Forward foot angle on setup

[Yukari]

Do you keep your forward foot (left foot for right handers) at 90 degrees to the target line or open (e.g., 10-40 degrees)?

I keep mine at 90 degrees (Tiger used to), but I see so many instructional books saying you need to open your forward foot 20-40 degrees on setup.

Just wondering what everyone's take on opening your forward foot on setup is...

[shortstop20]

I play with my left foot open just barely, not enough to even notice really.

I've experimented with opening it up more but it makes me pull the ball.

[MiniMoe]

A little open, but not much at all... just enough to ease some tension in my left knee after impact

[FHopper]

10-20 degrees, square right foot. If I open the right I swipe across the ball, If I close the left I "come out of my shoes" on my follow through and end up facing the target.

[Yukari]

I play with my left foot open just barely, not enough to even notice really.

I notice that also. After reading that you have to open your front foot, I went to the range and I noticed that all my shots were pulled shots.

I guess I will keep it square...

[Clambake]

Do you keep your forward foot (left foot for right handers) at 90 degrees to the target line or open (e.g., 10-40 degrees)?

My response is either "it depends" or "it doesn't matter what anyone here says". The reason is that the golf swing is such a complicated series of interconnected moves that involve essentially every muscle and joint in your body, and to break down any one tiny piece of it without addressing everything else is essentially meaningless. Where you place YOUR foot has to do how your body works and not anyone else's. I tend to have slightly restricted flexibility in the lower back but a lot of flexibilty in my lower joints like knees, so I need to find a balance that lets me make a full turn but keep my lower body more still. Some people can completely turn in just their back, and can point the leading toe more forward to get more resistance. Some can't turn well in their back so much of their turn is with the lower legs. Since none of us know your body's capabilities, it doesn't matter what we do or think.

Experiment for awhile with it and see what works. But when you experiment, you can't just do 3 swings and think "well, that didn't work". Because of the interaction with all elements of the swing, you need to experiment enough to find out how this impacts your other swing elements and adjust them as well. This is why you'll hear a pro say something like "I'm working on lowering my hand position at the top by a 1/2 inch this year". It sounds like it should be a trivial change, but it takes a lot of work to adjust the rest of the swing around it and see what works better overall. This is both part of the fun and frustration of golf!

[SQ Bimmer]

I normally have both feet square, but lately I have been experimenting with Hogan's suggested "quarter turn" open forward foot which is 1/4 of 90*, so 22.5* open.

I think opening my forward foot a tad has straightened me out on the tee with my driver. Only two slices throughout my entire last round, and one of those slices was an intentional fade around a dogleg, and the other slice ended up just barely off the fairway. Basically I think I have figured out how much open front foot that MY current swing needs.