Stance Width
The basic fundamentals of the swing are just that…Basic. But having said that, they are the most important area of the swing that needs to be correct. You would not want a contractor building a house with a poor foundation. The house may look good when it’s finished, but it won’t last. Problems will erupt and your beautiful house / swing will crumble under pressure. These fundamentals are not difficult to do correctly and do not require strength, speed, or talent, but simply the understanding and wherewithal to do them correctly.
The stance width is your foundation. Set up too wide and you will create an unstable base that has too much slide. Set up too narrow and your legs and hips will rotate too much. A basic guideline for stance width is that wedges should be narrower than your shoulders, while mid irons is about shoulder width, and woods should be slightly wider than shoulder width. This is a simple task that any of your friends can eyeball for you and help you with your width.
Also look to other parts of your game when dealing with your stance width. When hitting a chip shot the feet should be about a clubhead width apart. When pitching, your stance should be wider than the clubhead width, but definitely not the same width as if hitting a pitching wedge. The key to figuring out when and where should your stance get wider for pitches is all about balance. This distance will be different for me than it is for you, for a female, or for a junior golfer. Once you feel that your swing is getting large enough that you start to lose balance you should widen your feet slightly until you regain that balance. This width in your stance will vary between one-clubhead widths for chips to about 3 clubhead widths for pitches of 50 yards.
Remember the foundation for your house and your golf game is the strength of your game. Take some time and learn the proper width of your stance and start building your game on a solid foundation.
Keep em Long and Straight,
CJ
19 Comments
Hi CJ….I think I have your “swing” down pretty well. It straightend out the driver nicely….however, I can’t hit an iron. I top the ball or skid it along the fairway. Same thing with hybrids ! I’ve had this problem before I bought your program, and still have it…I read faults & fixes..no help. I know I’m not staying down on the ball because on par 3′s with the ball slightly teed up..the irons are OK. Any suggestions from you or your readers will be appreciated. THANKS
Hi CJ, just a quick question.
Is it better to have you arms closer to your waist or further away, when you are hitting your {Wedges, Irons & Woods}?
Steve,
Thanks for the question Steve. This is a great question and not easily answered. First if you are hitting a normal wedge from the fairway you want the normal distance from the ball which is a fist and a thumb from your zipper. if you are hitting a greenside shot then the closer you get to the ball the lower the flight of the shot you will hit. To hit a shot higher you want to move further away and lower your hands. Let me know how this works for you.
Keep em Long and Straight,
CJ
Not a question, just an observation. I find that I’m a lot more comfortable with the same stance for both my mid irons and driver, which is right about shoulder-width. It feels like if I get my feet wider with the driver, I’m sliding all over the place. It’s also easier to shift my weight. If I’m any wider, I either fall forward when my right foot goes to the toe, or I pull back out of the shot. Makes it easier to keep my spine centered.
Indiana Jim,
Thanks for your post Jim. You are right. Too wide of a stance will definitely promote a slide. Keep me informed on your progress.
Keep em Long and Straight,
CJ
Hi CJ, Very glad to hear your good news. I have a question re addressing the ball as it moves in your stance with different clubs. With a wedge and ball just in front of middle, at address, your club shaft can be vertical with the club square, your shoulders in line and your hands in the middle. As the ball moves forward, what is the relationship, at address, between where the club face is, the shaft angle, the hands etc. It seems to me that, at address, the only way to keep the shoulders in line is to maintain the ‘wedge’ position for all clubs. I hope I have made my question clear…….Alan
Alan,
Great question Alan. Keep it simple. your hands should be even with the ball or slightly in front except for the driver or woods. Take your wedge setup and just make your right foot a tiny bit wider. this is your mid irons. Now make it a bit wider and you will see the ball position doesn’t move, nor your hands, but the ball appears more forward in your stance. Let me know if this makes sense.
Keep em Long and Straight,
CJ
IS THERE ANY PRESSURE ON YOUR PILLAR OF STENGTH THIGHS? THAT KEEPS YOU FROM SPINNING HIPS.
Joseph Juneau,
Great Question. Yes there is pressure in your thighs and the reason is ground pressure. The more you push into the ground the more the ground pushes back against you which is transferred into your body and into the club eventually. Imagine yourself jumping. Once you squat you have a lot of pressure in your feet(more than your body weight). This will transfer back into your body. Hope this helps.
keep em long and straight,
CJ
Width is not all of the problem :more important keep yor back foot down to the ground when hitting chips and pitches or you will lose all precision .
This is also valid when escaping from sand traps
Chastel,
thats a good point, however I would caution most players with that advice. Many players while trying to keep their foot down will not have their weight transferring to their front foot. without the weight transferring they won’t need to worry about precision because they will chunk it, but I do understand your point.
Keep em Long and straight,
cj
I have found that if you setup for a chip shot keep the ball between both feet and spread you feet about three inches on both sides of the ball. Transfer about 70% of you weight to the left leg, swing using shoulders only with no lower movement works well. If you have 10-15 yards to the hole use a mid iron and swing to about 8:00. If you have a bunker or hill then use the same concept but us a loftier club.
Roger,
Thanks for your comments. In my short game DVD I explain setup and causes for misses. You will notice that your close on some of this stuff, but I will make it much easier for you to understand and control distance as well as height. Keep me informed on your progress.
Keep em long and Straight,
cj
Expanding Ted’s question on stance width:
1. Is it inside the heels or, since your feet may be flared out, inside the toes?
2 Then again, do you meaan the center of the instep? Or to put this another way midway between the ball of the foot and the center of the heel
I’m not splitting hairs here, I find geralized statements confusing since there are so many different ways to interpret what is said.
I once had a bosss who told me that whenever I issued an instruction it had to be idiot proof before turning it loose. I think golf advice should follow that rule.
Philip,
inside of the heels
keep em long and Straight,
cj
How far should stance be for steep uphill, rough, fairway shot? And also for steep downhill, rough?
Shirley Colley,
Great question. Your asking about steep uphill and downhill lies. The key is finding balance. Obviously it will be wider than normal but just try to get your balance. Remember the rules for uphill, downhill and sidehill lies though and it will be much easier.
Keep em Long and Straight,
cj
regarding the instruction with respect to stance and the width of feet
related to the various clubs.
for example, when you indicate “shoulder width” for mid-irons, is the width measured from inside the feet or outside the feet , could make a difference of 4 to 6 inches.
thankyou
ted
kelowna, British Columbia
Ted Kozub,
I go into much greater detail in our upcoming free videos, but very simply lets keep it simple. for wedges and short irons the outside of your feet should be shoulder width while the mid irons will be inside of your feet should be shoulder width and a touch wider for hybrids, fwy woods and driver.
Keep it long and straight,
cj