back foot at address with driver

[MrKadash]

I think the positioning of the back foot is a feel thing. To me having it at 12:00 feels a bit restrictive. Out toward 1:00 (between 12-1) gives me an athletic stance to make the pass. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, and I don't think I have a distance problem...

[Avid Golfer]

what is the purpose of letting the foot angle out from 12 o clock? how does it help the swing at all?

Greg Norman said he flared his back foot at address because he and Butch Harmon determined that it would help cut down on the lateral lower body drive that he had done to excess (where his back foot would slide toward the front foot, he would end up in a reverse C posture, and he would block shots to the right).

Nick Price said the following on page 90 of his The Swing book: "I point my left foot toward the target slightly and the right away from it. I advocate this position because it creates more balance in the swing. Although it has been fashionable in the past to keep the right foot at 90 degrees to the target line, I think that this is more restricting than helpful for many golfers. Unless you are extremely supple it is harder to make a full turn because your right foot placed in such a way will effectively block the turn. You can still build up the necessary torque or resistance in your right side by having the foot turned to the right 10 degrees." Price goes on later in the page to say: "And here's the benefit of turning the right foot out: It allows for an increase in swing width, as it makes it easier to take the club back a greater distance, to stretch back father. It is also easier to create a bigger shoulder turn this way, as long as your lower half remains stable ." Price continues: "Pointing the right foot out will not compromise lower body stability. I originally felt it might, but practice proved otherwise." "But I never would have gone ahead with this had it reduced control of lower-body stability. It did nothing of the kind." Nick Faldo writes on page 21 of his book Golf - The Winning Formula : "If you have the right foot too straight in front or even turned in a little, which was my old fault, it restricts the hip and body turn in the backswing." he goes on later in the page to say: "If you turn the right foot out excessively it is difficult to get the foot vertical, the sole of the shoe out behind you, by the end of the swing."

[lolzzlolzz]

I appreciate you showing proof about this Avid Golfer. I learn golf by this philosophy: Not only do you have to tell a player what they should be doing, but you must tell them why they should do it and how it helps. You covered those nicely with the quotes.

That said, I still think a square right foot is fundamentally correct, and a turned right foot is merely an adjustment. To quote Hogan's book: "The truly fortunate golfer is the player who needs to make the smallest number of adjustments."

[Avid Golfer]

That said, I still think a square right foot is fundamentally correct, and a turned right foot is merely an adjustment. To quote Hogan's book: "The truly fortunate golfer is the player who needs to make the smallest number of adjustments."

I don't view the foot flare as a

fundamental in the golf swing. Like I mentioned in post 3 of the thread there are tour pros who have advocated and used both square and flared feet successfully over long periods of time, so its my view that it is of little consequence which a player uses. Like previously noted if a player has a specific fault that they are trying to guard against or compensate for then one may function better than the other.

[jeffhale08]

I open both front foot and back foot at address, not much, just enough to allow me more coil on the backswing and then more turn on the follow through. Especially as we all get older, the easier it is for us to turn, the longer we can maintain our power and more than likely, ease some of our little aches and pains after a round.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I used to do the squre foot thing but i found it put an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the inside of both knees, and caused me to snap at the ball from the top with my upperbody instead of swinging with everything intact. I opened up slightly and it has been much more comfortable for me.

[CPHoya]

I've ultimately migrated into a slightly flared right foot as well; it seemed to add a tiny bit more pop and I do think it allows me to lengthen the swing a little bit. Additionally, the poster who mentioned the additional strain on the inside of his knees from the 90º right foot position had the same problem I did. The flared foot does feel more athletic.

Still, this is a matter of comfort and taste, not a question of fundamental superiority.