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I find that on my downswing (on iron shots) I usually connect with the ground in the middle of my stance.

Therefore - I put the ball about 2 inches back in my stance on my 8-SW shots to hit down on the ball first and put the ball in the middle on my 5-7 irons and a little up on my 3-4 irons and woods.

DOes anyone else do this with their ball & stance? I find I hit more solid shots with my 8-SW by putting it back in my stance but sometimes they will start out right. If I play the ball in the middle of my stance with those irons I don't get as solid as a shot and I do not hit is as far either...

In my opinion, you have a solid understanding of the fundamental setup. You are correct to play the short irons back. When you play 'em in the middle it's past the impact point but right on time...When you play 'em back they're in a good spot but they're just a tad early. That is the delicate dance we all must confront. The severity fluctuates. I guess my best advice is the worn out old adage of play it back where it's comfortable and let the club head do the work, i.e. don't insist on having torque on the back side of the grip through the impact area...get the work done before then and enjoy the ride. I know this is mind games...hope it helped.

Shade

The typical set up as taught by PGA coaches is Driver just inside front foot, Mid irons middle to 5/8 way back and lower irons a little further back. Its the progressive swing pattern to allow max launch and spin.

I play mine as follows:

Driver: left heel
3 wood: 1 inch inside left heel
irons: 2 inches or so left of middle of my stance.

Butch Harmon teaches to play all irons shots in the same place in your stance. For an average player this makes it much easier to be consistant. The more you move the ball around in your stance the more chance you take on inconsistancies.

Just my .02 cents

You posed this as somewhat of a question so here is my opinion. If you dont get solid contact with the ball in the middle there is a good chance you are reverse pivoting. I have not seen your swing so I cannot say for sure though. No regular shot, unless you have a physical reason, should be behind center of your stance. Specialty shots sometimes, but normal shots no. By playing the ball back you create a lot of problems, just to name a few; will have to close your shoulders and pull across your body to hit the ball square on the clubface, you will not be able to shift through the ball, you may end up reverse pivoting and therefore hit the ball fat, Clubface will be open at impact. that is off the top of my head, I am sure there are many more. Some people, like harmon and hogan, want you to play the ball in the same spot relative to your front foot. What changes is the width of your stance, and hogan suggested gradually changing it from a closed stance with driver to an open stance with a wedge. Maybe you play the ball in that position to offset a swing issue.

If that is where you play the ball my suggestion would be to take a lesson and have the instructor see it, that way you dont have to take my word for it. Set up is the second most important thing in golf, it needs to be fundamentally sound. Ask JC, he seems to know better than most of us anyways.

http://www.golftips.com/wsbpage.cfm?pageid=24

this article might help a little