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How wide should your feet be when driving a golf ball?

Author

Sarah Smith

Published Jan 24, 2026

Your feet need to be shoulder width apart, with the weight on the balls of the feet. This will help provide good stability. Stand too narrow and you'll fall over - or subconsciously swing less to stay balanced.

How wide should my feet be with my driver?

Most golf instructors say the width of your stance will depend on the club you are hitting. For driver, your feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width. For irons and wedges, they should be shoulder width apart. For pitching and chipping, your stance should be slightly narrower than shoulder width.

How wide should your feet be in golf swing?

For your starting position, your legs should be shoulder width apart. If you are using a middle iron, this is your stance. Widen your stance for longer clubs such as drivers or woods. For short irons or wedges, bring your stance in by an inch or two.

What happens if golf stance is too wide?

The wider your golf stance, the bigger the shift, and the more time it takes. When the golf stance is too wide, you'll typically be pushing off the right side, which will drive your hip into the ball and cause you to lose your spine angle in the downswing.

Is it better to have a wide or narrow stance in golf?

The widest stance should be taken with your driver, while the narrowest stance should be for putting and chipping. Because not all golfers look the same or have the same height and shoulder width, the stance may be different for each of us.

36 related questions found

What is the perfect golf stance?

Your rear foot should be at right angles to the target line. Your front foot can be angled outwards but only slightly. Knees should be lightly flexed but not bent. Your body weight should be spread 50/50 between your toes and heels as well as 50/50 between your left and right foot for most shots.

Why do I hit the ball better with my feet together?

Practicing with your feet together can lead to more distance. This drill helps you achieve extra distance by not swaying to the right as you turn and also helps with your inside-out attack on the downswing. Put the ball either in the middle of your feet or slightly behind that.

Is a wider stance better in golf?

A wide golf stance is typically categorized as a stance where your feet are wider than shoulder width apart. With feet this wide, you can get a lot more stability in your swing, which usually results in faster swing speeds.

Where should the ball be in your golf stance?

The ball position with the driver should be farthest forward, just inside your left heel, then move progressively farther back until you get to your wedges, which should reside squarely in the middle of your stance.

Where should an 8 iron be in your stance?

As a general rule of thumb to base your ball placement off of your 7 iron should always be placed in the center of your stance. Then, shorter clubs (everything from an 8 iron to pitching wedge) you want to play toward your back foot.

What happens if ball is too far forward in stance?

With the driver, most golfers play the ball too far forward and stand too far away from it. This might feel powerful, but it sets some bad things in motion. The forward ball position shifts the shoulders open to the target, which leads to an out-to-in swing and usually a slice.

What is the correct tee height for driver?

From a poll of GOLF's Top 100 Teachers, the ideal tee height is about 1.5 inches for driver. A good checkpoint is that half the ball “peeks” above the crown after you sole the club at address. For a 3-wood, peg it about half an inch and just a quarter inch with an iron.

Should you be on the balls of your feet in the golf swing?

Your weight should be 50-50 on your left and right legs and between the balls of your feet (those cushioned pads just below your toes) and your heels.

Why do people CHIP their feet together?

“Hitting balls with your feet together is a simple and effective drill that helps you to harmonise the swinging of the arms with the rotation of your body.

Should your hands be in front of the golf ball at address?

At address, your hands should be slightly in front of the ball – exactly where you want them to return when you make contact. Also, make sure your left wrist (for a right-handed golfer) is in a relatively flat, firm position.

Should you stand tall in the golf swing?

Standing tall makes it easy to turn through the shots and easy to turn in the backswing – it suits a lot of golfers. Jason Day and Rory McIlroy have very athletic postures because they work out a lot and this helps them really stand over the ball, but this type of posture might not be for everyone.

Should driver sit flat at address?

Drivers should always have the toe up at address ' if the hands return close to this position while impacting the ball -- because during the last portion of the swing there is a centrifugal force of up to 70 pounds just before impact, acting at the center of gravity (c.g.) of the head.

How far should you be from the ball with a driver?

The right pinky touches the left thigh while the right thumb sticks out to the butt end of the driver. A fist and a stretched out thumb works well too. For a golfer who is 6′ and up, this distance usually ends up around 7 inches from thigh to the butt of the club. For golfers around 5'4″-5'10”, it is around 6 inches.

Why can't I drive a golf ball?

Tension at Address

Golfers who are tense or anxious when they address the ball have trouble generating maximum clubhead speed. Tight muscles cause the swing to be shorter and slower. Your goal is a long, loose swing not a short, tight one. Consciously think about relaxing your shoulders before you begin your swing.

Does tee height affect driving distance?

Does Tee Height Effect Driver Distance? The height of your tee effects your swing path into impact, especially with the driver. This, in turn, will have an influence on the spin that the ball will have on it. Teeing the ball up can help vastly reduce the spin on your drives and so increase distance.

Where do you stand on a tee box?

You can always use the tee box to help you play your natural shot. If you slice or fade the ball, tee up on the far right side of the box, near the marker (above). If you hook the ball, tee up on the far left side. It's OK to stand outside the markers as long as your ball is between them.

Does tee height matter?

For most players, the height at which they tee their golf ball has a direct impact on how well they can drive it. It's possible to tee the ball too low and too high; when it's teed just right, you should get the maximum distance and trajectory on your tee shots.

Should hands be in front of ball with driver?

The ball should be positioned forward in the stance therefore you DO NOT start with your hands ahead of the ball at set up. Because the ball is on a tee, the driver will hit the ball on the upswing and your hands will be in the middle of your body at impact. Your hands will not be forward at impact with the driver!