5 Potential Advantages:
- Increase of rotation in the golf swing.
- Easier to hit a draw.
- Easier to have a fluid swing through lower body movement.
- Allows the golfer to feel athletic
- Allows the golfer to utilize ground forces
Update: The width of your stance is often a personal preference and what allows you to make certain movements in the swing to produce the best results!
If you simply sit and observe at a golf course, you will notice golfers of all different sizes and shapes. Some golfers are long and lean, while others are short and stocky.
Even on the PGA Tour you have golfers like Dustin Johnson and Bubba Johnson who are long and lean and then a golfer on the shorter side such as Rickie Fowler or Justin Thomas.
Maybe one of the shortest golfers of all time was Ian Woosnam. Regardless, these golfers all are or were great golfers in their own right and could shot some impressive and competitive score and win lots of money during their careers.
If one were to study the golf swing, they would quickly learn that there are strong grips and weak grips, open stances and closed stances. Golfers that aim way right and golfers that aim way left. Golfers with a narrow stance and golfers with a wide stance.
The main point being is that there are many different ways to hit a golf shot.
Here at golfjourney365, we believe the 3 fundamentals in golf are the following:
- The ability to control the bottom of the swing close to 100 percent of the time.
- The ability to control the curve of the ball and have a consistent start line.
- The ability to have enough power or distance to play the golf course.
We now that there are many different ways to control these three fundamentals. Golfers should build their drills around hitting the ground int he same spot every time, working the ball and building a consistent stock draw or fade and then training to gain swing speed or at least not lose swing speed as they get older.
One topic that often comes up is should the stance be narrow or wide. Below we will take you through the 5 advantage of a narrow golf swing.
What are the advantages of a narrow stance in golf?
Golfers can gain the following advantages if they utilize a narrow stance in golf:
- Increase of rotation in the golf swing.
- Easier to hit a draw.
- Easier to have a fluid swing through lower body movement.
- Allows the golfer to feel athletic
- Allows the golfer to utilize ground forces
Advantage #1: Increase of Rotation in the Golf Swing
The narrow stance allows the golfer to get a better rotation with the hips and the chest in the golf swing. Try this out if you are in a room right now, go ahead and stand up and do the following:
- Go ahead and setup with a narrow stance and cross your arms across your chest.
- Try to turn away from the golf ball as if you were taking a backswing.
- Now turn through as if you were hitting a shot.
- Now repeat, but do so with a really wide stance.
Several questions:
- Were you able to get a more complete turn with the narrow or wide stance?
- Did one feel more fluid than the other?
Chances are with the narrow stance you were able to get a more complete turn. Looking at fundamental #3, we want to have enough distance to play the golf course. By creating additional rotation in the golf swing, the golfer is able to generate more power, resulting in more distance and the ability to play the golf course.
Advantage #2: Easier to Hit A Draw
Many amateur golfers want to be able to hit the draw. I believe with the increased rotation backwards and the increase in mobility the golfer is better able to approach the ball from the inside.
We know that in order to hit a draw we must have an out to in path and the face must be left of the swing path. This is much easier to create in a narrow stance. The more athletic setup and the complete turn away, allows the golfer to keep the upper body back as the down swing initiates the golf swing.
This allows the golfer to approach the shot from the inside and shallow the club as needed. With a wider stance, the lower body and the hips may be more likely to move together possibly causing an out to in swing resulting in a possible pull or pull cut shot.
Advantage #3: Easier to Have a More Fluid Swing Through Lower Body Movement
The more athletic setup with the narrow stance allows the golfer to have more lower body movement. Once the stance gets wider, the golfer loses the mobility that the narrow stance provides.
Looking back at many of the greatest golfers of all time, they had great leg mobility and were able to utilize those legs to generate power and consistency.
Golf is a game that combines accuracy with power and every golfer needs to find that sweet spot in the stance width to maximize their potential.
Advantage #4: Allows the Golf to Feel Athletic
No good shot every started from a complete static position where the golfer was hoping to hit a quality shot. If you watch some of the best of all time, they are athletic and ready to hit the shot.
The legs engage in the shot and they are able to make a powerful, athletic move through the golf ball. One of my favorite golfers of all time is Lee Trevino. His feet are in constant motion through the setup and he is feeling athletic.
The best golfers of all time are wonderful athletes and the narrow stance allows the average person to feel more athletic and it starts with the legs.
Think about when a basketball player is shooting a jump shot, they don’t have a really wide base or when a baseball player is up to bat, they have an average width stance that allows them to react quickly to the situation and be athletic, resulting in a quality athletic movement.
Advantage #5: Allows the Golf to Utilize Ground Forces
Ground forces have been all the buzz lately. We all learned in school at some point that for every action there is a reaction. Golfers must utilize the ground and push down into the ground to get the push off the ground, which helps generate speed.
If your stance is too wide, it takes away the ability to fully maximize your legs and the ground forces. We want golfers to be athletic and utilize the ground. This goes back to fundamental #3 of being able to have enough distance to play the course.
We know from watching the PGA Tour how important distance has become. This is why we utilize our legs as much as possible and train with our SuperSpeed Golf System. This system has helped increase my distance by 10-20 yards with my additional swing speed.
The protocols are easy to follow and it only takes 10-15 minutes per session and this takes place 3 to 4 days a week. If you use discount code golfjourney365, you can save 10% off your purchase and be on your way to speed increases of 5-8% which could mean 20-40 yards for your game. You owe it to yourself to start training today and get better fast.
SuperSpeed Golf – Automatically Applied $10 discount
Test Your Options
We have seen golfers play with narrow and wide stances in golf. You must check and practice with both if you are uncertain which one is best for you. Much this could be based on your body composition.
We would recommend testing it out over several sessions and using some data from a launch monitor if possible. We would recommend the SkyTrak Launch Monitor for all of your indoor golf simulator needs or to simply take with you to the driving range.
You will be impressed with the quick feedback and data provided to you!
Rain or Shine Golf will even provide financing options on simulator packages or SkyTrak Purchases.
Golf Instructors Who Promote A Narrow Stance
Steve Pratt
Final Thoughts
Golf is a game of adjustments. If you keep the three fundamentals in mind, you can test out an open stance or closed stance. A wide stance or a narrow stance. You might get to the point where you try out a strong grip vs a weak grip. Either way, keep the three fundamentals in mind and keep track of your data with a SkyTrak or similar device to give you instant feedback and data that you can review.
Are you ready to take your game to the next level. I know when I bought the SkyTrak I saw my average scores decrease by 4-6 shots and with the SuperSpeed System, my swing speed increase significantly. Get ready and get started today!
Post on Strong Grip vs Weak Grip
One last advantage of the narrow stance in golf is the ability to hit solid chip shots. Utilizing your legs and chest and getting the proper simple rotation in the chipping motion is vital to your success in the short game.
If you are battling the shanks, inconsistent contact or the yips, then you must get the body moving in the simple chip shot and this starts with a narrow stance. Let the motion be athletic and responsive to the shot you have to hit!
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.