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2 October 2026 · 8 min read

The golf address position: stance, ball position and posture for irons and driver

A great deal of the shot is decided before the swing. Aim, stance, posture and ball position as the PGA describes them, and how to measure them in a bay.

The golf address position: stance, ball position and posture for irons and driver — post image

Before the swing begins, a great deal of the shot has already been decided. Anyone aimed wrongly, with the ball in the wrong place or standing crooked needs compensating moves in the swing, and those cost strikes. The address position is the part of golf you can check most easily yourself: with a phone, a club on the ground and an hour in a bay.

What the address position covers

In its training document PGA Germany gathers everything that counts before the shot under four terms: grip, aim, stance and posture, GASP for short (PGA Germany). The grip has a post of its own, How to hold the golf grip. This one is about the other three.

ViewBasicWhat belongs to it
face onStanceBall position relative to the body, stance width, weight left and right, sideways tilt of the upper body, shoulder line, eye line
from the sidePostureBody angles of knees and upper body, head position, distance from the ball, weight forward and back
from behind towards the targetAimFoot line, hip line, shoulder line and eye line relative to the target line

That is also the order in which you film yourself: once face on, once from the side, once from behind in the line of the target. Where the phone belongs is in Filming your own swing.

Step 1: Aim

The PGA of America beginner's guide describes a sequence you can repeat on every shot. Stand about three feet, roughly a metre, behind the ball and pick a spot on the target line only a few feet in front of it. Then place the clubface behind the ball, aimed at that spot, and only then set your feet (PGA of America). The near spot is easier to hit than a target a hundred metres away.

PGA Germany distinguishes three alignments: parallel, open and closed. Parallel means the lines of your body run parallel to the line from ball to target. Open they point left of the target, closed right of it, for right-handers in each case. It uses the picture of two railway tracks: you stand on one, the ball lies on the other. At short range you can then see clearly that a parallel golfer points left of the target.

Important for beginners: the club swings roughly in the direction you are aimed. And the document warns of a creeping fault. When the ball does not fly to the target, players change their alignment bit by bit until it has little to do with the target. Anyone who notices late looks for the fault in the swing when it is really in the stance.

Step 2: The stance

The PGA of America describes the stance in two sentences: stand to the ball with your ankle joints under your shoulders, and distribute your weight evenly between heels and balls of the feet and between left and right foot (PGA of America). The German Golf Association's beginner pages say the same in other words: feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, weight in the middle of the foot and neither on the toes nor on the heels (golf.de).

That is the stance for a full swing. It serves balance: anyone who tips over in the swing misses the ball, however good the grip. Check it with a simple test, a practice swing without a ball with your eyes closed. If you sway, something is not right.

Step 3: The posture

For posture the PGA of America gives two instructions. Tilt your spine away from the target so that the rear shoulder is lower than the front one. And push your hips back and tilt forward from the hips until the bottom of your breastbone points at the ball (PGA of America). The golf association's pages put it this way: hinge from the hips with slightly bent knees.

PGA Germany lists as features of posture the angles of knees and upper body, head position, distance to the ball and weight forward or back. Distance to the ball is the point that is most often wrong in practice: too far away and you have to reach for the ball in the swing, too close and your arms have no room. The grip influences it; the document counts distance among the factors that depend on the grip.

Ball position: a principle, not a tape measure

Where the ball sits in your stance decides the angle of attack. That is the principle PGA Germany names as a learning goal for the tee shot: ball position matched to the angle of attack. Luke Kerr-Dineen sums it up on Golf.com: the further forward the ball is in your stance, the more you hit up on it, the further back, the more you hit down (Golf.com).

ClubBall positionWhat that does to the angle of attack
Driverjust inside the left heelfurthest forward: the club may already be moving up at impact
Hybrid and ironsstaggered from front to backthe shorter the club, the further back, the steeper downward
Wedgemiddle of the stancefurthest back: clearly downward, so the club meets the ball before the ground

The numbers come from TrackMan. The PGA Tour driver strikes at minus 0.9 degrees of attack angle on average, slightly downward. The LPGA Tour strikes it at plus 2.8 degrees, upward (TrackMan, Attack Angle). Both play the ball forward. The difference is swing speed and swing style, not a different principle.

What the bay shows you

Ball position is the part of the address you can measure most precisely. In a bay, lay three balls in a row, one forward, one in the middle, one back, hit ten shots with the 7 iron from each position and note two numbers: attack angle and smash factor. Smash factor shows where contact is cleanest, attack angle how the position changes the shot. What the numbers mean is in Understanding launch monitor numbers.

An hour costs a median of CHF 50 per bay, usually shared by up to four people. 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory publish their hourly price. Where a venue near you is, the map shows, and 95 of the 126 venues offer coaching: the training page lists them. If you play left-handed, mirror everything; Golf as a left-hander shows what else comes with equipment and the bay.

More on this: Golf ball moves.

One routine for every shot

The PGA of America divides the swing into two phases: the preparation before the shot and the swing itself. Preparation includes a pre-shot routine and the address (PGA of America). A routine for a start: stand behind the ball, find the near spot on the target line, set the clubface, place your feet shoulder-width apart, bend from the hips, close the grip. Always in the same order. That turns the address from a thought into a habit, and a fault catches your eye because something feels different.

The next step is the swing itself: The golf swing for beginners describes the phases, the angles and the numbers. For the first shots on the course there are Golf tips for beginners.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the ball sit with the driver?

With the driver the ball sits furthest forward in the stance, just inside the left heel for right-handers. There you can hit up on it. The shorter the club, the further back the ball, with a wedge in the middle of the stance.

How wide do I stand in golf?

For a full swing, shoulder-width apart. The PGA of America describes it as the ankle joints under the shoulders, and the German Golf Association's beginner pages say feet shoulder-width apart. The weight sits in the middle of the feet, not on the toes or heels.

How do I lean to the ball correctly?

From the hips, with slightly bent knees. Push your hips back and tilt forward until the bottom of your breastbone points at the ball. In addition you tilt the spine slightly away from the target so the rear shoulder is lower.

What do parallel, open and closed mean?

Parallel means the body lines run parallel to the line from ball to target. Open they point left of the target, closed right of it, for right-handers. The club swings roughly in the direction you are aimed.

How do I check my address position myself?

Film yourself twice: face on for ball position and stance, from the side for posture and distance from the ball. In a bay you measure the effect of ball position with attack angle and smash factor, ten shots per position.

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