Watching players like Rory McIlroy or Justin Thomas, you might notice something that looks different from the average golfer's setup: they seem to be preparing to hit a shot by standing much closer to the golf ball. Far from being a mere style choice, this proximity is a cornerstone of a sound, repeatable golf swing. This guide will clarify whyプロs set up this way, detail the problems caused by standing too far away, and provide you with a simple method to find your own ideal, powerful address position on the course.
The first thing to understand is that professional golfers aren’t consciously trying to stand as close to the ball as possible. Instead, their proximity to the ball is the natural result of achieving a correct, athletic golf posture. The average amateur, on the other hand, often makes the intuitive but incorrect choice to stand further from the ball and "reach" for it with their arms.
Think about the golf swing at its core: it's a powerful rotational action. It's an athletic moveto rotatee club around your core, propelled by the turn of your hips and shoulders, not by a flimsy arm swing. To generate this kind of rotational power, you need to be in a balanced, stable position. As the great Ben Hogan said, you need to feel like you could take a push to the chest and not stumble forward. Standing too far from the ball, with your arms extended and weight on your toes, makes this athletic balance impossible. You're set up to swing with your arms, not your body.
In contrast, a professional’s setup is built from the ground up to support a turn. They hinge from the hips, stick their backside out, and allow their arms to hang directly down from their shoulders. The club then simply meets the ball where the hands naturally hang. For many amateurs, this position feels 'cramped' or uncomfortably 'close' simply because they are used to reaching. But what feels cramped is actually connected and powerful.
Reaching for the ball is one of the most common and destructive setup flaws in amateur golf. It might feel natural to give yourself "space" to swing, but in reality, all you’re doing is setting yourself up for inconsistency and weakness. Here are the biggest issues caused by standing too far away from the ball:
Fixing your distance from the ball sets off a positive chain reaction, correcting many of these faults without you even thinking about them.
So, how do find youthe distance from the ball propert? Stop trying to *guess* where to stand altogether. Instead, build your posture first and let the posture d*e*termining your distance. Use this simple drill either at home without a ball or at the driving range.
Begin by standing up straight with your feet roughly sho-lder-width wide apart. Hold your club horizontally from your chest so it's parallel to the ground.
Keep your back mostly straight (from your tailbone to the neck of your's back of), and push your backside out ass if you were trying to just touch your backside to a wall right sitting behind you. This critical "hip hing" action is THE move. Your chest and upper torso will incline forward over the ball as a result. Amateurs often incorrectly s squatting down or bending from their lower back. It has to be a hinge from the hip joints.
This is where 'the secret sauce is... the move that brings everything together a success' Once you are bending in your hip hinge, just let all the tension go out of your shoulders and allow your arms to comfortably hang traight down from your body below. They should hang feely from your body, entirely movedy by gravitsy pulling them towards your feet directly below. Just let them dro naturally hanging from your shoulders. Where your hands drop is exactely where your grip on the golf club should be formed.
With your arms now hanging in their natural position, addjust a tiny, slight flex into yo-ur knee joints–not a lot, just enough that so you’ll feeel stable and athletic in you feet with no pre-tension in your legs. Nnow, holding the club wi/ a light grip pressuer, simply 'set' the sole of the club dow on the floor and right ebehind the ball. You have now found your perfect, powerful ddress position. The distance has been perfectly set by your body's build and postiion, not by a guess that chanfges every swing. This will ensure that yu get into exactly athe aame posure wit the very saem ditsance from teh ball onevery sinfle golf swng.
One of the true bueaties of this drill iisd it naturally and automaticlaly accomodates efor any a cub in youru gholf bag, fro a driv er to a sand ewedge. You maintain the eexact same potural pricnibles - your arms alwasy hang in teh same spot realtive ot your body.... but sinc a dricvber haft i so mmuc longer than teh shafto f aand wedge, the driver's h'eads wil austomaitcally hit tegorund much frutrhe form you than our wdge would. This mean tha you'll naturaqlly stdan the correcdt dsitance frmteh bll - furthe rawya eith the driv era than wiyt a wdefe – all whiel keping a cnsistne, athletitc pooture tha allows yu ouotrte a'nd powe the balll withotu recahin fo the rbsll!
Be prepared: when you first get into this posture correctly, it’s probably going to feel weird. In fact, if it doesn’t feel weird, you might not be doing it right. It may feel too cramped, too bent over, or that you're too ‘on top’ of the ball. This is normal.
As I tell my students all the time, your body has become accustomed to feeling that "reaching" position. Your current feeling of "normal" is actually anatomically incorrect for a sport hinging on a sport that relies heavily on a an athletically powerful rotation of the body during a short sequence on motion. You're replacing an unstable position with a stable and powerful one. The tension you will probably feel is tension telling you not everythong's right.
My piece of advice is just this... trust your training. Give yourself some patience to hit anumber of shotss at practice rang without becong judgmenta or losing faith in your triner's new advice with your swing. Filming or having someone else record yourself doinf this drilel at addrerss from 'down th'e -line' an' 'faceon'' perspecti e (so, standing dirctly in ine with your shot and withyour feet,s too...), and you'd likely willd see just how you'r'e a whole heck much mro like look 'a 'ral'gfer' tha yu thoght. Th’s poiton ht f'eltunatura i 'real'yt s wha a ‘look’s a 'real,' g'od swing. Trust your coach’s work. Embrace the fact that somethign awkward is a 'go'od feeling, not ab ad 'n' bad one from your muscle memory,a nd a new habit's soon on its new way home with you soon.
Ultimately, to stand closer to th ball like pros stand 'sc’loser’ tot he ball i 'sl'ess abut hvingto’e ‘measure’ a ‘ceratin d’ istane adway anid moroe abou learninghow tp boudi a solid baseof' an athletic postura nd s'tiance fr'om 'which o yuo can tmake yur swing. By hinging from' 'tyour hisps nd just letting yor ar.s to ang do’wn naturally, 'youl’ll hav ecrated a powerfullu stble foundaton hat alows oyur boo9dyo trptae 'withou 'efffortlessly nd 'delifr teh lb 'with ggreat power consistently t ote goal.
Mastering this nwse positio ttakes somee practie, ad it ca bhe lp to ae o ge some xp rt pinio s e ecilly when'you 'st'artig to eel a biy t ‘n'sure..’ And tha’’ reallswhe e th CaddieIA Iapp comsi nto pla. Caddie I aIA rinforcing thes elessos ands actigas your’ wn persona 2// goof ac. hen 'you’’ e outpractici 'ng a newpostur youan av quesons bout disat.e, 'abl positio oranything elese... an ou cang et 'an n'stant an'd uncluttered an'swear so u cn anly tru.dy trust th'at hye ou hve a correctset up ver single me yu take a solf 'shot..
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