Best ball forward

[devonlad]

Went to the driving range last night and hit the usuall array of hooks and slices and then tried teeing it up 2 inches further forward in line with my big toe. Not only did I get solid contact everytime I also started to hit a nice fade.
So the question is if I play it further forward am I promoting bad technique elsewere in the swing?

 

[Maninblack4612]

Thought I'd post the stock answers to save others the trouble:

1. Go & have a lesson

2. Post a video of your swing

3. If it works for you, go for it!

Seriously, I'm a Jim Hardy Fan and in his book "Solid Contact" he lists lots of what he calls "pluses" & "minuses" The pluses steepen a swing that's too shallow and the minuses flatten a swing that's too steep. This may sound like correcting a fault with a fault but I'm a great believer in swinging in the most natural way possible, especially for people like us who have limited time for practice. If you can make one small change in the backswing or downswing you've got a decent chance of remembering to incorporate it in your swing. If you've got a dozen things to incorporate you've got no chance and, in my view, you'll never get it grooved.

In your case, a change in address is even easier to incorporate because you can do it before you swing. Also, are you really lining up this way? "Feel v real" is a funny thing. Have you used alignment sticks, or just a couple of clubs to check? Don't forget proper aim is "parallel left" i.e. put a club behind the ball, aimed at the target & place another parallel to it where you put your feet. This is correct alignment, your feet will point left of the target. Sorry if this is obvious to you, it wasn't to me for a long time.

Then wait for The_Coach to come in with some detailed instructions!

 

[dsanders9944]

Sounds like this is maybe a temporary band aid for something that is out with your swing, maybe by moving it forwards stops you from getting trapped and flipping the club, maybe post your swing here better

 

[garyinderry]

Millions of videos of YouTube of pros saying they have never bad to tell someone their ball was TOO FAR FORWARD. Its always the opposite.

 

[devonlad]

Think I am agoing to give it anouther go played forward as I have watched a few videos os great players who play it foraward, even as far forward as off the left side of the left foot

 

[One Planer]

Went to the driving range last night and hit the usuall array of hooks and slices and then tried teeing it up 2 inches further forward in line with my big toe. Not only did I get solid contact everytime I also started to hit a nice fade.
So the question is if I play it further forward am I promoting bad technique elsewere in the swing?

I'm surprised no one's asked what club you were hitting to get the results :mmm:

 

[devonlad]

The dreaded Driver

 

[One Planer]

The dreaded Driver

Thing is with the driver, everyone is different.

I play my driver a ball about a balls width inside my left heel and get a nice draw.

If I played the ball where you are I would be clubbing everything left.

 

[the_coach]

Went to the driving range last night and hit the usuall array of hooks and slices and then tried teeing it up 2 inches further forward in line with my big toe. Not only did I get solid contact everytime I also started to hit a nice fade.
So the question is if I play it further forward am I promoting bad technique elsewere in the swing?

all 3 threads you've put up are all really part of the same issue. swing path (as 'bobmac' pointed out, his drill a good one if you can manage to get it down good) plus clubface control. path swinging too much the wrong ways with a big difference to where the club face is looking through impact.

the big issue to begin to sort out first is the swing path.
you have to look to find the reason/s behind the path's direction down towards the ball coupled with the AoA.
moving the ball forwards as you eluded too, is really a sticking plaster remedy which may work for a while with driver from a tee, but isn't really going to help too much overall through the bag.

you're swing path is over the top, out to in, which will also mean clubhead approach to the ball will be a ways steep (you mention hitting hooks but does the starting direction of these or many shots start a ways to the right of your ball/target line?)

there is always cause & effect in a golf swing.
so how you swing from the top to & through impact will be governed by how you take the club back.
how you take the club back will itself be heavily influenced by how you hold the handle, your posture (whether you keep posture) your aim, your alignment, ball position etc. but also by what you think the intention of a swing to connect through a golf motion actually is.

would need to see what exactly you do in all these things before anyone could be of any detailed precise help.
to that the best way would be a visit to a PGA Pro, but you'd have to expect to change a bunch of things to get better results. staying doing what you currently do will always bring pretty much the same outcomes.

bunch of things that will be influencing how you take the club back.
could be to much hands/wrists/arms movement from the get go (not enough of the bodies involvement in the turn away) so the club/hands/arms get straighways disconnected either by the left hand immediately turning over the right sending the shaft so clubhead back behind you a ways flat, then lifted to the top by the arms & shoulder tilt, this will put you in a position that the first move from the top is going to be the club arms/shoulders moving outwards towards the ball/target line.

or could be from address you're simply lifting the club straightways away from the body & upwards, which has the upper body tilt, not turn properly. weight can then also tend to move the wrong way, so to the left on the way back, then to the right on the way to impact, opposite to what should be happening. at the top of your backswing where is the weight - could you lift your left foot from the ground? at & through impact where is your weight - could you lift your right foot off the ground?
again from the top this will mostly always mean the first move towards impact is outwards over the top to in to the left through impact. the over the top swinging left through impact is going to happen as this sort of takeback of the club already has it outside the line at the top of the swing already before you move to try to get to the ball.

helps to think of the swing as an inclined circle that you are inside of & your arms need to be moved from the get go by the body turn - you'll need to feel that your hands arms club don't move independently of your body turn, so they stay connected.
then arms club are in front of your chest both going back to the top & from the top they move downwards (not outwards) so stay in front of your chest coming back down to & through impact to a balanced finish over your left shoulder weight firmly on the left leg left heel, right foot up on the toes, sole visible from the back, right hip moved through to be alongside the left hip, upper body having turned rightways through, so the right shoulder is the part of the body nearest to target, chest looking leftfield of target..

could be that you take the club back in a pretty good way to be in a reasonable position atop of swing.
but then it's your sequencing of how the swing to impact starts that's heavily responsible for the out to in swing path. downswing sequence has to start from the ground up, lead foot. leg, hip move first which brings the hands/arms/club right shoulder downwards from the top so you can then from hip height have the club just naturally then work outwards to impact.
even if you get to the top more or less okay, if you then start the downswing with the upper body moving first off along with the arms/hands, it's then inevitable the path will be out over the top, swinging out to in & left through impact, then depends whichways the face is looking as to whether it's a slice, pull, pull hook etc.

 

[the_coach]

[video=youtube_share;xvMiZQo70-E]http://youtu.be/xvMiZQo70-E[/video]