Surprisingly enough, the width of your stance has a lot to do
with the success or failure of the golf swing. A stance too wide
prohibits you from using your lower body properly and a stance too
narrow cuts down on your balance.
Surprisingly enough, the width of your stance has a lot to do with the success or failure of the golf swing. A stance too wide prohibits you from using your lower body properly and a stance too narrow cuts down on your balance.
Few people who I come across have too narrow a stance. Most want to spread their feet wider than their shoulders and that is where the problems start. If your feet are wider than your shoulders, it is difficult to make the lateral leg drive necessary to drive into the ball. Instead, you tend to simply rotate your hips back and rotate them through on the down swing, which causes a lot of pulled balls or fat shots. See, if your feet are too wide it is also difficult to transfer your weight to the front leg during impact. Thus, your weight stays on your back foot and the results are divots before the ball and shots that are not solid.
Also, remember to adjust the width of your stance for the type of club you are using. The longest club in the bag – and the one you presumably take the most aggressive swing with – is the driver. Your feet can be sightly wider than your shoulders with this club. Your fairway woods should be shoulder width. Your irons should be shoulder width as well, but as you get down to the shorter irons (8-W) you can be even narrower. For pitch and chip shots around the green, the shortest of shots, you should have your feet only about 12 inches apart.
