swing or lean forward. I'm not talking huge amounts here, just what your arms do during the swing. Now I asked him if my misses with my clubs tend to be out towards the toe then I would be pulling away (if I place the ball in the middle of the face at address). He said I was correct. So to test his theory I went to Haime's when it was open and starting placing the ball off the heel of my clubs. To my amazement I was hitting near the centre of the club face on almost every swing. And this coming from someone who has played only two rounds of sim golf this winter. Was just wondering what other's take is on this bit of info I came across.

[little brit]

Yes I know that I push, so end up slightly leaning more forward, so I set up with the ball off the toe, I found this out using impact tape. I think that his happens for me on the backswing not the downswing.

[el tigre]

I think that a perfect swing would involve neither pulling back or leaning forward - both of which would affect your balance to some degree - so this advice is basically a compensation for that. Of course, we all have our personal tendencies and need to figure out how to accomodate them - and adjusting your ball position is probably the easiest and most common method.

Personally, I think that hitting the ball more on the toe or the heel has as much to do with your setup as with your swing. If you set up with your arms close to your body, you are more likely to hit towards to the heel - and vice versa if you set up with your arms farther away. Of course, where you set your arms can also affect whether you pull back or lean forward during your swing - so this could just be two sides of the same coin.

[leftylucas]

Sounds very cool Geoff, I have seen a lot of Tour Pros who set-up with the club off centre toward the toe or heel. Maybe that guy is onto something even if it is a compensatory move, if it works to put your face square at impact, what the HEY!

[jonf]

I have always placed the ball off the heel of the club. Have never known why, it just works for me. If I set up with the ball in the centre of the club, I almost inevitably end up shooting it off the toe.

[1972Apex]

Note to self... try playing the ball off the heel this year

[Powerdraw]

also, there is a big difference between soling the club or hovering it. example, take your driver tee up a ball. hover what you see as the center of the face at the exact impact location you would like to see, i bet your aiming center of the face? good.

now from this centered move just let the head drop to the ground, sole it. Ball will be at the toe, perfect for the shot at hand.

personnaly, istill have some loss of spine angle tendencies so i too tend to play off the heel for i know i will suck in those arms a bit.