How To Create The Perfect Golf Swing! (Part 2: The Stance)

This is part 2 in my 6 part series of creating the perfect golf swing for you! In the first part we discussed how to properly grip the club and why the grip is so important. It can be seen here:

https://steemit.com/how-to/@jrcornel/how-to-create-the-perfect-golf-swing-part-1

In this section, we will be discussing the stance and it's importance in the golf swing. 

What is a Stance?

Your stance is basically the setup you take when you address the ball. It includes how far away from the ball you are and how far apart your feet are. It also includes the ball position, knee flex, and your overall posture. 

Why is Stance important?

The stance is important for several reasons:

1. A stance that is too narrow will make it hard to keep your balance and make it hard to generate enough power as your swing will not have as much width as it could. It will also encourage over rotation.

2. A stance that is too wide will make it hard to make a full hip and shoulder turn away from the ball, thus also making it difficult to generate your full power potential. It will also encourage swaying in the golf swing instead of rotating.

Basically a stance is important because it sets up everything else that will take place in the golf swing. If you fail to setup correctly you will have to make compensations throughout the swing to make up for it. We don't want to do that. Lets set up correctly!

Above I mentioned a stance that is too narrow and a stance that is too wide... so what is the correct width of a stance? Well that will depend on several things but for now the most important thing to remember is that in general your stance width will be just outside of your shoulder width. Here is a visual to help you see what I am talking about:

As you can see the width of his stance is just outside the width of his shoulders. You can even use a golf club to help you measure. This will be the case with most of your swings. However, the width will vary depending on the club you are hitting... I know... confusing right?

Stance width variations:

Anytime you are using a driver the width of your stance will be slightly wider than the width that was taught above. Also, the width of your stance will get slightly narrower as you get down to the shorter irons in the bag. For example your stance width for a wedge will be considerably smaller than with a driver... The reason for this is because we aren't swinging hard (hopefully) with a wedge so we don't need a wider stance to help stabilize us.

In summation, the driver stance will be wider than standard, and the wedge stance will be narrower than standard. Most of the other clubs will use the standard stance width. Make sense?

After we have the proper stance width, the next thing we will need to talk about is proper knee flex...

Knee flex:

The proper amount of knee flex is subjective, but in general make sure you do not lock your knees. Your knees should be flexed but not bent. You want to feel like you are in a good "athletic" stance with your weight even distributed over your heels and toes to where you feel that you could move freely in either direction if you had to. Here is an example below:

Why is the proper knee flex important?

Having the proper knee flex is important in creating the proper weight shift in the golf swing. If your knees are locked you won't get much of a weight shift from the left to the right side as you are performing your swing and the result will be very little power. Also, if your knees are flexed too much you won't get the proper width on your golf swing or the proper weight shift and the result will be inconsistent ball contact and also a loss of power. You can also flare your toes (point them outwards at a slight angle) to help put less pressure on your knees when you make your swing if that is more comfortable for you. This is shown below:

Do you see how both toes are flared outwards ever so slightly? As you get older you will thank me that you did this when you first started learning. It will save you knee troubles down the road.

How far should I stand from the ball?

First, you will want to take your stance and let your arms hang freely down under your chin. This natural position is where the handle of the club should be placed. 

Do you notice in the picture above how the arms are hanging freely right below the chin? That's exactly how you should look. How far you stand from the ball will be directly related to what club you are using. The longer the club the further from the ball you will stand. So, you will be standing much closer to the ball with a wedge than you will with a driver but your arm position will not change.  Make sense?

Quick tips to remember:

1. Make sure you stance width is just outside of shoulder width.

2. You stance width will be wider with a driver and narrower with a wedge.

3. Make sure your knees are flexed and you are in an athletic stance.

4. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed over your heels and toes.

5. You can flare both your right and left toes outwards to put less pressure on your knees.

6. How far you stand from the ball will depend mostly on what club you are using, you will be closer with a wedge than with a driver.

Now we have the perfect grip and the right setup. Join me tomorrow for  Part 3 of this 6 part series!

Live well my friends!

How To Create The Perfect Golf Swing Series:

1. https://steemit.com/how-to/@jrcornel/how-to-create-the-perfect-golf-swing-part-1

Image Sources:

http://free-online-golf-tips.com/fundamental-golf-tips/golf-set-up-tips/proper-golf-stance/

and Pixabay.com

Sources:

Myself, through 7 years of teaching golf, 25 years of playing including at the collegiate level, and from all the great teachers I've had along the way. 

Follow: @jrcornel