This month I am going to talk about the grip and ball position, both of which are not thought about enough by the majority of golfers.

For all the below tips I am talking about right handed players. For left handers please change left and right accordingly

The hands are the only part of your body that is in contact with the golf club and if they are not in a sound, neutral position on the club the ball will fly in the wrong direction even with the perfect swing.

• If the hands are too far to the right (strong) on the club (looking down on your hands) the ball will fly automatically left with the perfect swing.
• If the hands are too far to the left (weak) on the club (looking down on your hands ) the ball will fly automatically right with the perfect swing.
• If the hands are in a neutral position on the club the ball will fly straight with the perfect swing.

When the hands are incorrectly placed on the club it leads to the player having to compensate to prevent the ball going in the wrong direction. This , of course, can lead to major swing flaws which are often unnecessary if the grip is regulary checked and kept in a neutral position as in the middle picture above.Wrongly fitted grips are often a source of the hands being wrongly on the club. Ladies grips are smaller than mens for an obvious reason. If the grip is thicker than is correct for the size of hands a strong grip (pic.1 above) is almost inevitable. Also thicker grips can change the swingweight on a golf club by up to 3 points (making them swing much lighter) unless they are custom fitted to the correct swingweight. This can be checked by a fitting (e-mail: info@golfladiesfirst.com.au or tel: 0401 726598)

The ball position is another check that every golfer should do regularly. As with the grip any change in the ball position will result in the ball flying in a different direction leading to swing flaws. Most players believe it is the swing that is at fault when it can very often be a simple thing like the ball too far forward in their stance or vice-versa.

Keeping it simple the ball position for your shortest club (Sand or Lob Wedge) should be in the middle of your feet at address. Gradually as the club gets longer the ball position should move towards the left heel. Your longest club (Driver) should have the ball positioned at your left heel. If you look at the above picture the feet line is parallel to the ball-to-target line and if we draw a line from the ball it will touch the feet line at a right angle. This is the way to determine if the ball position is correct.

Keeping it even simpler I always tell my pupils 'LL' which basically stands for 'the longer the club (first L) the more the ball position has to be towards the left heel (second L).

If the ball position is too far right for the chosen club the ball will fly too far right with the perfect swing. If the ball position is too far left for the chosen club the ball will fly too far left with the perfect swing.

Simple, regular checks on your grip and ball position (in fact, your address position in general) can prevent major swing flaws.

Until next month, keep it on the fairway. Any questions please give me a call or e-mail,

Gordon