Ball Position Quotes

Your woods, irons and wedges are built with specific lengths and lie angles, which demand that you stand to the ball a little differently for each one. The secret is to know which elements of your address position remain constant, and which ones you have to tweak to match the club in your hand.

You've just one problem. You stand too close to the ball after you've hit it.

One of my tendencies is to let the ball drift too far forward in my stance, and it's something I've been working on with David Leadbetter.

Ball position is everything in iron play. If you aren't careful about it, you can create some major problems in your game just by getting an inch or two off.

I always loved hitting a low fade to a back-right pin with the wind howling from the right. Not many guys could get it close in that situation, because they kept it low by just putting the ball back in their stance. You see, playing the ball back turns you into a one-trick pony - you can only hit hooks.

Some players like to change clubs around the green to hit high or low shots. I play all of my short-game shots with my 54-degree sand wedge and change my ball position to hit it higher or lower. I think it's easier to learn one club than four.

For a 7-iron, you never want the ball to be closer to your left heel than just slightly ahead of the mid-point of your stance. That's especially true if you're a tall player, like me.

My short game's not that good. It just becomes a matter of getting that weight moving.

Because of the grass and open face, I take one more club for shots from the rough, unless the ball is sitting on top of dry grass. Then, I use more loft and swing softer, trying to hit it about 70 percent to avoid a flyer over the green.

From the rough, I'd use a 6-iron, play the ball back an inch or two and swing down on a steeper angle to catch the ball first. It also helps to aim slightly left and open the clubface at address. You'll get more height on the shot, and the club will cut through the grass more easily.

I'm at a point where there isn't any wasted movement in the throwing motion. Everything is consistent and smooth. When I first got into the league, I held the ball really high. That was the standard in college, and it messed up my timing a little bit - the draw, bringing it back, then the release.

To flight approach shots lower with the scoring clubs - what I consider my 7-iron through wedges - I stand two or three inches closer to the ball than normal.

With shorter clubs, your ball position should be just back of middle, to really promote hitting the ball first on a downward strike.

I get a lot of front ball in a position that, normally, the opponent's defense is making the move outwards, and our attackers are getting in.