Widened my golf stance...WOW!!!

[kody17]

So basically I was browsing around forums on the internet and came across a post where someone said that their local golf pro told him that the average golf stance width on the PGA tour is around 22" from big toe to big toe. So just for fun I got out the tape measurer and wanted to see what my width was. It was about 14"-15". I was like dang, so I tried widening it to around 22" and it felt a little wierd at first but made me feel very strong and sturdy. It felt very athletic. So I took it to the course today and wanted to try it out, and low and behold, shot 1 under par. I have never hit my irons so pure, I couldn't believe it. I had recently been having troubles hitting my irons a little chunky and read that widening out the stance shallows out the swing plane, so scientifically it makes alot of sense to widen out the golf stance to help stop hitting fat with irons. Now, it never said what club they measured the 22" stance width with, but I just used it consistently throughout my bag, from 60 degree wedge to driver, and it worked very well with all of them. Just wanted to post this up and see what everyone else thinks, and if anyone is having trouble hitting irons consistenly solid, I defnitely recommend trying this. It will shallow out your swing plane and help you sweep the ball more instead of hitting from such a steep angle. Please, tell me your thoughts. Thanks

[jamie]

Should it be measured from the heals? My teacher always checked everything from the heals because the toes are misleading...if one or both are flared.

[kody17]

[quote name='jamie' timestamp='1369357478' post='7095692']
Should it be measured from the heals? My teacher always checked everything from the heals because the toes are misleading...if one or both are flared.
[/quote]

The post just said 22" from big toe to big toe. Thats all I know lol. And truthfully, who really knows if thats even true or not. Pros may actually stand closer together than that, but all I know is that it 100% worked for me with my ball striking. What it does is shallows the swing plane and takes out alot of unnecessary hip turn on the backswing.

[tinman143]

maybe play a few more times and report back. sometimes new changes have placebo effect?

[pmcuk]

I narrowed my stance after having been taught to stand with legs apart. It improved my playing a lot - easier to swing and gave me more continuity between chipping, pitching and full swing.

All goes to show.....

[firstbatch]

Seems like a W.O.O.D. tip...works only one day. I do not follow your correlation that a wider stance would lead to a shallowing of the swing plane. My focus on stance width is on the heels and most certainly changes a bit based upon club and shot. But generally the heels stay squarely under the the hip socket and toes are flared. The stance width is very critical to an individuals pivot motion. To wide and it is difficult for most to pivot correctly. Most people I see have way to wide of a stance, especially with the driver.

But hey, if you shot 1 under then I would assume you are an experienced and accomplished player so if it works for you and feels right go for it.

[kody17]

Just so you guys know I will definitely be going back out today after work to see if this is just a "one hit wonder" type situation. But from what I've noticed, it should be good for me from now on (fingers crossed lol). I will let you all know later how it turns out.

[kody17]

[quote name='firstbatch' timestamp='1369413856' post='7099402']
Seems like a W.O.O.D. tip...works only one day. I do not follow your correlation that a wider stance would lead to a shallowing of the swing plane. My focus on stance width is on the heels and most certainly changes a bit based upon club and shot. But generally the heels stay squarely under the the hip socket and toes are flared. The stance width is very critical to an individuals pivot motion. To wide and it is difficult for most to pivot correctly. Most people I see have way to wide of a stance, especially with the driver.

But hey, if you shot 1 under then I would assume you are an experienced and accomplished player so if it works for you and feels right go for it.
[/quote]

And yes, I am a pretty experience and accomplished player. I just believe I have been over rotating my hips alot and needed a little more compact swing. Widening my stance has helped.

[gr8blueheronbird]

I think you are on to something as after I watched Rocco Mediate and Jimmy Ballard on the Golf Channel Acadamy(its on You Tube), I tried a wider more athletic stance and shot a 74. I also minimized my grip pressure and tried relaxing the arm muscles and this really helped me flush so many more shots. I believe using your big muscles(the engine) really is the key.

[blink3665]

I am in the opposite boat. My instructor narrowed my stance. I always had a wide stance because I wanted a sturdy base to swing from. It turns out that my wide stance was restricting my hips and I wasn't able to power through the shot. My lower body woudl stop rotating prematurely. Different strokes (swings) for different folks!

[kody17]

[quote name='gr8blueheronbird' timestamp='1369421137' post='7100424']
I think you are on to something as after I watched Rocco Mediate and Jimmy Ballard on the Golf Channel Acadamy(its on You Tube), I tried a wider more athletic stance and shot a 74. I also minimized my grip pressure and tried relaxing the arm muscles and this really helped me flush so many more shots. I believe using your big muscles(the engine) really is the key.
[/quote]

Exactly how I feel about this. For people who think this sounds ridiculous, its not like I'm standing as wide as I possibly can at address lol. I am just standing a little wider than I normally had, bending at the knees a little more, and getting in a more athletic position. This allows me to have a little less overall turn in my shoulders and hips, but it keeps the hips a lot more quiet, and I am able to sweep the ball more easily and flush shots a lot easier.

[butch33611]

I tried this today at the range and had the same results as you did. more solid contact and felt much more in control of my swing.I'm interested in trying this during an actual round. thank you for posting your find.

[jurr80]

I love how there is also a thread discussing the merits of narrowing a stance.
Different strokes, indeed!

[pingfool]

likely that widening your stance reduced/minimized whatever flaw (inconsistency) you fight ---

sometimes over-correcting can fix 1 flaw - but ultimately leads to something else

thus, the never-ending search for nirvana

whenever I setup wide with the driver - inevitable get stuck on my back foot (at least 1x round)

[tgss]

[quote name='gr8blueheronbird' timestamp='1369421137' post='7100424']
I think you are on to something as after I watched Rocco Mediate and Jimmy Ballard on the Golf Channel Acadamy(its on You Tube), I tried a wider more athletic stance and shot a 74. I also minimized my grip pressure and tried relaxing the arm muscles and this really helped me flush so many more shots. I believe using your big muscles(the engine) really is the key.
[/quote]
The key to this stance is flaring the front foot, squaring the back foot and keeping your spine angle more erect.

[russc1597187869]

Width of stance should be measured from the heels and is partially dependent on the width of your shoulders.One of the goals of the correct stance is to setup and maintain a STABLE base throughout the swing.

The narrower the stance the stance,the easier it is to rotate;the wider the stance the harder it is to rotate.

For those golfers with a sway load problem,hitting balls with the feet very close together is one of the best drills of all time

On the other hand, golfers with a spinning problem may benefit from a slightly wider stance,but sometimes this wider stance will only mask the real underlying problem

Just for historical interest,Tommy Bolt, who was a superb iron player, hit many of his irons with his feet only about 7 inches apart

[BigTexGolfer]

I was recently told in a lesson recently a good way to find the ideal width is to try different stance widths and try to jump in the air and do a 360 turn. If your stance is too wide or narrower you will not generate as much ground force as you will with the proper width. I was generally too narrower and did this a few times to help test it. If you think about it you will generally settle intuitively to a optimal width when you try it. It really taps into your athleticism this way as well.

[Agro]

From what I have read and taking into account the biomechanical laws of the human body, a stance that wide could potentially be a very dangerous thing to adopt, especially if you play a lot of golf (which I am guessing you do if you shoot scores under par). The body needs to rotate over the hip joint as this is the joint designed for rotation (ball and socket). To get your weight over the hip from that distance is going to require a very large lateral move which will put a large amount of stress on your hip and knee joints that may take it's toll over time.

Take care

[TallSouthern]

I know this is an old thread, but I believe it's very important. I'm 6'5" and long arm/leg/torso. I've been playing for almost three years... I've had over a dozen used sets of irons... I've had irons bent upright, and I've had them extended an inch and a half...The most crisp contact I've had is with upright while the most powerful was with extended. A wide stance gives smoother power, but it exacerbates shaft droop and toe shots . Taller more upright is straighter and easier on the back, but it really risks hitting fat. My point though is that maybe simeone is using a wide stance to get short clubs flat with the turf, but they need more upright clubs instead...

[musclefront]

> @jamie said:

> Should it be measured from the heals? My teacher always checked everything from the heals because the toes are misleading...if one or both are flared.

 

Heels. Twice seriously