Width of stance/Height

[drewyallop]

Should width of your stance change with your height?

Drew

 

[softconsult]

Now there is a great question! I tend to get too narrow. Jacobs wanted me wider. The shots are better with the wider stance, but my lazy factor kicks in and I almost unconsciously drift toward narrow. I'm 6'3 (at least I used to be) shrinking with age.

 

[drewyallop]

I am 6'3 too. Brian narrowed my stance a lot. Don't know why but it helped a great deal.

I noted later that my stance viewed from above looks a lot narrower than it really is. Also, to me, Brain's stance seems way wide. Is there a negative correlation between height and stance width (serious question; not a joke)?

Are the venerable rules dictating stance width equal to shoulder width still relevant? I suspect not. Probably width is golfer-dependent and needs a good teacher to diagnose and prescribe. I have no idea what Brian saw but he told me to narrow immediately after seeing a few swings and immediately everything became a lot easier. Another reason Manzella's teaching is masterly - based on knowledge and experience, not dogma.

Drew

 

[ekennedy]

I don't think stance width has nearly as much to do with height as you might think. There are many, many factors that go into the proper stance width, the least of which being a student's ability to maintain their balance throughout the swing. Lack of hip flexibility is another factor in determining how wide is too wide. I think most students need to have good footwork and an ability to feel the weight move into their right foot early in the BS, something that is very difficult to do with a wide stance.

 

[dwurzer]

Width/Height

The correct width would give you maximum stability. How do you find out? Force plate.

David

 

[aaron_lohan]

Width of stance will also depend on width of hips and shoulders. A short guy with wide hips would have a wider stance than a tall guy with narrow hips.

 

[JonWil]

Width of stance will also depend on width of hips and shoulders. A short guy with wide hips would have a wider stance than a tall guy with narrow hips.

I agree completely!

 

[leon]

I always find these setup related threads initially interesting but eventually frustrating. Setup is pretty fundamental and its probably the easiest thing to work on, but there never seems to be any concensus on what is 'optimal', or on what changes are required based on particular body types (e.g. tall vs short, fat vs thin, long arms, short legs, etc). I realise there is a lot of "it depends", but some idea of where to start adjusting from would be really helpful.

 

[dwurzer]

Scientific approach to this question?

 

[aaron_lohan]

Scientific approach to this question?

Anthropometrics as I discussed earlier, people with wider hips will have a wider stance unless they purposely try to keep their stance narrower.

 

[Bigwill]

Would leg length in relation to height have an effect as well?

 

[aaron_lohan]

Would leg length in relation to height have an effect as well?

Yes.

 

[drewyallop]

Thank you all. You have provided many insights on stance that had never occurred to me. I now understand how locking yourself into one width formula can lead to problems, many of which I have had. The width/balance/swing speed relationship was very helpful.

I agree with dwurzer that some science is needed and maybe 1.68 will provide it. Until then how about this rule of thumb: keep your stance as narrow as you can without losing balance and stability. This provides maximum turning flexibility and kinetic energy for any given body type and muscle flexibility. What do you think?

Drew

Drew