Older body, wider stance. Seems to be working.

[Keith White]

So on my return to golf I started with lots of fidgeting and experimenting and it led to some awful shots as I tried to get the game back.  I used to stand very tall, but over the last couple of rounds I have allowed myself to widen the stance a little and be a tad more squat in the knees.  I have the club a little further from the body also and try to keep the swing nice and wide.  I have to say it feels much better.  In a couple of days I turn 50, and I really think the slightly wider stance is helping me maintain balance as I get less athletic (to put it mildly)  Interested to hear what people think.

[PaddyMac]

I'm 47 and I started doing the same thing over the last couple of weeks, I found that the slightly wider stance allowed me to stop swaying as much which resulted in straighter shots. But on a side note I think that with age and loss of athletic ability the wider the stance the less your extending your back swing beyond what your body rotation will support and then just use the power from the big muscles which doesn't require any special flexibility. It also helped me flatten out my swing all in all I don't see a slightly wider stance as a bad thing.

[MarvChamp]

9 hours ago, Keith White said:

I have allowed myself to widen the stance a little and be a tad more squat in the knees. 

 

6 hours ago, PaddyMac said:

I found that the slightly wider stance allowed me to stop swaying as much which resulted in straighter shots. But on a side note I think that with age and loss of athletic ability the wider the stance the less your extending your back swing beyond what your body rotation will support a

Thank you Keith and PaddyMac...I intend to take your posts to heart and to the range tomorrow. A friend recently said that he had moved to a little wider stance that helped him feel he had better ground contact. He also said flaring both feet out a bit, which I do, helped with having a little squat with the knees slightly out. Sounds like both should be good for an old guy like me. -Marv

 

[Keith White]

14 hours ago, PaddyMac said:

I'm 47 and I started doing the same thing over the last couple of weeks, I found that the slightly wider stance allowed me to stop swaying as much which resulted in straighter shots. But on a side note I think that with age and loss of athletic ability the wider the stance the less your extending your back swing beyond what your body rotation will support and then just use the power from the big muscles which doesn't require any special flexibility. It also helped me flatten out my swing all in all I don't see a slightly wider stance as a bad thing.

Great feedback.  To be honest I have always had a short backswing and a low takeaway so the rotation debate is probably not going to be a concern for me.  I always thought the slightly opened foot was the trick to aid rotation as we lose our flexibility?  Do you try that as well?

I also think that I use the big muscles to compensate, but whenever I have focussed on rotation in the past I end up going all over the place.  I guess these days I just let the body rotate as much as it can/needs to for what I'm doing, if that makes sense.

 

8 hours ago, MarvChamp said:

 

Thank you Keith and PaddyMac...I intend to take your posts to heart and to the range tomorrow. A friend recently said that he had moved to a little wider stance that helped him feel he had better ground contact. He also said flaring both feet out a bit, which I do, helped with having a little squat with the knees slightly out. Sounds like both should be good for an old guy like me. -Marv

 

Good luck and I hope you have success.  Try and keep the weight on the ball of the feet, I notice that when you widen the stance it's easy to squat on the heels and lose the correct balance, it's just something to spot check as you start trying the change of stance.

[David in FL]

I'm the opposite.

As I get older (about to turn 59) I've narrowed my stance just a bit.  I also flair both my feet a little.  I find that doing so helps me make a little fuller turn back, and then through the ball, as I've lost some flexibility. 

[Patch]

I too have increased the width of my stance for better balance. Been doing this for a few years now. I almost look like Moe Norman I have been told. 

However, I think there is a trade off when using an open stance.  That being a little loss of distance, since in my opinion, with a wider stance, the hips are used a little less in the swing. I get more of an arm swing now using upper body strength. The balance gained allows for a faster upper body swing. I don't think the distance loss is that big, and for my age I still hit the ball pretty well. 

[PaddyMac]

3 hours ago, Keith White said:

Great feedback.  To be honest I have always had a short backswing and a low takeaway so the rotation debate is probably not going to be a concern for me.  I always thought the slightly opened foot was the trick to aid rotation as we lose our flexibility?  Do you try that as well?

 

2 hours ago, David in FL said:

I'm the opposite.

As I get older (about to turn 59) I've narrowed my stance just a bit.  I also flair both my feet a little.  I find that doing so helps me make a little fuller turn back, and then through the ball, as I've lost some flexibility. 

Just on rotation.. I found that with the narrow stance I definitely could rotate better which given my flexibility and age allowed me to get a full body turn but then  my problem was that I found that this led to a slightly looser swing. By that I mean sometimes I tried to over swing/or would end up over extending/ moving my head too much between the back swing and downswing. I found that with the wider stance and more squat athletic address limited my swing somewhat, causing me to have a wider takeaway with less head movement so as it worked out the wider stance was an improved swing change.

12 hours ago, MarvChamp said:

 

Thank you Keith and PaddyMac...I intend to take your posts to heart and to the range tomorrow.

 

No worries.. it is only in trying we hopefully perfect something that will allow us to put that small ball in the round hole.... hope it works well for ya..

 

 

[RWC]

3 hours ago, David in FL said:

I'm the opposite.

As I get older (about to turn 59) I've narrowed my stance just a bit.  I also flair both my feet a little.  I find that doing so helps me make a little fuller turn back, and then through the ball, as I've lost some flexibility. 

Me as well. I'm 65 and tried the wider stance but it just seemed to make me sway back and forth through the ball. The narrower stance and the flared feet seem to help me turn. Focusing on a slightly shorter more efficient swing has seemed to be the answer for keeping power as I get older. 

[Keith White]

6 hours ago, RWC said:

Me as well. I'm 65 and tried the wider stance but it just seemed to make me sway back and forth through the ball. The narrower stance and the flared feet seem to help me turn. Focusing on a slightly shorter more efficient swing has seemed to be the answer for keeping power as I get older. 

That's an interesting comment.  I have always had a short swing and still achieve decent distance so I can relate to that.  I beat the sway by starting the back swing really slow.  I can get the club back and stay over the ball this way, it's all about not having an action that needs the hips to move to compensate the take away.  A slow move does the trick for me.   

[iacas]

On 9/5/2017 at 9:07 AM, David in FL said:

I'm the opposite.

As I get older (about to turn 59) I've narrowed my stance just a bit.  I also flair both my feet a little.  I find that doing so helps me make a little fuller turn back, and then through the ball, as I've lost some flexibility. 

I too favor narrower stances.

People with wide stances often sway, and struggle to get forward properly on the downswing.

[No Mulligans]

On 9/5/2017 at 6:07 AM, David in FL said:

I'm the opposite.

As I get older (about to turn 59) I've narrowed my stance just a bit.  I also flair both my feet a little.  I find that doing so helps me make a little fuller turn back, and then through the ball, as I've lost some flexibility. 

Me too, I think the narrower stance (and flaired feet) allows an easier turn and is easier on the body.  I'm turning 60 in a few months.

[Sandhills Golfer]

On 9/4/2017 at 2:20 PM, Keith White said:

So on my return to golf I started with lots of fidgeting and experimenting and it led to some awful shots as I tried to get the game back.  I used to stand very tall, but over the last couple of rounds I have allowed myself to widen the stance a little and be a tad more squat in the knees.  I have the club a little further from the body also and try to keep the swing nice and wide.  I have to say it feels much better.  In a couple of days I turn 50, and I really think the slightly wider stance is helping me maintain balance as I get less athletic (to put it mildly)  Interested to hear what people think.

I've had a friend recommend reading the book play better golf for seniors (Mike Adams & TJ Tomasi). He swears this is a good swing based on a lack of flexibilty and pain. It didn't do much for me. But, I plan to read and try it again. You can get it on Amazon for less that 10 bucks it may even be in your local library.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Sandhills Golfe

[dennyjones]

On 9/5/2017 at 9:07 AM, David in FL said:

I'm the opposite.

As I get older (about to turn 59) I've narrowed my stance just a bit.  I also flair both my feet a little.  I find that doing so helps me make a little fuller turn back, and then through the ball, as I've lost some flexibility. 

I've found this works better for me, allowing me to focus on turning instead of sliding.

[MarvChamp]

On 9/7/2017 at 12:02 PM, iacas said:

struggle to get forward properly on the downswing

I tried the wider stance. This is what I found. Plus I am not fat, but not thin either. A little narrower stance helps me turn hips a bit more. -Marv

[Keith White]

I guess we are all different.  The slightly wider stance helps me keep the weight on the left and I don't over rotate, and I transition on the downswing far much better. 

[At least 7 handi-andy]

I like a narrow approach becuse I get just a little more flexibility in my hips for a little extra torque. But we re all different. Happy putting!