How far to stand from the ball?

I’m asked daily: ‘How far should I be standing from the ball at address?’

Today, I’m going to talk to you about this, along with the most common faults I see.

Depending on the length of the club you are holding, the amount you tilt from the waist at address will vary, with a greater tilt for shorter clubs and less for longer ones. In today’s pictures I am playing a seven iron, standing at approximately mid-tilt.

You should take hold of a club and allow your arms to hang in their natural position under your shoulders. This is the distance that you should stand from the ball (pic 1).

If you were to measure this distance, the butt end of the club would sit around an open hands distance from your left thigh.

If you stand too far from the ball, then you will have to over stretch, and this will cause excessive tilting from the waist (pic 2).

Before the swing has even started your arms and body are disconnected and it will be very difficult to consistently deliver the clubhead back to the golf ball.

If you stand too close to the ball, then your movement will be restricted, and you will not have enough space to make a free-flowing turn through the ball (pic 3). Standing too close will also cause the arms to pick up steeply and cause inconsistencies with your ball striking.

It is posture first followed by arm hang, remember this and you won’t go far wrong.