January 1, 2020 9:29 am

Happy New Year Everyone!

Here’s a great question to set you up for improving your game in 2020. How far apart should your feet be when hitting the golf ball? The answer is dependent on the club you are using.  Put simply, the longer the golf club you are swinging, the greater the centripetal force your body is experiencing and thus the wider apart your feet need to be. If not, you will struggle to maintain balance during your golf swing.

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.

As you work through the clubs, long irons, mid irons etc, you will not be creating as much centripetal force with your swing, so slightly narrower stance is fine. When it comes to the short game, a there are a couple of things to bear in mind. Firstly, if you have too wide a stance, then transferring weight during the downswing is more difficult. As that movement is one that many high handicap golfers are normally poor at, this is something you should be very aware of. Secondly, be wary of ending up with your feet almost together. The most important tip for any short game shot is that you lean your weight onto your front foot. But if your feet are so close together, you will not able to lean enough weight onto your front foot to create the desired downward angle of attack, for fear of falling over.

So in summary, the width of stance depends on the club being used and your swing speed. But when you get near the green, keeping you weight on your front foot is probably the thought you need to have uppermost in your mind and losing balance, won’t help you at all.

Have a wonderful year on the range and out on the course.

Jon Woodroffe – Master Professional, World of Golf London

Categorised in: Tip of the month, World of Golf London