
Higher Ball Flight Standing closer to the ball can help golfers that tend to get their swing plane too flat. With flatter swings, you will not get the ball flight you need. Standing close to the ball helps players have a slightly Upright swing path and can help with being able to get the ball to stop on the green.
Full Answer
Why should you stand further away from the golf ball?
When you are too close, your body can get in the way of your swing and your hands have to “dig out” the shot. When you stand further away, you allow your hands to follow a more natural path through the ball with less restriction.
Why do pros stand further away from the ball with wedges?
They stand closer with wedges to hit it lower. That's why they stand further away with long clubs, to hit it higher and shift the path a little to the right. More sharing options...
How does a golf club face move?
To go along with that speed, the club face is rapidly closing at it moves through the hitting area. The face is open to the line on the way down, and it quickly closes up at you near the ball, hopefully finding a square position right at the moment of impact.
How is the golf swing different from other sports?
The golf swing is a highly dynamic and athletic movement but one of the main differences between golf and other sports is that you play from a standing start. It’s not like playing football where you kick a ball that is rolling, it is a stationary start.

Is it better to stand closer to golf ball?
Stand closer to the ball and allow the hands and butt end of the club to be no further than three inches from the body. The closer the better. Standing too far away from the ball and reaching out will cause a low trajectory, cause a golfer to cast the club, come over the top and hit the ball on the toe of the club.
What happens if a spectator takes a golf ball?
If your ball is moved by an outside influence, such as an animal or a spectator, there is no penalty to anyone and the ball must be replaced. If your ball is moved by a natural force, such as wind, water, or gravity, you will usually play the ball from its new location without penalty.
What happens when you stand too close to golf ball?
What Can Happen If You Stand Too Close To The Golf Ball? Standing too close to the golf ball will result in a posture that's too upright, which could result in inconsistent shots and no control over the ball. Standing too close to the ball can result in slices and shanks, which are very common among average players.
Can standing too close to the ball cause a hook?
Standing too close to the ball causes a loss of posture, reduction in arm extension, loss of balance, loss of speed, toe hits, slices, low hooks and a change in swing path. Always check you setup first when you start hitting errant shots. It is much easier to change your setup from day to day than your golf swing.
Is a golfer responsible for breaking a window?
A: Living on a golf course means living with golf balls. While the golfer who broke your window should own up and take responsibility, she is not legally responsible for the damage if she was otherwise playing normally.
What happens if a bird takes your golf ball?
According to Rule 18-1, when a ball has been moved by an outside agency, you have to replace it at the spot where it was picked up. For you, that means back in the rough. If you don't know exactly where the bird grabbed your ball, you can approximate it (Rule 20-3c). Either way, there is no penalty.
Should you stand tall in the golf swing?
Standing tall makes it easy to turn through the shots and easy to turn in the backswing – it suits a lot of golfers. Jason Day and Rory McIlroy have very athletic postures because they work out a lot and this helps them really stand over the ball, but this type of posture might not be for everyone.
How long should you stand over a golf ball?
Tour pros, for instance, tend to spend more time deciding about escape shots or unpracticed shots around the green. But once the decision is made, rehearsal and execution should take no more than 20 seconds and must be consistent.
How far does the average golfer drive the ball?
219 yardsThe average driving distance across all ages of golfers is 219 yards. Golfers under the age of 30 typically hit the ball the longest (238 yards) and distance declines by around 10 yards every ten years.
Does a flat swing cause hooks?
Hooking: Swing is too flat/inside-to-outside: While it's desirable for the club to approach the ball from inside the target line, overdoing this action can cause a hook. This is usually caused by a swing plane that's too flat, or horizontal.
Why am I topping the ball with my irons?
Typically, a ball is topped because the club has not gone far enough down towards the ball or you catch the ball on the way up, instead of at the bottom point.
Can a strong grip cause fat shots?
Fat shots. One of the other signs of an overly strong grip is the tendency to hit the ball fat, especially on short iron shots. As mentioned above, a strong grip makes it easy to release the club on the way down, and an early release could cause you to stick the club in the ground behind the ball.
More Involvement of The Entire Body in the Golf Swing
A major issue that recreational golfers make in their golf swing is that the body movements use too much of their upper body including the hands, wrists, and arms more than they should.
Higher Ball Flight
Standing closer to the ball can help golfers that tend to get their swing plane too flat. With flatter swings, you will not get the ball flight you need. Standing close to the ball helps players have a slightly Upright swing path and can help with being able to get the ball to stop on the green.
Lower Chance Of Coming Over The Top
Many golfers struggle with the golf club coming over the top. Essentially, this means that your golf club gets on a plane that is a bit outside, and you come down and across yourself as you make contact with the ball.
Are There Negatives To Standing Too Close To A Golf Ball?
Even though we have given you these important benefits of standing a bit closer to the ball, there are, of course, negatives if you take this concept to the extreme. Standing too close in your golf setup will sometimes feel as though you are handcuffing yourself.
Why Do Pro Golfers Stand Close To The Ball?
Professional golfers like Adam Scott and Tiger Woods stand close to the golf ball because they know this is the position they can get the most consistency in their golf shots. Professional golfers need to worry about their consistency and ball striking, and therefore they need to stand as close as possible to ensure the most golf ball benefits.
What Is The Correct Distance To Stand From A Golf Ball?
The correct distance to stand from a golf ball is where your hands can hang naturally, and you can swing freely without feeling your body blocking your turn or rotation. For each player, the proper golf posture and position is going to vary slightly.
Should I Stand Further Away With A Driver?
A golf driver is considerably longer than a Golf iron. You will need to stand further from the ball when hitting a driver. If you stand too close to the ball with longer clubs, you may find that your golf shots are too upright or slice to the right. As clubs get longer, they start to move further away from the ball.
Why do golfers fall off their shots?
They very rarely “fall off” a shot because they have swung it too hard or because they have a set-up flaw.
How does a golf club go around your body?
The further you stand from the ball, the more flat your swing will become. This is logical as you will have started your swing with your hands will be reaching or your body will be overly bent over. This means that the club can only go around your body in a flatter way.
What is a swing plane?
When you are standing too close to the ball, you will swing with a plane that is too upright. This can tend to cause more of a slice or even shanks.
What happens if you stand too far away from a tennis ball?
When you stand too far away from the ball, one of the major effects is that your arms have to swing at the ball more. You need to reach out to the ball to make contact and so you can’t use your body to generate power properly. This will result in a significant loss of distance.
What are the disadvantages of standing too far from the ball?
The main disadvantages that standing too far from the ball will cause are reduced swing efficiency and poor balance. This will all lead to inconsistencies in your swing and that will make playing more difficult. Put simply, golf is about consistency, the more you can replicate something the better you become.
What is the difference between golf swing and other sports?
The golf swing is a highly dynamic and athletic movement but one of the main differences between golf and other sports is that you play from a standing start. It’s not like playing football where you kick a ball that is rolling, it is a stationary start.
What is position at address in golf?
Put simply, golf is about consistency, the more you can replicate something the better you become. As I’ve already said in this article, your position at address is something that you can have control of. This is the point in your swing that acts as your launchpad, use it to your advantage and get it right.
Rorys7iron
I'm talking irons mainly, I hold a a 7iron using the 1 inch above your knee routine where theres a hand with of room between the club and my legs, but I see most pros with the same club practically up against there leg, I understand with wedges but should we stand this close or am I missing something?
eagle1997
Interesting. Care to elaborate? I would've thought the exact opposite.
SunkTheBirdie
I think height comes into play also. There are some pretty good sized pros that have an upright swing because of their height.
Z1ggy16
I believe it's mostly the hip turn mentioned above. My coach had me first standing further away with my 7i because of not getting my hips out of the way fast enough. Once I got better at that, I moved closer again.
pinhigh27
They are not early extending and it will lead to a more upright path/plane which will make the ball go straighter more often.
Golfbeat
They are not early extending and it will lead to a more upright path/plane which will make the ball go straighter more often.
BenHoganSlam1953
You cannot trust camera/video, or even your own eyes - both are easily fooled by line of sight angles. A club that appears right on top of a players knees could be 2-3 inches away.
Why do you put an extra club down on the ground?
If necessary, set an extra club down on the ground to help with alignment to make sure you are set up directly at that target before you swing. Since you are going to be attempting to hit the ball straight, it is important that you aim directly at the target you have picked out.
When you consider the difficult of hitting the ball straight in addition to the advantages that curves provide, should you be
When you consider the difficult of hitting the ball straight in addition to the advantages that curves provide, you should be able to move on from this topic without so much as a second thought. Forget about straight shots and embrace the challenge of curving the ball in toward your target on each and every swing.
Where is the bunker on the green in golf?
The hole is cut on the left side of the green, only a few steps from the edge. That edge is guarded by a deep bunker, meaning your ball would only need to wind up a few yards to the left of the hole to find big trouble. Playing your third shot from that bunker would almost certainly result in a bogey (or worse).
Is it hard to hit a straight shot in golf?
Already, it should be pretty easy to see why it is difficult to hit a straight golf shot. To hit the ball straight, you have to be swinging directly down your target line at the moment of impact, and the club face has to be perfect square to the target.
Is 2 or 3 a good shot shape?
Chances are, either 2 or 3 is your natural shot shape. Golf is hard enough without trying to hit the ball dead straight. Doing so requires both a swing and a clubface that are precisely aligned with the target at impact, which is not only difficult to pull off, it's entirely unnecessary.
Is golf a hard game?
Golf is a hard game, and there is always going to be some degree of unpredictability to what takes place on the course. However, by playing an intentional curve, you can have a better idea of whether the ball is likely to miss to the right or left of the target you have selected.
Should you aim right or left on a golf course?
Of course, aiming right isn't a good idea if you are just as likely to miss right as you are left.
