Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

GStuart — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 15:51:48 GMT

Fantastic video Ben, thank you for clarifying. I've struggled so much with set up lately, never really know how far to stand away from the ball.

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

Ben Blalock — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 16:14:30 GMT

Hi Dr. K-

I think you bring up a good point here with your question...

The word "standard" has always concerned me, but I understand that every manufacturer has to have a baseline, so I take it with a grain of salt.

That being said, I generally work with my players on shaft length using a TrackMan to keep an eye on the Data Point referred to as: "Swing Plane". This is a measure of how the shaft angle relates to the ground at the moment the ball separates from the club face.

Generally speaking, all things being equal, longer shafts tend to produce "Swing Plane" numbers that are closer to zero than shorter shafts. In my experience, golfers do better when they can keep the "Swing Plane" number as measured with the driver, from becoming drastically different than it might be with a hybrid club with which that player has a reasonable amount of success. So, shorten the shaft and enjoy the improvement!

As to your question about posture, I worry when a club causes a player's posture to change dramatically. Unless I deem that it needs to of course! But I'd have to see the golfer in person to really know for sure. That being said, I think that a shaft that's potentially "too long" will require you to stand up taller and get further away from the ball. This will cause that "Swing Plane" to flatten though and usually adds up to a less than ideal fit.

Hope that helps,

-Ben

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

BStandbridge — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 21:47:28 GMT

This seems to be a good way to get into position, I'm certainly guilty of raising my arms at address. Would you apply the same procedure to setting up with the driver?

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

joe t — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 21:26:11 GMT

Great video, as I have been working on getting a full shoulder turn.
Hopefully it helps be to make better contact with the sweet spot of the clubface.

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

Alex — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 16:19:22 GMT

Never approach it like this but seems a really decent way to go about with minimal fuss.

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

Dr. Kovatchian — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 15:35:33 GMT

Any advice for players that are fitted into 45.5" driver shafts that are on the shorter side of 5'10"?
What posture adjustments thru the bag need to be made to improve a consistent strike?
Recently went back to a 44.5" driver which improved my smash factor...more distance and more fairways.

Cheers,
Dr. K

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

Eric H — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 15:17:55 GMT

Set up videos and tips, underrated!! Set up is something we can all control!

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

Don O — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 14:53:19 GMT

DOH! So much more simple than my awkward attempts at being comfortable for full swings of short irons. Thank you!

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

John P — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 13:40:03 GMT

Great simple video. Sometimes just doing the basic fundamentals can help tremendously. Thanks!

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

Ben Blalock — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 17:33:24 GMT

Hey Rick,

Thanks for the question!

In my view, foot flare is directly correlated to lower body rotational movement. Generally speaking, if a player’s lower body turn reaches its end range of motion in the DOWNSWING prior to impact, it’s a good idea to flare the lead toe. The earlier the hips stop rotating, the more flare I would usually recommend.

The same goes for the backswing... if the lower body doesn’t turn very far - meaning the player’s hands fail to reach the height of the trail shoulder *** without bending the lead arm *** - then I’d go ahead and open up the back foot as well.

I hope this helps out, thanks again!!!

-Ben

RE: Posture and How Far to Stand from the Ball

Rick V., Team Titleist Staff — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 14:00:23 GMT

Ben, thanks for the tip. Do you give any thought to how much to flare your feet at address?

Best,

Rick