Knowing the correct distance to stand from the golf ball when you set up is a fundamental part of your address position. Use the golf tips in this video to review how far – or how close – to stand from your golf ball with every one of your golf clubs, from the driver and fairway woods to the irons and wedges.
Because each club in your bag features a club shaft that is of a different length there is not one correct distance from the ball that you can use for every one of your golf shots. For example, we can’t say you should stand three feet away from the ball every time. Rather, what we can do instead is find a trick to confirm that you are indeed standing at the correct distance from the ball, no matter the club you are using.
– To find out if you are standing too close or too far from the ball, simply address the ball in your setup position and let the club grip drop towards your leading leg (left leg for a right-handed golfer). If the end of the grip lands around two inches above your knee cap then you can be confident that you are standing at the correct distance from your golf ball.
– If the grip of your club touches your thighs too high (more than 2 inches above your knee) then you know you are probably standing too close to the ball. Standing too close to the golf ball will result in hitting the ball towards the heel of the clubface, which will produce on occasion dreaded shanks that shoot the ball way right of the target. Reposition your feet and perform the distance check again until the grip lands on the correct part of your leg.
– If the grip of your club misses your leg entirely or would strike it below your knee cap then you know that you are standing too far from the ball. This position would require your arms to extend too far forward at address and will likely result in back issues and poor strikes at the golf ball. Oftentimes you will produce shots that hit the toe end of your clubface, resulting in poor shot distances that go to the right.
For more on the correct distance to the golf ball:
