Best Way to Learn the Basics of a Good Stance in Golf

Even professional golfers get in the wrong position from time to time, but you have a greater chance of doing well if you master the basics of a good stance very early on.

Use the 7 iron to practise the basics of adopting the correct stance. Set your feet so the distance between the outer edge of each is roughly the width of your hips. (Men tend to think in terms of the width of their shoulders; women are better to think in terms of the width of their hips, as these tend to be wider than their shoulders!)

Your right foot should be virtually straight in front, hardly turned out at all, and the left toot should turn out slightly. With a 7 iron, the ball should be just ahead of centre in the stance. The arms and club shaft should form a natural Y shape. The right hand is below the left on the club and this will naturally pull the right shoulder slightly below the left. The left side of the body from hip to shoulder is slightly stretched and the right side of the body slightly relaxed.

Look at the back of the ball — the part you are going to hit – so that your head may tip slightly to the right. Don’t exaggerate this. In the backswing the left arm stays straight and the right folds. They should adopt this position at address. Make sure your left arm sits over your bust and not round to the side of your body. This will start giving you the feeling of the distance you need to be from the ball.

The correct width of stance should allow you to bring your knees together at the end of the follow through. If your feet are too wide apart you can’t achieve this. Nor can you if you wrongly turn the right foot out. Adjust the width of your stance until you easily get a knee to knee position.

With the medium irons – from 5 to 9 -the ball is played just ahead of centre in the stance. The bottom of your swing should naturally fall at this point and easily collect the ball for a good contact.

With the ball teed up for a drive, or sitting up on a tuft of grass on the fairway, you want to make an upward contact, in order to maximize the advantage of the raised position of the ball. To encourage this, the ball should be positioned slightly further forward in the stance. For recovery shots from thick grass, from downhill lies, or for certain shots with a 9 iron or wedge, you want to ensure a downward attack on the ball. You should aim to hit the ball first and the ground after, taking a divot. In these cases the ball should be played further back in the stance, just behind centre, to encourage the downward attack you are looking for.