Great Tips To Improve Your Golf: 4. How To Stand

The feet, quite naturally, come in for plenty of attention. How far apart should they be? What is their position in relation to the direction line? Which way should they point? And should the weight be forward, on the balls of the feet, or backward, on the heels?

It is generally agreed now that the feet should be about as far apart as the width of the shoulders—the feet at the instep, that is. This is wide enough for good balance, and balance is important in getting ready to swing the club. Bob Jones used an abnormally narrow stance. He liked it because with it he could get the full hip turn that he wanted on the backswing.

Jones had a bigger hip turn than most of the good golfers of his day, or since. There were others in the Jones and pre-Jones eras, though, who took very wide stances, particularly some of the early British stars.

In fact, at that time, stances and swings generally varied a great deal more than they do now.

As to the feet in relation to the direction line, use the square stance. That is, have the feet an equal distance from the line, especially for any full shot with a No.5 iron up to a driver. With a square stance the average person will have enough freedom for a backswing which is full, and for a forward swing that is free.

The closed stance, with the right foot withdrawn a couple of inches farther from the direction line than the left, makes it easier to get the full backswing, probably with a flattened plane, but tends to restrict the forward swing.

The open stance, with the left foot drawn back farther than the right, has the opposite effect, restricting the backswing and forcing it into a more upright position, but facilitating the forward swing.

You will be able to work into the open and closed stances later, using them for certain shots and to influence a particular swing you want. But while you are learning the method given here, content yourself with the square stance. It presents no problems and requires no adjustments.

Neither foot, we believe, should be exactly perpendicular to the direction line. Both should be pointed outward somewhat, the left more than the right.

Here the rest of the player's body should be considered. Like the open and closed stance, the position of the feet has a tendency to influence the back and forward swings.

A right foot that is perpendicular to the line will restrict the backswing. A person with a big trunk and heavy shoulders is liable to have trouble getting the club back far enough. For him, to make things easier, we would definitely point the right foot somewhat to the right.

The pointing of the left foot to the left is a natural action, one of the few in this game. This position makes swinging through the ball easier, and, so long as the swing is in the right direction, we certainly don't want to do anything that impedes it.

There is a strong tendency in almost anybody, in taking his stance, to get his weight forward, on the balls of his feet. This is natural, because the body is bent forward and the shoulders hunched over.

But don't let the weight get forward. Keep it evenly balanced, so far as you can, between the ball and heel of each foot, slightly favoring the heel.

This little point, small as it is, has a decided effect on the swing. Since it isn't a natural action, you will have to consciously check it as you take your stance, until it becomes an established habit. Its importance lies in the fact that when the weight is forward we tend to take the club back in a more upright arc, which we don't want.

When the weight is more on the heels, the flatter plane that we do want comes easier. With the weight forward there is a tendency, too, to get the swing outside the line on the way down, a disastrous action.

The position of the arms, particularly the elbows, also is is a part of the stance. We do not want loose arms or elbows that crook and point outward, left and right. These lead to a loose and sloppy swing.

The arms should be very nearly straight, though by no means locked. The elbows, especially, should be pointed down, toward the ground, not out to the sides. You will notice, if you put the elbows in this position, that the very act of doing it brings the arms and the elbows closer together. This is where we want them.

Beware the "Open" Body

Now for the "open" body, cited earlier. There is a natural reason for this. It occurs unconsciously, because our right hand is lower on the shaft than our left. As we reach slightly lower with our right hand to grip the club, our right shoulder moves down and forward slightly and our right hip moves forward just a little bit. Slight as they are, these movements "open" our body to the ball.

You can see the effect more easily if you drop your right hand a foot down the shaft from the left. This, by exaggerating the action, opens the body much more. It is just another of the natural actions we make in golf which are wrong.

The effect of this "opening" is threefold. It causes us to aim to the left, restricts our backswing and shoulder turn, and puts us in a position to hit from the outside in before we have even started the club back. Heaven knows it is hard enough for the average player to swing from the inside without taking a preparatory position that almost prevents it.

You can have a friend check your position at address by holding a club against the front of your shoulders and seeing where the club points. It will point to the left of the target an amazing number of times.

To bring it around so that it points toward the target or parallel to the direction line requires a conscious effort with the hips and shoulders. But that effort must be made until it becomes a firmly established habit. For one who has been addressing the ball with an "open" body for a long time, the squaring around will seem awkward.

For a while he will think he is looking at the target over the point of his left shoulder. This thought, in fact, is a good one to have. It will almost serve as a check point.

For men there is another and surer check point. At ad-dress the hips should be so positioned, parallel to the direction line, that as the player looks down, the fly of his trousers is to the right of the club shaft by two inches.

If his hips are "open," the fly and the club will be in the same line, or the fly even a little to the left. Women wearing shorts or slacks can make the same check on the center seam. Women in skirts are out of luck on this one unless there is a pleat or some other decorative line directly down the front of the skirt.

One more point about the hips. Don't let them stick out to the rear. You are not a circus clown waiting to be whacked with a board. Tall people with long backs, especially sway-backs, are liable to do this. We want the derriere directly under the trunk, pushed forward a little, if anything.

The squaring around of the hips and shoulders is more difficult if the foot stance is open. It is easier when the foot stance is square, easiest of all when the stance is closed. That is why, as a matter of fact, it is easier to hook a ball from a closed stance than from an open one. The club is coming farther from the inside because the body is square to the ball, or facing a shade to the right.

We have had pupils with pretty good swings who found it almost impossible to take a straight divot, for instance. They persisted in swinging from the outside. Once they were shown the little trick of squaring their hips and shoulders, the straight divot, and even the inside-out divot, came easily.

So be certain you are not deliberately handicapping yourself before you start by "opening" your body to the ball. The misalignment is slight but the effect is great.