You're Correct!

Aside from grip and alignment, your ball position at setup– where the ball lies in relation to your left and right feet – may be the most important fundamental in golf. Why? Because ball position influences a shots direction, curve, trajectory and, yes, even its distance.

Here are the basic rules governing ball position:

When youre hitting a driver, the ball should be positioned opposite your left (lead) heel.
• When hitting a wedge, position the ball in the center of your stance.
• The longer the club, the closer the ball should be to your left heel.
• There should be a gap of ½” to 1” in ball position between any two clubs. For instance, an 8-iron will be played ½” to 1” nearer your left foot than a 9-iron. The exact different depends on your stance width.

Now, heres the real – and often overlooked – key to making each ball position work: No matter which club youre hitting or where the ball is placed, your hands should be in the same spot every time.

Specifically, the hands should be approximately even with your left inner thigh at address. While this can vary by an inch or so either way depending on the golfer, the butt end of your club makes a good checkpoint – it should point at your left front pocket.

Consistent hand position ensures that the shorter the club, the farther ahead your hands are – a critical element of solid ballstriking. So remember: Ball position changes about ½” to 1” per club, while hand position remains the same for every shot.

The golfer who understands how to manipulate the balls flight by simply changing its position at address – often by just a tiny amount – can adapt well to golfs wide-ranging variables. He can handle the wind, master poor lies and adjust accordingly to a sidehill stance. Check out these tips to learn more about this bedrock fundamental:

Control Trajectory by Varying Ball Position

Proper Ball Position Can Cure Swing Ills

Alignment Sticks Drill for Correct Ball Position

Lefties: How to Set Up with the Correct Ball Position

It sounds good and seems to makes sense. Just one problem: Where, exactly, is that one optimal ball position? Opposite the left heel? You wont catch the irons with a descending blow
. Middle of your stance? Youll hit down on driver shots, killing your distance with pop-ups
or drilling low line drives. A spot directly between the middle and left heel will cause varying degrees of the same problems.

Au contraire. Ball position is a key factor in every shots height and spin. It also influences your swing path and clubface angle, which determine a shots starting direction and whether it flies straight, curves right or veers left. Ignore ball position and you may as well resign yourself to playing lousy golf.

This is backward. Lofted clubs, as in wedges and short irons, should be hit with the ball near the center of your stance. The best ball position with longer, less lofted clubs is near the left heel. Ball position affects the clubs angle of descent into the ball, which should become progressively steeper as you go up in loft.