
Swing Faults When Your Golf Stance is Too Wide
- Proper stance width is 2" outside of neutral hip alignment
- A wider stance may feel powerful, but inhibits weight transfer
- Check your right shoe at follow through - there should be virtually no weight on that leg, so the shoe should be straight at finish
What is the best golf stance?
Top 10 Golf Stance Tips Ever!
- Your Legs Set the Stage. If you hope to make a great golf swing, you are going to have to start by using your legs to build a ...
- Open the Right Foot for a Better Turn. One of the amazing things about the stance in golf is how much influence it has over the rest of ...
- Build Around a Target. ...
- Make Yourself Comfortable While Putting. ...
How close to the golf ball should you stand?
Standing too close doesn’t allow you enough space to swing and will lead to the following results:
- You lose the right posture required to make the perfect swing that causes a host of its own problems.
- You cannot extend your arms enough to swing, resulting in frustration
- You lose balance and swing speed. ...
- You cannot achieve consistent hits standing too close to the ball, one of the most frustrating problems facing a golfer.
Why should you open your stance during the golf swing?
Why Should You Open Your Stance During the Golf Swing
- Function. An open stance turns a right-handed golfer's body to the left of the target. ...
- Considerations. Playing an open stance is the way to go when hitting the ball from the bunker. ...
- Types. When you want to hit a left-to-right fade from the fairway or the short rough, take a slightly open stance and use your normal swing.
- Potental. ...
- Warning. ...
How can you improve your golf stance?
- Start with width: Position your legs shoulder-width apart and flex your knees.
- Check your aim: Next, look at where your toes are pointing. ...
- Address your balance: When preparing to hit your irons, your weight should be balanced on the balls of your feet, not on your toes or heels.

What happens if your golf stance is too wide?
A stance too wide will restrict lower body motion and inhibit weight transfer. This can cause the upper body to become overly active resulting in a slice or pulled shots, like you can see in the image above.
Is a wider stance better in golf?
When your stance is wider you have a lower center of gravity. This will make your swing shorter, and therefore will be in better control. When it's windy you will be less likely to be blown off-balance. A wider stance also encourages your hips to stay level throughout the swing.
Is it better to have a wide or narrow golf stance?
The widest stance should be taken with your driver, while the narrowest stance should be for putting and chipping. Because not all golfers look the same or have the same height and shoulder width, the stance may be different for each of us.
How wide should my stance be with a driver?
With the driver, the longest club in the bag, you should aim for a stance width similar to the width of your shoulders. In general, the stronger you are, i.e. the wider your shoulders, the harder you will probably hit a golf ball.
Why do I hit the golf ball better with a narrow stance?
Narrowing your stance will allow for a better rotation in the back swing, which in turn will allow you to get your arms more around your body at the top, this will give you more chance of approaching the ball with a path to the right.
Can standing too far from the ball cause a slice?
Can Standing Too Far From The Ball Cause A Slice? Standing too far from the ball can cause you to slice the ball, but it's more common when you stand too close to the ball. Slices normally come from a swing path that's out-to-in or more commonly called coming “over the top.”
Is a wider stance better for a driver?
Wide For Driver. With a driver, it is best to stand with your feet a little wider. The extra stability and the width of the arc are going to help you get much more speed and a golf shaft that goes quite a bit further.
Why is a wide stance more stable?
Wider stances permit larger excursions of the body's center of mass (CoM) before reaching the limits of the base of support. Also, changing stance width impacts the physics governing LB motion. For example, a unit of LB torque applied about a hip joint is more effective in accelerating the LB in wide vs.
How does stance affect golf swing?
Adopting a wider stance lowers your center of gravity slightly, allowing you to become more stable on your feet as you address the club on the ground and as you execute your swing.
What does wide stance mean?
homosexualityNoun. wide stance (plural wide stances) (slang, euphemistic, sometimes humorous) homosexuality (as an attribute of a person)
What happens if my golf stance is too wide?
A stance that is too wide will likely have a negative impact on your golf swing as it will restrict your hip turn, both in the backswing and downswing. This will create a myriad of inefficiencies that may cost you distance; cause a sliding of the pelvis, leading to early extension; and possibly make it difficult to control the low-point of your swing arc.
How does width of stance affect your golf swing?
On the other hand, a stance that is too wide can cause restriction of the hips, which may cause unwanted inefficiencies in your swing.
Is it better to have a wide or narrow stance in golf?
Having a stance that is the correct width for each club will provide optimal results than a stance that is too wide, or too narrow. For this reason, wider is not necessarily ‘better’. A stance that is too wide may restrict rotation, just as a too narrow stance may leave you unbalanced.
Why is my stance width important in golf?
Your stance width needs to allow you to get on your left side at impact to rotate freely and avoid injuries. You don’t see a lot of injuries happening during the golf backswing because there’s not as much force and speed happening. But the downswing can cause issues such as back problems, hip problems, and knee problems.
How to determine proper stance width?
Determining the proper golf stance width is one of those things in golf instruction that there’s a lot of conflicting information on. You've certainly heard all of these before from various golf instructors: Stand really wide so you can be really stable. Stand really narrow so you can rotate better. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart like ...
What should the setup width be based on?
The setup width should be based on the fundamentals of your anatomy and the fundamentals of what you’re trying to achieve in the golf swing.
Why is proper stance width important?
Having the proper stance width is imperative for reducing injury. So, let’s figure out what the proper stance width is from an anatomical perspective and how you determine that.
What swing method do tour pro use?
More TOUR PROS Use RST Fundamentals Than Any Other Swing Method!
Which side of the golf swing is the most important?
The most important part of the golf swing is getting perfectly stacked on the left side at impact so that you can rotate freely. This is where some of the highest forces in the golf swing occur on your body, on this left side coming in the downswing and into impact. And so this is where a lot of injuries occur.
How to be more stable in sports?
Stand really wide so you can be really stable. Stand really narrow so you can rotate better. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart like you do in other sports. All these recommendations are misinformation even though the intentions may be good.
What is the shoulder width rule?
Being short, tall, stout, thin, or average will have a direct impact on the width of your stance. The shoulder width rule (your feet shoulder width apart) is an okay guideline, but flexibility will definitely impact your foot position. The more flexible, the wider your stance.
Is shoulder width a good rule?
The shoulder width rule (your feet shoulder width apart) is an okay guideline, but flexibility will definitely impact your foot position. The more flexible, the wider your stance.
How Wide Should a Golf Stance Be?
Most golf swing professionals claim that the stance must be shoulder-width, or sometimes wider.
What is the ideal stance width for golf?
The Ideal Golf Stance Width. In fact, the ideal golf swing stance width is when the center of both ankles is the width of two golf balls or even wider than the joints of the hip. This is the ideal stance width that can prevent any head movement from taking place during the golf swing. It’s worth mentioning that the ideal stance width still allows ...
Why is my golf swing faulty?
One of the reasons behind a faulty golf swing is improper setup. In fact, proper golf setup is something that, with practice, can guarantee 100% success in the golf swing. There are many conflicting instructions about the proper stance width of the golf swing. Most of these instructions are in fact misleading if not harmful to your golf swing ...
What is the most important factor in determining a golf stance?
Important Factors of Golf Stance Width. The most important determining factor of a golf stance width is your hip joints’ position. In fact, the limbs that shape your stance width are fastened to your body at the joints of your hip. Your stance should provide proper stability.
How to swing a golf ball fast?
If you want the ball to swing very fast, all you need to do is to let your fingers make a small, rotational movement, pulling against the ball’s weight. You can utilize centripetal power to speed the ball up and therefore pull it toward the center. Although this golf swing’s analogy is simple, it’s considered great.
Where is the stance joint on a golf club?
The joint is very close to the body’s midline; it’s located about 2 fingers inside the hip bone’s crest. You cannot change your stance width on a basis of the club’s length. The movement pattern that is required for all swing shots is the same.
Why is a slide bad for golf?
This slide is actually the main reason of a slice, and it therefore weakens your swing power. A slide is also unsafe because it creates a great deal of stress on the left knee, the left hip, and the lower back.
What does a wide stance look like?
Specifically, a good wide stance sees the outside of your shoulders line up with the inside of your feet.
What is a very narrow stance?
Very Narrow Stance. Certain types of shots require a narrower stance still. In order to adopt a very narrow stance you will need to position your feet so that the width of your shoulder dwarfs the distance between them.
Why should shoulders line up with feet?
Because this is the default athletic position in golf in can be used for most ‘normal’ shots. Erring away from that position is done in order to achieve specific objectives or ...
What is the best way to use a chip in golf?
As such, it is best used with very delicate shots that require the smallest of swing amplitudes. For example, small chips from tight lies can be best performed with such a stance while a long drive will almost see you losing your footing in the process of executing your swing.
How are your feet positioned relative to each other?
In addition to how they are positioned relative to the ball, your feet can also vary in how they are positioned relative to each other and specifically the distance between them. Indeed, they can be placed very near one another in a narrow stance or they can be placed far from each other in a wide stance.
How does lowering your center of gravity affect your swing?
Another effect of lowering your center of gravity is that it tends to lower the bottom of the swing arc. This in turn can lead to greater odds of hitting fat shots – where the club penetrates the ground before making impact with the ball.
Why is stability important in golf?
This gain in stability is particularly helpful in very windy days, allowing you to confidently go about your swing without fear of falling off balance. It is also helpful whenever your feet are on a sidehill, again helping you maintain balance.
What happens if your stance is too narrow?
Conversely, if your stance is too narrow, your lower body becomes way too active — good for the dance floor but not when you’re looking to catch shots solid on the course. An overactive lower body throws off your timing and balance.
What happens if you set up too wide?
Here’s what happens: If you set up too wide at address, you’re going to have a doozy of a time opening your hips through impact and transferring your weight to your lead side , especially if you’re not as flexible or athletic as you used to be.
Should you put your feet in the correct position before starting the club back?
It should never happen in the first place, because let’s be honest: Setting your feet in the correct position before you start the club back is probably the easiest thing you can do in this game. After 30 years of teaching, I’m still amazed how most recreational golfers choose to ignore fundamentals such as stance width.
How to work on golf stance?
There are lots of ways to work on the golf stance, but the best possible way is to see what you look like. You can use a mirror on a driving range, or you can have a friend take some pictures or a video of your swing.
How to get into proper golf posture?
The best way to get yourself into the proper posture is to stand tall, holding the golf club out in front of you.
Why do people have their feet touching when hitting wedge shots?
Many people will have their feet almost touching when they are hitting certain wedge shots around the green. Having some flexibility in the width of your feet while taking your golf stance is quite important . 2. Posture. Having great posture can lead to other positives in your golf swing like swing plane and balance.
What is the stance of a wedge shot?
The stance for a wedge shot is much more narrow, and the ball may appear closer to the back foot, but it should still be close to the middle of the stance. 4. Balance and Weight Distribution. An essential part of a proper golf stance is making sure that your body weight is distributed correctly.
Why is posture important in golf?
The most important thing about posture is to ensure you have the proper spine angle and that your arms can hang freely.
Why do you put weight in the center of your golf ball?
Having the weight in the center will help your stance to stay more in control, and it will cause a lot less leaning forwards and backward as you get into the impact position. When you set up to hit a golf ball, it is ok to have just a little more weight on the right leg (for right-handers).
What happens when you hit a golf shot with an iron?
When you hit a golf shot with an iron or a wedge, you need for there to be a descending blow. This is what causes the ball to launch correctly on the short irons and to spin as it should.
Why is a wide stance important in golf?
The biggest benefit of the wide golf stance is the stability . When you have a wide base, your lower body is going to be well planted into the ground, and you will have a stable base of support to get the speed that you need.
Who Should Use A Narrow Golf Stance?
Golfers that are struggling to turn through the golf ball are going to benefit from the narrow stance. The narrow stance allows players to quickly rotate their hips and get their arms and body to a complete and full finish.
How Will The Width Of Your Stance Going To Affect Your Game?
The golf stance can affect a few parts of your game. It can affect the speed of the club, your ability to turn and swing through the ball, and your balance as well .
Is Narrow Vs. Wide Stance Better?
Both a narrow and wide stance is going to have their benefits. It is really difficult to say that one is better than the other. The definite decision of narrow or wide stance being better cannot be made for all golfers. The decision instead has to be based on individual player abilities.
Does Swing Speed Affect How Wide Your Stance Should Be?
When you have a faster swing speed, you can stand with a slightly wider golf stance. The speed will help you transfer your weight through the ball and get the desired results that you are looking golf.
What does it mean when your golf stance is narrow?
Something you will notice about golfers with a narrow stance is that they tend to stand a bit more upright when they address the golf ball. Something about the feet being closer together can sometimes bring players a bit closer to the ball and increase their spine angle.
What is a narrow stance in golf?
A narrow golf stance is typically one that is slightly more narrow than shoulder width. The standard golf stance is about shoulder width apart with your feet; narrow stance golfers will have their feet even closer than this.
