Driver Stance Width - What's the General Rule and Why?

[GolfLivesMatter]

I see all kinds of videos online about driver stance width. There's rules-of-thumb and then there's deviations from wider to ultra wide. What does a wider stance improve vs. a narrower stance? I see many long-drive guys with their left thigh tilted away from the target at impact. If I take a wider stance and video myself I see the same. In a narrower stance it seems my weight can get over or slightly beyond my left side, meaning there's less of a brace at impact, and thus my left thigh is straight at impact. I also see the club head launch angle increase with the wider stance in videos. Curious as to if others have ran trials and what they found. I ran some swing speed tests with a launch monitor and found a wider stance increases speed, but as I go "too wide" the speed reduces.

 

[WLG1952]

I think shoulder width is a good starting point, and then experiment from there. Most golfers are a little different in their set ups.

Off hand I'm not sure exactly how wide my driver stance is. I just feel comfortable with what ever it is.

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

I think shoulder width is a good starting point, and then experiment from there. Most golfers are little different

Off hand I'm not sure exactly how wide my driver stance is. I just feel comfortable with what ever it is.

I think my driver stance has become too "controlled-narrow" over the years which causes me to slightly drift past my swing low point and launch the ball too low. I have heard shoulder width is the rule of thumb but I also wonder about hip width in terms of shoulder width and how that equates to the correct overall width.

 

[Daleyway]

Good read I’ve researched this topic the same way, using my students as test subjects & myself. I found a lot of variation due to their height, weight, flexibility and physique. From our findings? It may not be right to some or wrong to others but! it seems to work for them at the moment.

 

[Snickerdog]

Just a bit wider than shoulder width, weight evenly between the two at the starting position.

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

Good read I’ve researched this topic the same way, using my students as test subjects & myself. I found a lot of variation due to their height, weight, flexibility and physique. From our findings? It may not be right to some or wrong to others but! it seems to work for them at the moment.

I think there is a point of balance, but it seems going "wider" vs. "narrower" is the goal....at least thus far. I remember hitting a 52" driver long ago and my base stance had to be wider to support the swing. It was like swinging a telephone pole but after a couple 100 swings my driver felt like a 7 iron. LOL.

 

[Tenputt]

It may well depend on the person, but shoulder width is often referenced.

 

[Chef23]

I think there is a sweet spot between staying balanced and centered and generating power. When my stance gets too wide my turn gets restricted and I actually sway to try and get behind the ball. I am 6' but need a bit of a narrower stance because I am not flexible.

 

[Daleyway]

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I think there is a point of balance, but it seems going "wider" vs. "narrower" is the goal....at least thus far. I remember hitting a 52" driver long ago and my base stance had to be wider to support the swing. It was like swinging a telephone pole but after a couple 100 swings my driver felt like a 7 iron. LOL.
Exactly, BALANCE is the main key at the end of the swing regardless of width

 

[Rummpd]

I just concentrate on having ball off or slightly inside outside line left foot and widen enough R foot to ensure trying to hit the driver on upswing. Have never thought about stance width much but mine appears to be just wider than shoulders and driving reasonably long and straight for age (with usually a little draw) has always been my strength. When in doubt go wider IMO.

 

[Duffer Seamus]

I don't recall us being taught a wider stance with driver than irons or woods. When my driver was working for me, though, I found things worked better with a slightly wider stance and my trailing foot just slightly back.

 

[BigMac]

I think there is a sweet spot between staying balanced and centered and generating power. When my stance gets too wide my turn gets restricted and I actually sway to try and get behind the ball. I am 6' but need a bit of a narrower stance because I am not flexible.

Same here. I've recently been experimenting with narrowing my stance a bit and have had better, more consistent results from it. Just as you said, better hip turn and less sway. I'm not very flexible either, so I need all the help I can get.

I've always found it difficult to gauge "shoulder width", I guess I just don't have that kind of spatial awareness. But I'm pretty sure I was significantly wider than that before I started trying to narrow it up some.

 

[-CRW-]

From the mouth of Sean Foley, “You can’t fire a cannon from a canoe.”

Width provides stability. Though, I’m sure there is a point of limited returns.

Also, with all clubs, a narrower stance makes for a steeper swing while a wider stance makes for a shallower swing. You want to be shallow with the driver unless you like sky marks/pop ups on your driver crown.

I think a good reference is having the feet just outside of shoulder width for a driver.

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

From the mouth of Sean Foley, “You can’t fire a cannon from a canoe.”

Width provides stability. Though, I’m sure there is a point of limited returns.

Also, with all clubs, a narrower stance makes for a steeper swing while a wider stance makes for a shallower swing. You want to be shallow with the driver unless you like sky marks/pop ups on your driver crown.

I think a good reference is having the feet just outside of shoulder width for a driver.

LOL about firing from a canoe! I never heard that one but the visual is enough to get the message Good point about the change from steeper to shallower based upon width because that whacky 52" driver required a VERY flat swing! BTW, that was just a fun club my brother had custom made as he's 6'5"....but he could never quite hit much lol.

This is like a refresher course in stance width that has been long overdue for me. I went out to the range yesterday and made a couple of changes that I thought would be hard for me to accommodate but they actually worked well.

1) I widened my stance to the point where I felt as though I could still have weight transfer but yet have a better chance of not sliding to the left, or a better chance to be in a position where my left thigh was more tilted backwards to the target at impact. My driver swing can tend to meander into a slightly descending blow on the ball because the tee is still in the ground but about a half inch lower on some shots. So there's no doubt I was getting too steep. My stance width increased by at about 4 inches with a slightly dropped-back right foot. Both feet were flared with maybe 25* on the left and 10* on the right foot.

2) I "borrowed" Bryson's arm position meaning I stood farther away at address with straighter arms like Bryson. The unexpected result of this position felt strangely comfortable, or more balanced and powerful, athletic. I was expecting it to feel strange but not at all. As a note, my wrists weren't tilted upwards, just straight.

I ended-up hitting what appeared to be longer drives because the ball was disappearing into the sky which hasn't been the case for years. The swing felt easier to speed-up or add power.....much like that canoe comment.

After really great results with the driver I switched to a 24* hybrid just to see how the same overall wider stance and arm position would work out. Same results.

Going to try this on the course today because that's where I will see the differences. There is a definite correlation between a wider stance and being able to swing harder / faster along with staying behind the ball in rotation....and the extended arm position at address felt weird at first, but once my swing started any "weirdness" evaporated and felt far more fluid.

 

[Parrot]

I’m a little wider than shoulder width and like to feel like I’m braced against the inside of my right leg as I start to swing.

 

[Flipit]

I think there is a sweet spot between staying balanced and centered and generating power. When my stance gets too wide my turn gets restricted and I actually sway to try and get behind the ball. I am 6' but need a bit of a narrower stance because I am not flexible.

This is me as well. If I get to narrow I’ll pull it left. Too wide and I’m slicing it. The narrower stance also helps me to not over swing. It’s a fine line but I’m going to go with shoulder width minus a couple inches for me.

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

I’m a little wider than shoulder width and like to feel like I’m braced against the inside of my right leg as I start to swing.

Exactly how I felt yesterday on the range.

 

[Stemmy66]

The following is the proper driver stance width.... stable shoulder width +

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

I don't recall us being taught a wider stance with driver than irons or woods. When my driver was working for me, though, I found things worked better with a slightly wider stance and my trailing foot just slightly back.

Look at Ken Griffey Jr's stance width after he steps into hit a baseball. Holy cow!

 

[Thrillbilly Jim]

Just outside shoulder width or whatever width makes you feel like you’re in an athletic stance.

 

[Rummpd]

Look at Ken Griffey Jr's stance width after he steps into hit a baseball. Holy cow!

Played behind a group with Griffey near Seattle and he was hitting unreal bombs - his power carried over to golf big time

 

[Par5zN2]

My driver stance is never wider than my shoulders. I know I could get more distance with a wider stance but I'm very happy with the distance I get, and I have more control when my stance isn't wide.

 

[TCB2010]

I’m a little wider than usual. I like thee idea wider creates more stability.

 

[TrueMotionMatt]

The wider stance of the driver is dependent on your tilts. More tilt helps you hit more up on the ball. Tilts can come early, or in transition with extension. The width helps you support more tilt, done...close post.

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

The wider stance of the driver is dependent on your tilts. More tilt helps you hit more up on the ball. Tilts can come early, or in transition with extension. The width helps you support more tilt, done...close post.

Tilt's and close post? LOL.