This quick 2-step test will reveal if you’re standing too close to the golf ball

The key is seeing how your arm swings away from your body.

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When you ask pros about their swing, most of them will push back on the premise of the question. It’s not their golf swing they’re working hard on. Often, it’s their setup — things like posture, ball position, stance width, alignment, and distance from the ball.

It’s the little things in your setup that can create some negative effects in your golf swing. Get them right, and you’ll be solving problems before they even arise.

Enter Nick Bova, a New Jersey PGA Teacher of the Year who works out of Hamilton Farm Golf Club. Bova is a good follow on Instagram, and in a recent post of his, he shares a handy video about how to check if you’re setting up too far away, too close to, or just the right distance from the golf ball.

Check out the full video here, or scroll down for a quick summery.

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1. Too Far

As Bova illustrates: Set up to the golf ball and once you’re comfortable, let go of the club with your trail hand. If your hand swings closer to your body, that’s an indication that you’re standing too far away from the ball.

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2. Too close

The opposite will happen if you’re standing too close to the golf ball. Let go with your trail hand, and it’ll swing out in front of the club.

Screen Shot 2021 10 19 at 12.57.35 PM

3. Just Right

And if you’re perfect? You’ll know if you drop your trail hand off the golf club and your hand swings even with the grip, parallel to your body.

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Luke Kerr-Dineen

Golf.com Contributor

Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees all the brand’s service journalism spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.

An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University and in 2017 was named News Media Alliance’s “Rising Star.” His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

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