A foolproof way to figure out your ball position for every club

Bad ball position is one of the easiest ways to get yourself on the wrong track on the course.

I know this from experience: For some reason, I tend to naturally play the ball too far back in my stance. The first time I was alerted to the issue, I was shocked. Consciously moving the ball up a smidge worked wonders for my shot quality, without making any changes to my swing.

That’s why I was interested to ask Top 100 Teacher Kellie Stenzel for her best advice on how to create a foolproof ball-position system that can work all the way through the bag.

“Everybody’s different,” Stenzel said. “So I think the easiest way is to just take a practice swing with whatever club you’re hitting and see where the club hits the ground.”

Short Game

A golfer’s pivot and weight transfer can vary, depending on the player, Stenzel said, so that’s why paying attention to your own practice swing is so helpful.

“If your club wants to hit the ground in the middle of your stance on your practice swing, your ball position should be just slightly forward of center,” Stenzel said.

Another way to decide where to place the ball is by paying attention to your misses.

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“If you’re hitting it fat, you may be hitting the ground where the ball should be,” Stenzel said. “Try moving the ball to where you’re hitting the ground, back or more center.”

This method is also helpful is when you encounter an uneven lie, Stenzel said.

“If you have an uphill lie and take a practice swing, you may see a divot a little back of center for a right-handed golfer, and if that’s the case, move the ball back,” she said. “Put the ball in the position of the stance where the practice swing tells you to.”

For more tips from Top 100 Teacher Kellie Stenzel, click here.

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Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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