Benefits of Standing Further Away from The Golf Ball

If you’ve been golfing for any amount of time, then you know that your stance can make a substantial difference to your swing and what happens when you make contact with the ball.

Learning to have the perfect stance can be a challenge because you can actually adjust your stance to achieve specific functions.

What does standing further away from the golf ball do for you? That’s exactly what we are here to cover. There can be benefits to standing further away, just as there can also be downsides at times.

Why The Perfect Stance Matters

In examples like the ones this video shares, you find that standing too far away might negatively affect your grip, leading to a swing that isn’t going to end the way you want it to.

You have less control of your swing and in the end, you’re probably going to be adjusting to perfect that swing instead.


If you’re standing too far away from your golf ball when you swing, you may not even realize that you’re hindering yourself and that you’re adjusting other parts of the stance to counteract the swing.

From adjusting your wrist position to perhaps turning or stretching wrong to reach the ball. According to Piqua Country Club, there are 5 things to consider to get the perfect golf stance.

  • Aligning your toes and feet
  • Adjusting to the proper width
  • Check your posture
  • Know your balance
  • Ball Placement

Ball placement relates directly to where you are in relation to your ball. This may also vary depending on your club.

So, How Far Away Should You Stand?

While there are certainly benefits to standing close to the ball in some cases, there are other instances in which it is better to stand farther away.

If you really want to get the distance and be able to perfect your game and your stance, you need to learn how to take advantage of standing close or standing farther away at times.

 

Stock Stance

If you’ve never heard of the stock stance, this is just the natural stance that you take when you grab your golf ball and your club.

It’s driven by instinct and you just stand to hit the ball. But when you add a little extra thought, you may decide to move closer or farther away.

Standing Further Away from the Ball

 

When you consider standing away from the ball, picture standing approximately the length of two golf balls father away, as described by Golf WRX. It’s only the slightest adjustments but it can make a big difference.

Moving your golf ball two ball lengths away from you drives you to tilt your hips slightly and your stance will become more about your toes. You use your hips more when you swing and your arc changes, typically drawing it closer to the ground.

However, your downswing is adjusted for practiced golfers and you actually will most likely hit the ball harder off of the ground or tee in order to make sure you hit the golf ball before the ground.

Standing Closer to the Ball

In the same description as above, Golf WRX also mentions that standing closer to the ball is also about the same distance of two golf ball lengths closer from the stock stance. Again, it’s a minimal adjustment but it can make a large difference.

This stance leads to better posture, standing more upright, and placing more of your stance into your heels as well. What has been found is that you will still more likely have more emphasis in your downswing here but for a different reason.

In this case, the swing arc comes close to your ball faster and most golfers will adjust in their downswing to slow it down and avoid mishap. The end result is often a harder hit to the ball.

Standing closer or farther away from the ball has very similar effects overall.

Determining Your Best Stance

All of this information is great, right? But you still don’t know how far away you should stand. Here’s the thing, there isn’t really a precise measurement. If we tell you to stand with your two 18 inches from the ball, that may not work for some.

We are all built differently so your stance will depend on your but it mostly depends on your club.

According to Reader’s Digest, the distance you stand actually depends on your club more than anything else. If you learn how to properly line up your club with the ball, then it will help you stand the appropriate distance from the ball for your swing.

Again, remember that you can adjust closer or farther away by about 2 ball lengths as well.

How Far to Stand Away with a Driver

Drivers tend to be long clubs and your stance from the ball will need to be adjusted to accommodate the length of the club. A common mistake with the driver is to actually stand too far away to accommodate for the length of the driver.

Your driver is most likely your longest club and it seems to throw people off. Standing too far away with the driver places your shoulders in a bad position and will more likely result in a slice rather than a full drive.

Step just slightly closer to the ball and you will notice a significant change in your swing and the impact the driver makes with the ball. You will most likely get a cleaner swing and more distance.

How Far to Stand Away with an Iron

Irons tend to be slightly shorter and some of them are increasingly shorter on shaft measurement. Lining up your iron for a smooth swing is pretty easy if you know what to look for.

According to Golf Digest, you can line shorter clubs up with the logo on the club. Bring your stance in a bit and narrow it up slightly so that your ball is centered to your body better. A good rule of thumbs is that the butt of the grip should be about 6 inches from your body.

Want to test it out? Start with a swing, moving your club back just about a foot. Use only one hand for this test. Try to place the second hand on the club while you’re holding it a foot back. Do you have to reach for the club? If you do, you should adjust.

Advantages To Standing Further Away From The Golf Ball#

Some golfers would tell you that standing further away isn’t helpful, while others would tell you that it has its strategic benefits.

The key to consider is that you want to have the right stance for your swing, for your club, and for your results with the ball.

What you really need to understand is that when you stand further away from the ball, you need to check your stance to get it right.

If you stand with your knees straight, the result will be that you are reaching and it will cause your balance to be off as well.

A common misunderstanding is that standing further away from the ball gives you a more upright swing but it actually does the opposite. Standing closer to the ball gives you a more upright swing.

The biggest advantage of standing farther away from the ball is to give yourself a flatter swing plane. This is particularly helpful with the driver. Stand farther away from the ball to help keep your back straight with a slight forward tilt.

You should be able to hang your arms under your shoulders without stretching or curving. There is a happy medium as well. If you stand too far away, then you will have to work to reach the golf ball so that is not what you want to do here.

Distance Strike

Standing farther away from the golf ball helps you get a better hit that is designed for distance.

You get clear impact with the ball, striking with the center of the club and leading to more distance from impact.

With the proper distance, standing slightly further away, your swing will increase compression and give you more distance when you strike the ball.

Swing Balance

As long as you have the proper stance and you’re not standing at a distance that causes you to stretch, you will get a swing with proper balance.

Your swing will follow through with the right arc in your downswing and the best impact without throwing you off balance.

When your stand too close or too far, you will find yourself off balance and then you will adjust with that movement, which could negatively impact your swing.

Take a slight step back and notice the difference.

Improved Rotation

Standing just slightly farther away from the ball gives you the room to rotate properly during your swing.

If you get your distance right, you will rotate using your spine and you won’t sway in the process.

This leads to transferring your weight better during the swing and making a better swing in the end.

When you make impact, the distance and the trajectory will be far improved because your rotation is correct.

Slicing

If you want to slice the ball, it is far easier to do with a distance stance.

While there are times we certainly don’t want to slice, there are other times when a slice could come in handy.

If you need to swing in to out, or slice the ball, adding just a touch of distance between you and the ball can help!

Disadvantages to Standing Further Away from the Golf Ball

Now, while there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. You need to learn the proper stance and the proper time to stand further away as opposed to closer and vice versa.

Standing further away from the ball can sometimes cause you to stretch too far, which probably won’t produce the best results. Here are some of the most common disadvantages to standing further away from the golf ball.

Forward Tilt

If you stand too far away, you will tilt your body forward too far, in a motion that will impact your swing.

Because you tilt your spine, you won’t be able to get a clean swing. According to Golf Info Guide, this forward tilt makes you stretch too much to reach the ball.

If you stand further away from the golf ball, your goal is not to have to reach significantly still to hit the ball.

 

The Reach

When you tilt forward or stand too far away from the ball, you have to reach out with your arms to be able to hit the ball. This causes you to overextend your arms and lose some of your control.

When you reach forward with your arms extended, you actually place a lot of extra stress on your lower body and you adjust the rest of your body to compensate for that reach.

When you reach, you are using your arms for the swing, rather than your entire body.

 

Proximity to the Ground

Standing farther away might actually cause you to run your club too close to the ground, which can lead to a flatter swing.

What happens is you get your swing in motion and then you attempt to retract from the swing to pull back from the ground.

This will cause your swing to run flat and low, adjusting your swing plane and reducing the distance of the ball on impact.

 

Conclusion

As with any stance or adjustment in golf, standing further away from the ball requires you to understand how your stance will affect your play.

There are times standing slightly further away may be helpful but you need to get your stance right or you may experience some disadvantages to the swing in the process.

If you do it right, standing further away from the ball can help you drive the ball farther and maintain control, just as sometimes standing closer to the ball can also do the same.