How to Address the Golf Ball at the Perfect Distance

This article will go through the professional players to analyse it. Stand too close or too far away, and the ball's flight can be short and skewed.

 An improper setup can lead to numerous swing problems, for example, poor balance. Reaching too far for the ball can put too much weight on your toes, causing pushing, topping or even flopping of the ball. Stand too close, and you'll go back on your heels, spraying the ball off the club's end and making poor contact.

How you address the ball can also affect the club's path or plane and, therefore, the ball's flight. The swing may become too flat (horizontal) or upright (vertical). Depending on your misjudgement, hooks, chips and other misjudgements will follow.

Poor ball placement can also wreak havoc on spine angles and impede hip and shoulder rotation - sapping power and destroying accuracy.

There is no specific standard for how far one should hit the ball, but it is clear that a long club (driver) creates more distance than a short club (wedge). However, there is no need to play a guessing game from one club to the other.

Here is a straightforward, step-by-step setup guide for every golf club

1. Stand up straight with your knees slightly bent.

2. Hold the club in front of your body at a right angle to your spine, with your elbows relaxed and close to your sides.

3. Make sure the tip of the club is pointing towards or just above your belt buckle.

4. Bend your knees so that you are balanced on the arch of your feet.

5. Bend at the waist and allow the club to drop into a comfortable address position. If the club face is not in the centre of the ball, then you are too close or too far. If this is the case, keep your knees bent, posture and arm position, and slide your feet forward or backward until the club head is in place behind the ball. Do not use your arms to adjust the position of the club.

If you have completed each step correctly, your arms will hang down naturally, almost perpendicular to the ground. The body should be free to turn, and the club find the correct path with minimal effort. An instinctive temptation is to stand slightly away from the ball when holding the driver in your hand and to inch up on the ball when swinging the wedge. However, as explained above, developing a coherent routine is essential to getting this overlooked basic right every time you use each club.