Position of Right foot for a righty: Hogan's tips changed?

[Antneye]

Hey guys, It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm still actively working on my swing.

I had always stuck to Ben Hogan's suggestion that the right foot should line up perpendicular to the target line with the left floot slight flared out.  Of late I noticed that most instruction seems to ignore this and has both feet slight flared in opposite directions.  I went away from Hogan for a while on that point but recently picked the book back up and have been playing with keeping that right foot perpendicular.  

It seems to me that when I keep it perpendicular it prevents me from taking too much of a backswing and seems to keep my swing much more compact and less prone to big hooks or slices.  I am not sure if I am grasping at straws but it made me wonder why modern instruction seems to ignore this piece of Hogan's book while still claiming it is a great piece of instructional material.  

Anyone have any thoughts on why this seems to have fallen out of favor?  Pro's/Con's to the approach?

[Vinsk]

This would be a great read for you.

[Antneye]

Thanks.  I had read that previously but forgot.  It may have even been what lead me to give up on the trail foot staying square.  The end of the article seems to imply that there is nothing wrong with keeping the trail foot squared so I think I will play around with it a little more since the results have seemed to stabilize my swing a bit.  I definitely keep the front foot flared and don't have any intentions of changing that.

[Missouri Swede]

  On 6/29/2018 at 4:24 PM, Antneye said:

I had always stuck to Ben Hogan's suggestion that the right foot should line up perpendicular to the target line with the left floot slight flared out.

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Did he even really do that?

[Buckeyebowman]

Doesn't look "perpendicular" to me! Different stroke for different folks! Too many swing on Tour that work to the benefit of their owners. Find what works for you!

[Antneye]

  On 6/30/2018 at 2:24 AM, Buckeyebowman said:

Doesn't look "perpendicular" to me! Different stroke for different folks! Too many swing on Tour that work to the benefit of their owners. Find what works for you!

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I think it does look perpendicular.  This is likely a wedge shot.  He recommends opening up the stance on a wedge shot, so if his left side wasn't open it would look more square.

I am of the opinion that it probably only matters in terms of getting a full turn on the backswing.  For someone like me who struggles with accuracy, it is probably better for me than for someone who is already accurate and wants more power.  I played around in from of a mirror today and I defintely get more rotation when I flare the foot.  Try it with the foot square, go all the way back, and then flare the foot.  You will see how much more you get.

[iacas]

  On 6/30/2018 at 1:09 PM, Antneye said:

I think it does look perpendicular.  This is likely a wedge shot.  He recommends opening up the stance on a wedge shot, so if his left side wasn't open it would look more square.

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It’s a driver.

His foot isn’t square there.

[Antneye]

  On 6/30/2018 at 1:16 PM, iacas said:

It’s a driver.

His foot isn’t square there.

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oh yeah....

[billchao]

  On 6/30/2018 at 1:09 PM, Antneye said:

I think it does look perpendicular.  This is likely a wedge shot.  He recommends opening up the stance on a wedge shot, so if his left side wasn't open it would look more square.

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What @iacas said, it's a driver and his feet are flared.

I've read that Hogan really only squared his back foot on short iron and wedge shots and the whole foot perpendicular to the target line thing was something Sports Illustrated wanted in the piece because amateurs typically have trouble with swaying.

[iacas]

  On 6/30/2018 at 5:17 PM, billchao said:

I've read that Hogan really only squared his back foot on short iron and wedge shots and the whole foot perpendicular to the target line thing was something Sports Illustrated wanted in the piece because amateurs typically have trouble with swaying.

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Which is funny because IMO a square foot often helps people sway. I tend to find a relatively positive correlation between squarer feet and swaying, anyway.

[billchao]

  On 6/30/2018 at 5:37 PM, iacas said:

Which is funny because IMO a square foot often helps people sway. I tend to find a relatively positive correlation between squarer feet and swaying, anyway.

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Yea, I thought the same thing. I've seen lots of people with a square trail foot sway.

I think the idea is to limit the movement in the trail leg and it serves as a brace against swaying, but really what it ends up doing is causing people to roll the pressure to the outside of that foot and their hips slide anyway.

[Jack Watson]

A square right foot for me is a setup aid.  I don’t look up after setup.  So for me it has more to do with alignment of my setup to the start line.  Personal quirk.

[DrMJG]

After reading this yesterday,I went to my local range and tried the "both foot flare" stance.  I was taught the old Hogan stance and used that up to today.  My results and comfort today proved that the both flared out made a great difference.  As balance is sometimes rough for me, given a problem with my right foot, I found myself so much firmer in my balance.  It took me a while to find that best (for today) amount of flare. By the end of todays work, I found myself without only straighter drives but a more relaxed swing and easier to be a bit more consistent in to out.Tomorrow I will repeat what I did today to see if I can build up some muscle memory.  On a side note, one of the shop pros said I looked very happy when I came into the store after my practice. I when I told him about the adjustment I made and my results, he looked at me a bit with a look that may have suggest questioning me what planet I come from and asked if I never tried that before. I also took a slightly wider stance as well.  It is fun relearning golf as if I had never played before!

 

[boogielicious]

  On 7/2/2018 at 5:49 AM, DrMJG said:

After reading this yesterday,I went to my local range and tried the "both foot flare" stance.  I was taught the old Hogan stance and used that up to today.  My results and comfort today proved that the both flared out made a great difference.  As balance is sometimes rough for me, given a problem with my right foot, I found myself so much firmer in my balance.  It took me a while to find that best (for today) amount of flare. By the end of todays work, I found myself without only straighter drives but a more relaxed swing and easier to be a bit more consistent in to out.Tomorrow I will repeat what I did today to see if I can build up some muscle memory.  On a side note, one of the shop pros said I looked very happy when I came into the store after my practice. I when I told him about the adjustment I made and my results, he looked at me a bit with a look that may have suggest questioning me what planet I come from and asked if I never tried that before. I also took a slightly wider stance as well.  It is fun relearning golf as if I had never played before!

 

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It will feel odd for a week or two, but eventually you won’t even think about the flare. It will be automatic. For me, it also relieved stress on my knees. 

[saevel25]

  On 7/2/2018 at 11:50 AM, boogielicious said:

It will feel odd for a week or two, but eventually you won’t even think about the flare. It will be automatic. For me, it also relieved stress on my knees. 

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Same here. I was looking at my swing video the other and noticed both my feet are flared out.

It is definitely helpful.

[Antneye]

Definitely sticking with both feet flared. My center pivot was the best it's ever been today. 

[MarvChamp]

  On 8/19/2018 at 8:45 PM, Antneye said:

Definitely sticking with both feet flared. My center pivot was the best it's ever been today. 

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Yeah, AND I drop my right foot back a bit as well as flare. Helps this old guy. Best, -Marv

[boegyman]

This has always interested me about Ben Hogan. It seems even Hogan swayed back and forth about this topic.

In his book Power Golf (1948), he says about the stance "Remember to turn both toes out slightly" (p. 24). However, in Five Lessons (1957), he says "the right foot is at a right angle to the line of flight" (p. 41).

Not that there is necessarily a correlation, but most of his Major wins came around the time of Power Golf and years before Five Lessons was published.