How Do I Stand to the Ball?
 

How do you align your Feet, Knees, Hips and Shoulders? How is your Weight distributed? Where is your Head? Where is the Ball in relation to your Feet? Your Head? Your Left Shoulder? How is your Spine tilted? How? Why?

Lord Byron
 

"You can't stand too close to the ball"

My playing partner pointed out to me that I was standing too far away from the ball. I now stand as close as I can and I am now striking the ball much more solid

As I said in another thread, I'm changing EVERYTHING. I need to work on my computers program routine to get the machine set up properly. I am studying Yoda, Ted, and Jeff's Set Up Routine videos and after I fully understand each one, I will work on my own version of pre shot.

As far as alignments, I'm working on a combination Blake/Gay/Plummer & Bennett/Mac & Company. Got to find my own pattern preference from all my winter studies. :) One thing for sure, what I am learning here from all of you is going to be a HUGE part of my game from here on out...

Kevin

My thoughts on the subject for a normal trajectory shot...

Feet
Left foot flared 20 d. Right 10 d.

Knees
Over the feet

Hips
Level and square to the target line

Weight
Driver 50-50
The shorter the club weight more left.

Head
Between my feet

Ball to feet
Inside left heel for driver. Just back of inside left heel for a pw but closer to right foot due to a narrower stance.

Ball to head
Driver the ball 3 inch left of head. PW ball right under.

Ball to left shoulder
Driver the ball under left shoulder. PW 4 inch right of left shoulder.

Spinetilt
Driver less tilt forward and more tilt right than a pw. Driver being a longer club, ballposition and with of stance

Changing from time to time.

Right now using what I have found in the researches from forum member Dariusz J regarding his biokinetic theory.

After reading about eye dominance and trying it myself, my head calmed down.

Im into feet,knees,hips deal right now.

AC,

Was that eye dominance stuff in here (and I missed it) or can I find it somewhere else?

Setup the machine then 4...3...2...1...launch!
 

Alignment starts by visualizing the ball flight required for the shot at hand.

Then, because you know the geometry of the golf stroke (inclined plane, down and out to low point...) wich is always the same, you know how to place your machine in relation to the ball.

Then, because you know that the ball will always separate at right angle from the clubface, you know how to align you clubface.

Say I need a low draw and I use horizontal hinge as a swinger:
Here is how I set things up :
- ball positioned further back than normal will give a lower trajectory... but beware, a ball back it also "up plane"...
- as a result, the divot must be deeper - so, I must accept to hit more down and more out (and prepare for a little more lag pressure to easily destroy the ground :) ) - this sets the aiming point...!
Then, the draw will naturaly come from the clubhead travel relative to the target line which is now more down and out from this position in the arc of approach.
- from there, as I know the ball will separate at right anglesfrom the clubface and that horizontal hinge closes the clubface between impact and separation, I know how to place the leading edge of the blade.

Then Impact Fix helps to check the body setup required to perform the shot: It shows the position of my right foream and right shoulder and where they will need to go (aiming point).

Too many things to think of?
Well, precision in, precision out...
...and as Jeff Hull stated in one of his video http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/cmps_in...p?page=proshop, it's part of the routine: a checklist that helps stay focused.

Thanks to this site, I have learned that the ball should be positioned relative to low point not the left foot.

This isnt to say that Hogan or Jack had things all wrong. You could I suppose adjust the balls position vis a vis low point for various clubs and shots but still have the ball in the same place in relation to the left foot, if you so chose.

You may have read in Leadbetters book that Hogan actually moved the ball back in his stance for wedges as opposed to his written recommendation to play everything inside the left foot etc. Hogan played the ball where it needed to be played. Back of low point for a wedge, opposite low point for a driver etc, etc.

Here is a photo of Allen Doyle with a driver. Is he playing the ball towards the middle of his stance? Weird looking eh? But upon further examination the ball would appear to be opposite low point. He's "good to go" for another fairway in regulation, again.

Thanks be to Yoda. (TBTY).

ob


http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/assets/...attach/png.gif

Carpet diem
 

Nice photo!
Exactly my point: Once you understand Low Point, you can play around with your shots and setup a lot more easily.
...And it tells you that going down and out is right!

Do you know that before discovering this site I used to practice my irons on carpets at the range... 7 iron with a ball positioned mi-body...
I wandered why despite the thousands of ball I still was unable to compress the ball and get some decent lag...

Man! it was nonsense! I could never go down to low point on those carpets!
I was condemened forever to flip at the ball or do fancy things with my body to move low point!

The day I understood the geometry of the stroke, I was unable to conceive serious practice on carpet!
Now, any shot I think of must go to low point opposite my left shoulder :)

agreed. I hit off of mats during the winter at an indoor dome here in Canada. It's about 80 yards long and great for short shots. Only problem is there no way to get all the way down with the ball way back of low point. My tendency is to hang back a bit. Now that I know what's going I can adjust for it when get on grass. It's better than not hitting at all during the winter though.

Ob

I should edit this to add that the hang back, the head moving back move, is in my opinion anyways a way of saving my left wrist by moving low point back to a point more opposite the ball. Sometimes the body does things we dont understand, but it has its reasons.