It sounds like a small thing.. ball position. It may be an easy thing to do correctly. But I must tell you that almost all and I mean all, weekend players pay little to no attention at all to ball position.

If you could increase your distance off the tee box, by say, 20,30 or more yards and hit it straighter, would you then give it some attention?

Let’s deal with this topic now and make it a short discussion. We will limit it to just the tee shot.

I see people tee it up with their hands moved toward the target and their bodies bent in some interesting ways. Most often the ball is set back in their stance, this creates a series of troublesome issues.

First it is almost impossible to correctly aligned with the target. Then it is absolutely impossible to get in a set up position that will allow for the parts and pieces of your golf swing to move in the proper sequence. And then there is that pesky weight shift that no one seems to know how to do.

And not last……. but close, is the cussed chicken wing finish. You do know what that looks like.. right?

These and more problems in your golf swing are caused because of poor ball position.

Now, off track just a bit. A while ago I wrote an article about eye dominance and how important it is to understand.

While my understanding of this issue is not totally complete as yet, I have discovered that most folks are right eye dominant. While those who are left eye dominant have a slightly different challenge in developing a correct set up as to ball position, the principal for both are exactly the same.

And here is the principal…. you must always rely on your dominate eye for correct information. That is in terms of body alignment, seeing the line on the putting green, getting your body to react to the ball in a full golf swing, and much more.

You must try to not confuse your mind with too much information that may conflict. If you allow both eyes to combat one another while processing visual information, you will make physical adjustments that may not be correct.

One of those adjustments is ball position.

Here is a great tip. Always make sure that the ball is placed well ahead of your dominate eye in every single golf swing that you take. Always. Including while putting.

And always allow your dominate eye to get the information and not the other eye. If you have to close one eye to get the line on the green or to align to the target on a longer shot… do it.

Back to ball position on the tee.

I would like all of you to try this …….. not just once, but try it until you are comfortable doing it.

Next time you are on the range or just out on the course for a fun round, tee the ball up so that it is ahead , toward the target, of your left foot………. for right handed players.

Not off your left heel but ahead of your left foot. It will feel like you will never be able to hit the ball. But you will , trust me on that.

Most of you suffer from a poor weight shift, this will fix that.

Most of you have lousy ball position , this will fix that too.

Most of you have chicken wing finish, this will fix that as well.

Most of you have trouble staying behind that ball, this will fix that.

What will likely happen is you will think that you can’t do it and won’t. That’s ok. But some of you will try it and work on it. And as you do this you will discover some magic.

1. You will get excellent extension through the swing

2. You will get a weight shift

3. your swing speed at impact will be at it’s max.

4. you will be behind the ball at impact with a little effort

5. you will hit the ball a tad higher and get more air time ( a good thing)

6. you will hit your tee shot further than before

7. and finally, you will look a lot better than before even if you hit it like crap

The idea here is to force yourself to allow the dominate eye to stay behind the ball and allow the information processing to benefit your golf swing. Once confusion sets in there is no correcting.

Give this small adjustment a serious attempt. Not all will or can do it and will revert to the old way, perfectly OK by me. It is a game after all and if your happy, so am I

In closing, let me tell you about my own experience with this idea of forward ball position. I am left eye dominant. I have tended to play the ball more back than forward. I can’t say why I just do. I hit it pretty good, I shoot in the low 70’s most of the time with a below par round surprise every now and then.

Nevertheless, I need check ups and so went to our club pro for a look. We talked about just what I am writing about here and now. I moved the ball forward as the pro had suggested based on my eye dominance.

I have played twice since this golf instruction… I hit the tee ball right on the button every single time. That is 14 times, hit every fairway but one, and that was in a fairway trap, which I don’t mind.

And, get this, I hit the tee ball further than I ever have more consistently. How far you may ask?

I average about 265 off the tee. I am not a big hitter. But I hit the ball 10 yards further minimum, and several were in excess of 25 yards. One was well over 300 yards ( with some wind assist)

I thought that small change was a very impressive change. I did tend to over do the ball position, in that on several shots, I teed the thing up well ahead of my left foot. It didn’t seem to matter, except that my finish balance was not so good. It is because I seemed to have to go after it more in order to reach where I had put the ball.

I shot a 72 and 73 on those two days. In windy conditions and using a putter that I was not in tune with.

I believe that hitting the driver in the fairway is one of the single most important shots in golf, I don’t buy into the “drive for show putt for dough” stuff. If you are not in the fairway it won’t matter how well or poor you putt, you are likely putting for bogey or worse.

OK I’m done. Try this. It worked for me very very well, I am excited about the results.

It was like MAGIC