Stance width made simple

1

Don’t be fooled by my feet being together here – this is the starting position for a very simple method of helping you find the correct ball position and width of stance with the four different types of club on the ground – wedge, mid-iron, fairway wood and driver. Width of stance will vary between all these clubs, and to find the ideal width, it’s best to start with your feet together centred around the relevant club.

2

With driver, your left foot stays put and your right foot moves to shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. For the fairway wood, move your left foot two inches left and the right foot not quite as far as with driver. With a mid-iron, it’s an inch or two more again with the left foot and a fractionally smaller right foot step. Finally, go 50/50 with the wedge – move both feet four or five inches so the ball is in the middle of a narrower stance. 3

A couple of extra points about the driver. The wider stance will naturally tilt your shoulders slightly so the right is lower than the left (top photo), which sets you up perfectly to hit up on the ball as you need to do with driver. But take care – if you go too wide with your base, that will restrict your ability to turn properly in the backswing (bottom photo). Conversely, too narrow, and you’ll lose stability and tend to sway or over-rotate.