The last of the five pre-swing essentials to know before learning about the swing is where you place the ball in relation to your feet when you are using the various clubs.

In the normal golf swing, the clubface must be square on to the ball-to-target line at impact. Knowing what goes on during the swing and what happens to the clubface during the swing helps you to get your clubface square on to the ball-to-target line at impact.


Club and stance

Depending on the type of club, you stand with your feet further or closer apart. Once you've decided how far apart your feet should be you can then go on and accurately position your ball.

The longer the shaft of your club, the wider apart you have your feet. So your stance is wider for the longer irons such as a 2 or 3 irons and a driver and is narrower for the shorter clubs such as the 8 or 9 irons and the wedges. With a 2 iron, for instance, your stance should be about as wide as a normal walking pace is long. With a short iron such as a sand wedge you stand with your feet about half as far apart as for a long iron. With a 6 or 7 iron your feet are about shoulder width apart.

Placing the ball

The general rule is: the shorter the shaft, the more central the ball should be in your stance. If you are using a 9 iron, position the ball in the centre of your stance. With a 2  
iron, place the ball opposite the inside of your left heel.
For the clubs in between, place the ball between these two positions. When using a medium iron, for instance, place the ball midway between the centre of your stance and the inside of your left heel.

The length of each club's shaft also determines how far away from the ball that you stand. For a long-shafted club such as a 2 iron the ball is further away from you than for a shorter-shafted, high-numbered club.


POSTURE AND SWING PLANE

The ball is placed in these different positions because of the changes to posture brought about by the length of the differing clubs. The shorter the shaft, the nearer you are to the ball, the narrower your stance and the more your back is bent.

It is the angle of your back at address that influences swing plane. The more bent it is the steeper your swing plane. With a longer-shafted club, such as a 2 iron, the ball is further from your feet than with a 9 iron. Your hands are higher and your back is more upright. This automatically creates a flatter swing plane around your body.

The shape of your swing affects the angle at which the club head hits the ball, and dictates the amount and type of spin. The steep swing plane of the 9 iron creates backspin, while the flatter plane of the 2 iron produces over-spin. Backspin prevents the ball running as far as normal on landing, while over spin increases roll.

SWING PATH

During a correct swing the club-head travels in a path from the inside of the ball-to-target line, briefly along the ball-to-target line at impact and then back inside the ball-to-target line after impact. It never goes outside the ball-to-target line.

At the start of the backswing, turning your body moves the club-head inside the ball-to-target line. It also causes the clubface to open and, at the mid-point of the backswing, its face has opened so that it is at an angle of 90° to the ball-to-target line.

Clubface at impact

During the downswing and right up to impact the club head gradually closes and only at one brief moment - impact - is the clubface square to the ball-to-target line. On the through swing the face continues to rotate and closes.

A perfect in-to-in swing path alone does not guarantee square contact. The ball must also be correctly placed in relation to your stance. Golf is often said to be a game of inches. One inch off target on the tee can mean 10-15 yards off line down the fairway.

When the ball is too far back in the stance, the club meets it too early on the downswing. The clubface is still open and, even with the correct in-to-in swing path; the ball goes to the right of target.

If the ball is too far forward in the stance, the club makes contact too late (on the through swing). The clubface has closed slightly and the ball lands left of target.

The swing

1: Takeaway

In the first 6-9in I15-23cm) of the back swing, the club moves in a straight line. It has yet to be influenced by your upper body.

2: Natural rotation.

 By the mid-point of the backswing the body rotation moves the club inside the ball-to-target line. This also opens the clubface.

3: The highest point

Near the top of the back swing, the club continues its path around the body. At the top, the shaft of the club should be parallel with the target. 

4: Downswing
The downswing is almost identical to the backswing. The club follows a path inside the ball-to-target line and the clubface closes.

5: Square contact
 The clubface gradually returns, from being open at the start of the downswing, to being perfectly square to the ball-to-target line at impact. The club travels briefly along the ball-to-target line at impact.

6: Through swing

On the through swing, the club continues along its path and moves back inside the ball-to-target line. The clubface continues to rotate and gradually closes as the through swing continues.

Swing planes


It's easier to place the ball correctly once you understand each club's swing plane. The swing plane for a 3 iron (pink) is flatter than that of a shorter 7 iron (green). Your spine is more upright and produces a sweeping action around your body, with the club head reaching its lowest point at a later stage in the swing path. The ball is therefore placed further forward in the stance than for the 7 iron.

In-to-in. Club head

During the correct in-to-in swing path, the club head should never move outside the ball-to-target line. Note how the clubface is square to the target at one point only -impact.