Distance to the Golf Ball - How Far from the Ball Should You Be with Each Club (Driver, Iron, Wedge)

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:

[willaitken]

This single tip has completely transformed my golf swing. It has solved so many other ‘problems’ I thought I had. Thank you so much, I now have clean contact, heaps of compression and a full, easy follow through. Brilliant stuff, and sooo simple.

[turbodrawspeed]

Finally, a good tip on how much distance to have to the ball. Thank you.

[jamieupshall]

Genuinely such a useful tip for us high handicappers!!!! Thank you

[indy-ell]

This is absolutely gold advice I struggle with being to close to the ball meaning I stand up and hit behind the ball a lot can’t wait to put this into practice thank you

[ddayzd]

Super simple vid, but helped me out so much. I was too close and topping every swing, but now I'm hitting them with very good contact!

[stephenguy]

Thanks for the great videos has improved my golf game in ways words cant describe has also made a new enjoyment of the game for me

[mikearrow]

Looked for a video that explains this quickly and efficiently— this is it. Well done!

[brandonfoley]

I recently started playing again but wanted to learn the right way. I have been watching many golf instruction videos. These are great tips that are explained in a way i understand and not taking 15 minutes to do it!

[josegarcia-iswu]

Holy crap thanks for this I usually don't comment on these but concise and to the point.

[will]

This feels so far away from me which tells me everything I need to know - I stand way too close to the ball! Cheers for the tip.

[EqDior]

Wow! this tutorial and explanation was mind blowing. Thank you

[reeceyp]

Great video, I was shown the hold the club parallel to the ground and then pivot until the club touches rhe ground and the difference between your method and that is so different. Its like 10-15 cm which is crazy for consistency.

[yunxvec]

It took me an hour to find a video explaining this concept. I will try it today and let you know the result. Thank you!

[ViceEccho]

Thanks for the tips! New to all this and you explain it rlly good!

[canceracar]

So ill doubt you will see this, ive been struggling with coming over the top for about two years and for the life of me i could not figure out why. Thanks to my short game ive been able to put together low 80s not knowing which way the ball was going to go each swing to swing. Well. You my friend, thank you. I was standing about three inches too far away, and if i swung in to out id almost miss the ball. My body was naturally coming over to compensate. Shot my first round under 75 today in about 3 years.
Edit: I want to kiss you and sorry for the long post

[stm]

Surely it depends where the ball is laterally. I.e. off the left toe or middle of the stance. Or do you measure whilst your feet are together and then separate your feet into the address position?

[blaneb.]

EXCELLENT instructions! As with your other videos you keep it concise, simple, and clearly explain the process WITH some examples of how NOT to do it. Which helps me a lot to know and understand the exact correct position to be in. One question tho, in the video at roughly 1:28 when you show the head on view, you have the club handle "pressed" forward quite a bit towards your lead/left leg...in YOUR set up to the ball, do you use that much forward "press/lean" when you set up? Thank you for your time and consideration for answering my question!!

[timmerchant]

Thank you so much, can't wait to take it to the range.

[gzig]

No pressure but you're my new online golf coach

[MattiasA]

Wow, this seems a great hack. Will try it.