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Where should your golf ball be in your stance?

Author

William Rodriguez

Published Jan 13, 2026

The ball position with the driver should be farthest forward, just inside your left heel, then move progressively farther back until you get to your wedges, which should reside squarely in the middle of your stance.

What happens if ball is too far forward in stance?

With the driver, most golfers play the ball too far forward and stand too far away from it. This might feel powerful, but it sets some bad things in motion. The forward ball position shifts the shoulders open to the target, which leads to an out-to-in swing and usually a slice.

What should your stance be when driving a golf ball?

Take your stance and begin with your weight evenly distributed between both feet. The ball position should be forward in your stance and your spine slightly tilted away from the target. For the right-handed golfer, slightly shift your body until you feel about 60% of your weight is loaded into your right glute.

Where should the ball be in my stance ball above my feet?

Ball Position: When the ball is above your feet, you should adjust the ball further back in your stance than normal (close to center of stance). Balance: Because the ball is closer to you, you will have to adjust your spine angle at address to a slightly more upright angle than normal.

Where should the ball be in your stance for fairway woods?

Set up with the ball slightly forward in the stance

Ball position is critical when hitting fairway woods. The ball should be approximately 3 inches inside your left heel. Or stated another way, the ball should be placed about half way between the driver position and the middle of your stance.

42 related questions found

Should I use a 3 wood off the tee?

Should I carry a 3 wood? Yes, often a 3 wood will be easier to hit and give you a better opportunity to keep the ball in play on tight tee shots. For many golfers, a 3 wood will give overall better results than a driver and can be used regularly off the tee and even replace the driver.

How do you address a golf ball with fairway woods?

One of the keys to solid play with your fairway woods is ball position at address. Many golfers place the ball too far back—near the middle of their stance—and the swing becomes steep through impact as a result. Avoid this mistake by positioning the ball just inside of your front foot.

How do you hit a golf shot when the ball is below your feet?

How to Hit a Golf Ball Below Your Feet

  1. Aim left of your target (for a right-handed golfer). Depending on how much slope you're dealing with, the ball will tend to move from left to right -- a fade -- in flight.
  2. Take a shorter swing than normal so you can stay balanced and make solid contact with the ball.

How do you hit a golf ball off uneven ground?

SET YOUR BODY: The ground sloping away from you effectively shortens the club. Bend more from your hips and tilt your upper body forward to reach the ball. The shaft will be more vertical. ← SWING: The club moves more up and down, with less face rotation, which can produce a left-to-right shot.

Where should a 7 iron be in your stance?

For each longer club, the ball position should move roughly half an inch towards your front foot (left foot for right-handed golfers). So a 7 iron for example, would be played a couple of inches off centre, towards your front foot.

How wide should feet be in golf stance?

Most golf instructors say the width of your stance will depend on the club you are hitting. For driver, your feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width. For irons and wedges, they should be shoulder width apart. For pitching and chipping, your stance should be slightly narrower than shoulder width.

Where should I line up my irons?

Your middle irons should be played one ball toward the target-side foot from center (a ball left of center for the right-handed golfer). These clubs have a slightly flatter lie angle, so you should take a slightly shallower divot than with the short irons.

How close should your hands be in golf?

When your arms hang freely, the butt of your club should point at your belt buckle. The distance between your thigh and the butt of the club should be about a hand's length (close to 6 inches). If it doesn't, your clubs could be the wrong length.

Where do you line the ball up for each club?

For each of the longer clubs, place the ball about a half an inch toward your front foot. Place the ball slightly inside the front foot using a driver.

Should driver sit flat at address?

Drivers should always have the toe up at address ' if the hands return close to this position while impacting the ball -- because during the last portion of the swing there is a centrifugal force of up to 70 pounds just before impact, acting at the center of gravity (c.g.) of the head.

How do you hit an uphill lie?

Here's a good rule of thumb to remember for uphill and downhill lies: The ball should be closer to your higher foot and weight should favor your lower foot. Depending on the severity of the slope, an uphill lie is usually an easier type of shot to hit from compared with the other three.

What happens when the ball is above your feet?

What is the 'likely' outcome? The 'likely' outcome when playing a ball positioned above your feet is a shot that will finish further left than normal (right handed golfer). If you fade the ball it might straighten your ball flight and produce a pull. If you draw the ball it might accentuate the draw into a hook.

Why do I hit my 3 wood as far as my driver?

Players who hit their 3- or 5-wood as far or longer than their driver are typically using too little loft with the driver for their clubhead speed. You know, it's a funny thing with the driver and its loft compared to the other clubs in the bag.

Do you swing a 3 wood like a driver?

Many golfers use a 3-wood when they have a long shot from the fairway, and some players also use the club on the tee box in place of a driver. A good swing with a 3-wood can create greater accuracy off the tee than a driver.

Why am I topping my 3 wood?

One common reason that amateur golfers may get into the habit of topping fairway woods is that they are trying to help the ball up off the ground. When you look down at address, you see that your three wood, for example, doesn't have a lot of loft.

How tight should you grip a golf club?

As Sam Snead once said, you should be holding the golf club with the same pressure you would hold a small bird: tight enough so it doesn't fly away, but soft enough so you don't crush it. While you don't want your hands to shift, you still want a little 'give' when it comes to your grip.