Many of us neglect a little known principle of golf and as a result our swing is compromised. Here’s the rule: Leave enough space between you and the ball so that you can swing through without any blockage or encumbrance. Pretty simple. Make sure that your hands aren’t too close to your body at address so that they aren’t bunched up through the hitting area during your swing. A good way to prevent this is to measure yourself at address to make sure that you have room to move. The pros do it and so should you.
When your hands are too close to your body a lot of things can go wrong. Crouching, dipping and lunging a few results. Accuracy suffers, distance suffers, and there is a tendency to start the ball right. In short, being too close to the ball is a bad thing. On the flip side when you leave enough room between yourself and the club you get maximum distance, tend to hit straighter shots, and your swing feels free.
1991 Master champ Ian Woosnam leaves us a good example. Woosnam is relatively short at 5’4″ but achieved great distance and accuracy in his prime because he left plenty of room for his hands to pass through the hitting area.
You’re going to feel a lot better about your distance and accuracy if you give yourself some space.