Stance and Posture


The proper golf stance consists of a universal "ready" posture. You know, as if you were waiting for a serve in tennis. Knees flexed and springy, back straight and head up, totally in balance. Ready to move in any direction. Sounds like a golf stance to me.

Try it. Stand up and make believe a hot grounder is being hit at you. See what you did? You flexed your knees and balanced yourself and had your hands ready in front of you.

Put a golf club in your grip and get ready to receive a serve from Pete Sampras. Get the idea? Just don't get too bent over.

The key element here is balance. Your body must provide a stable platform for the movements of the swing. Consider the sternum your focal point. This will be your axis of rotation. Find a way to learn how to rotate on that axis. Notice any side to side swaying or front to back leaning and try to avoid it. You seek rotation. Your hips, legs, arms and club will all react to the rotation generated by the chest, back and spine. Keeping your spine straight is essential to being able to rotate around it. Stand as erect as possible with what ever club you have to play. A longer club will allow you to place the ball further away from you and still stand fairly upright. When playing a shorter club remember to stand incrementally closer to the ball as to remain somewhat erect.

Golf is a game of managing the variables. You will need a minimum of 15 different stances and ball positions to play the 14 clubs you are allowed to use. Then comes the variables of the terrain the ball lands on. It will rarely be flat and you will never be perpendicular to it.

So get a grip on your stance and posture now. It is very difficult to change a habit once you have formed it.