I get this question as much as any from students and listeners.

Does the ball move back in my stance as the clubs get shorter?

The answer is NO. My belief is that we are trying to compress the ball in golf. We want to smash the ball against the ground. In order for this to happen the ball must be struck right before the low point of the swing.

The golf swing as we know is a circle and the low point we remember from high school geometry is directly underneath the center of the circle. Thus, with the center of our golf swing circle being our front shoulder then the low point is underneath our front shoulder. Therefore the ball should be place just in front of that position. The low point will always be at the same point in relation to the front shoulder.

The width of your stance should narrow as the club gets shorter and as a result your back foot moves in closer to the ball. This makes the ball get closer to your rear foot.

Try this with your ball position and see if you don’t become more consistent.