Does foot flare impact takeaway?

[dlow206]

I at times tend to suffer from the dreaded inside takeaway. I was wondering if foot flare could potentially be contributing to this issue. Hear me out.

 

I tend to setup with my left foot straight forward and my right foot flared. I don't intend to setup this way, its not something i am even aware of unless i am really focused. Even when I feel that my right foot is not flared, i will look down and its flared. So with the front foot straight forward and the trail foot flared, it seems like this could be a contributor to an inside takeaway, because your trail hip is essentially pre-turned a bit. Does this make sense or am i making stuff up?

[cardoustie]

Makes sense to me .. good topic 

[NJBigFish22]

Ok. I’m not an expert on the swing, but if your right foot is flared, I would think you have no option but to take the club more inside, cause you stance is probably slightly closed.  Is your ball flight more of a left to right (draw)?  I will flare my left foot a bit, because I feel it aids in rotation after impact.

[dlow206]

7 minutes ago, NJBigFish22 said:

Ok. I’m not an expert on the swing, but if your right foot is flared, I would think you have no option but to take the club more inside, cause you stance is probably slightly closed.  Is your ball flight more of a left to right (draw)?  I will flare my left foot a bit, because I feel it aids in rotation after impact.

 

I miss push right or sometimes pull, pull hook which is probably an overcompensation. There are other problems with my swing, but just trying to better understand the implications of foot flare, because i have never seen anyone say that a flared right foot might potentially promote an inside takeaway. Anatomically it makes sense to me. 

 

Seems like a flared right foot could also promote (not necessarily cause though) arm overrun. Because with the trail foot flared and the hip turned slightly outwards, your right hip has less room to turn, so hips will stop and arms may keep going unless you have good awareness and can keep the arms in sync with the hip turn.

 

 

[dlow206]

Ok, i guess im not making this up. Here is an older quote from Monte:

 

"I was reminded again today about how important it is to have the rear foot square to the target line or even turned in a bit.

If your rear foot is flared it will cause you to over rotate to the inside and cause all sorts of problems."

@MonteScheinblum - this was from a post on your website from more than 10 years ago. has your perspective changed on this at all? i believe my rear foot flare is either causing some issues i have or making them worse. 

Edited November 21, 2021 by dlow206

[Soloman1]

Flared is different than pulled back from the line. Generally (Generally, damn it!) it is better to have a square rear foot. The foot is in a better position transfer your pressure to the front foot in a better direction.

[golfarb1]

 

Flaring  ( duck toeing ) each foot separately increases the range of motion  of EACH respective hip to externally rotate . This in turn affects the ability of the pelvis to “rotate”. Flaring the lead foot will facilitate downswing rotation , while flaring the rear foot will facilitate backswing rotation. 
To the extent that a golfer rotates EARLIER going back because his rear foot is flared out, he will tend to take it more to the inside , but this does not have to happen . 
There is no standard recommendation that holds true for all golfers . Mr. Hogan’s recommendation from 5 lessons was to flare out the lead foot , while keeping the trail foot square to the target . Many pros recommend that senior golfers flare out their rear foot in order to maximize their torso turn going back . Some flexible young touring pros do not flare their lead foot at setup, yet flare their lead foot dynamically during their downswing.

OPENING or CLOSING the stance via pulling back either foot  away from the target line can have similar yet different effects 
Opening the stance via pulling back your lead foot a couple of inches will move your left hip SOCKET away the target line . In essence , a golfer is presetting  the starting position of the left side of his pelvis farther away from the target line 

Closing the stance by pulling back your trail foot  will have the opposite effect in which he / she starts the right hip SOCKET away from the target line . In essence a golfer is presetting the starting position of the right side of the pelvis farther away from target line .

While a golfer can flare out either or both feet, he/ she can not BOTH open and close their stance at the same time 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by golfarb1

[mizunoMP14]

I’m the opposite. If my trail foot is square I suck it inside. Just a bit flared and I am perfect 

[Tax77]

I flare both, stock shot is both flared just a bit with right foot back a few inches. I don't take it back inside, but coming down its definitely an in to out draw.

 

I can't swing with either foot square, I can hit hit the ball fine from that position but I get a feeling in my knees telling me to stop doing that.

[mikpga]

I’d encourage flaring of both feet.  Swinging the club too far inside/underneath can be remedied by other means…

[dlow206]

Spent some time with this today on camera. These are the results for me, probably different for each individual

 

- Both feet straight forward: Inside takeaway

- Front foot flared outward, trail foot flared inward slightly: No inside takeaway, but early front hip spin on downswing

- Front foot straight forward, trail foot flared inward slightly: No inside takeaway, minimal early front hip spin on downswing. Ballstriking much better

 

For me, the trail foot flared inward slightly helps to fix the inside takeaway. One thing to note, I do not have any flexibility limitations, and my joints tend to be more flexible than average (i have some joints that are double jointed). So whatever i stated above may not work well for anyone else. 

[dlow206]

I have a further observation regarding rear foot flare overall, for me, maybe not applicable to others. 

 

What my brain thinks is lined up straight for my trail foot is actually flared a bit outward. When I line my trail foot up to actually be straight, my ball striking improves significantly. Straight for me actually feels like i have turned my trail foot inward. The various bad things that can happen with how I swing are worsened when my right foot is flared outward. I now just need to consciously check to ensure my trail foot is line up straight. 

[hawkeye13]

I have struggled with having way too long of a backswing for a while. I can hit the ball a long ways but directional control is abysmal. My path is too far in - out and I hit a lot of pushes / hooks and have too much forearm rotation through impact especially.

 

I have both feet pretty flared. It feels natural, I don't focus on it. I took a bunch of swings in the mirror this morning and noticed that I turn more on the backswing than the follow through. If I close my trail foot to be square to the target line, and leave the front foot flared, it automatically helps to shorten my backswing and I rotated much more into the follow through. 

 

I am excited to grind this out at the range although I will surely start by hitting grounders and shanks.