How To Stay Behind The Golf Ball (5 Tips)

5 Tips:

Have a quality setup.
Have the proper shoulder turn and rotation.

Keep your head and sternum centered.
Focus on seeing the back of the ball.
Focus on a target instead of the golf ball.

One of the keys to any quality golf swing is standing behind the ball.

This means that golfer’s upper body and head are behind the ball at impact. The golfer that moves ahead of the ball will struggle and have an inconsistent low point control, struggle with start line control and experience an inconsistent pattern to their shot.

The key fundamentals to all golf swings consist of the following 3 keys:

Low Point Control: The golfer needs to control the bottom of the swing to hit the ball solid on a consistent basis. The golfer that shifts too much will struggle and have to time up their swing with some flipping at the bottom.
Start Line and Curve Control: The gofler needs to have a consistent start line and a pattern to the curve of the ball. This is typically a push draw or a slight pull fade. Either way the golfer can control the ball and have a solid idea of where it will start and what direction it will curve.
Speed: The golfer needs enough speed to produce enough distance to play the golf course. The golfer who is moving ahead of the ball will be leaking power on the downswing as an early casting of the club may occur.

How To Stay Behind The Golf Ball – 5 Tips

Update: If your swing starts to feel a bit off, take out the camera and capture a video from the side view. Take note of where your head and shoulder start and where they are at impact. If you are struggling, there is the possibility that you are moving ahead of the ball.

Before we dive into each of the 5 tips above, let’s first discuss the benefits.

Much like a baseball swing, the golf swing is best when the golfer can see the back of the ball.

Benefits of Staying Behind the Golf Ball

The golfer is able to control their low point, have a general idea of the start line and curve of the shot and maximize their speed. Moving ahead of the ball causes the golfer to get flippy with the hands at the bottom resulting in poor low point control, inconsistent shot pattern, and a loss of distance from flipping the hands.

Overall, the golfer who moves ahead of the ball will experience inconsistency due to the flipping that is the result of the moving ahead of the ball.

One of the online golf instructors we have reviewed, Bobby Lopez, calls it moving “offsides.” When a golfer moves forward and past the ball with their front shoulder, he will let the golfer know that they are “offsides.” He sees this as a key to playing your best golf and one of the key things that many amateurs struggle with.

You will find very few golfers on tour who are “offsides” and are playing quality golf!

Check out our review on Bobby Lopez!

Tip #1: Have A Quality Setup

In order to stay behind the ball, we must set up properly. The golfer, especially with the driver, should start with their head behind the ball. From a proper setup, the golfer can move his or her slightly away from the target or keep it centered during the swing. If you set up with your head past the ball, you will really struggle with ever getting “onsides.”

With the irons, your head can be more even or slightly behind the ball. Once again, the golfer should have a focus on having a repetitive setup and use a camera to take video or still images of their setup and work on repeating as often as possible. If you set up differently every time over the ball, you will struggle with consistency.

Tip #2: Have The Proper Shoulder Turn and Rotation

The shoulders are going to turn back and thru. The common swing fault for the person who ends up “offsides” is the shoulders will shift or stay back and away from the target and then shift ahead of the ball as the head obviously will follow the shoulders.

One key swing thought is to turn and tilt back through the shot and then from the top of the swing, try to get your right shoulder in the current spot of your left shoulder. Your shoulders are replacing each other in the swing both on the backswing and then on downswing.

Moving Your Head in Golf Swing: Good or Bad?

Tip #3: Keep Your Head and Sternum Centered

The Stack and Tilt Instructors were some of the first to point out that some goflers swing with their centers staying centered throughout the shot, both on the backswing and the downswing. Some teachers, for years, promoted the shift off the ball and then back forward. This alone can cause the golfer to over move towards the target and move past the golf ball.

While we believe that you can swing successfully either way, the most consistent pattern, especially for those that can’t practice everyday, is to stay more centered.

The shoulders will turn and tilt in the backswing, allowing the body and head to remain centered. You then turn and extend through the shot.

For a full review on the Stack and Tilt, check out this post

Tip #4: Focus On Seeing The Back of the Ball

Of course we need some intention to stay behind the ball. Check out some of the best golfers of all time and note where their heads are at impact. While many people might tell you to keep your head down, the real advance is to keep your head behind the ball. The head at times might actually start to move up, but it will stay behind the ball as the body clears.

Start with some half swings and work on seeing the back of the ball.

Tip #5: Focus on a Target Instead of the Golf Ball

This might seem like strange advice, but when we make the golf ball the final destination instead of the target, we throw all of the angles away before we get to the ball. This often leads to moving past the ball and casting the club on the downswing.

Instead, start behind the ball, find your target somewhere beyond the hole and swing back and through towards that target. The golf ball will get in the way and your mechanics will more than likely improve as you focus on making a natural motion that sends the ball flying towards the target.

One of our top rated instructors, Shawn Clement, is amazing at teaching this concept.

For a full review of Shawn Clement, check out this post!

Working on your game 365 days a year in your own golf simulator is a game changer. Check out the helpful links below to explore!

How to Assess Your Current Swing

So do you keep your head behind the golf ball? There is a really fast and inexpensive way to find out. Follow these steps:

Use your Smartphone and a friend

Have them stand to the side and point the camera at the center of your chest.
Go ahead and take several swings, capturing your swing on video.
Use a free app to draw lines on where your front shoulder and head are at setup and pause the video at impact and see if you are behind those lines.

Work on the tips above if you move past the ball with your front shoulder or head.

Next Steps: Staying Behind The Golf Ball

I would recommend taking a video of your swing, checking out the review on Bobby Lopez and Shawn Clement and then using some of these tips to help you get better.

Here are two bonus drills you can use to take your game to the next level once you get your head behind the ball!

Stock Shot Drill

At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.

The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.

Most golfers can practice this drill the rest of their golf journey. It brings the golf more back to neutral and builds confidence to establish a shot pattern!

The Low Point Control Dril

Take some yard paint and patin a 1-2 yard long line.

Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.

You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.

If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keep your head still to help control the low point in the swing.

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About four years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage. I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

George Gankas

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

How to Break 70

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?