The Proper Golf Stance

Just as a solid foundation is important for any house, a proper golf stance is the cornerstone of any successful golf swing.

If you do not align properly or you do not maintain correct feet positioning, your golf stance will only lead to inconsistent shots.

The golf setup is defined as the positioning of your feet, arms and clubface when you address the ball. The most important component of the golf stance is how everything lines up. Let's discuss this in more detail.

There are three main components to a proper golf stance:

Your feet - alignment and distance apart
Your clubface - the alignment to the target
Ball positioning - where the ball rests in relation to your body

The Importance of Your Feet In The Proper Golf Stance

There are two things two consider with your feet in your golf setup. The first, and most important, is the distance they are apart. The basic rule of thumb is that you should keep your feet approximately shoulder width apart or slightly narrower.

With a longer club - for example a three iron or driver, your stance will be a bit wider than when you use a shorter iron - for example a 9-iron. The reason for this is with a wider stance, you provide yourself with greater stability. This stability is needed more with longer clubs.

Don't make this overly difficult. Keeping your feet shoulder width apart is generally okay for most full swing shots. This is easy to test. When you line up for your shot, look down at your feet and out of the corner of your eyes, line up your feet with your shoulders. They should be about the same width apart.

Alignment, or aiming, is the most important part of a golf swing alignment. You should always aim your feet slightly to the left of the target for right-handed golfers and slightly to the right of the target for left-handed golfers. The golf clubface must point directly at your target, your feet simply line up parallel with the clubface alignment.

Clubface Alignment

As we touched on earlier, your clubface should line up directly with your target. If you draw the ball, you should line up your clubface to the right of the pin. Just the opposite if you fade the ball - you should point the clubface towards the left of the pin.

Your feet follow your clubface. Do not line up your feet to the target! Line your feet up parallel with your clubface alignment. This is one of the most common issues limiting golfers in their golf setup.

Golf Ball Positioning

Finally, and perhaps one of the most confusing parts of a proper golf stance, especially for new golfers, is the ball positioning. What this means, is where the ball lies in relation to your feet. Most golf books will teach you to slightly adjust the golf ball positioning in your stance based on the club that you are using.

Variable golf ball positioning may help experienced golfers, but it can be a real pain in the neck for novices. Keep it simple!

Keep the ball positioning just forward (a couple of inches) of center for all your clubs except for your driver. With your driver, place the ball just on the inside of your forward heel.

Summary

The proper golf stance doesn't have to be difficult. Focus on the proper fundamentals and you'll be fine. Watch the video below for more information.

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