Golf Stance & Setup for Beginners - The New Golfer Starter Series Lesson #2
Learn how to stand to the golf ball before you worry about the swing.
Before you learn how to swing a golf club, it helps to learn how to stand correctly.
The good news is that your golf stance doesn't need to be complicated.
For a basic iron shot, you mainly need to get five things right:
1. Where you stand
2. How wide your feet are
3. Where the ball sits
4. Your posture
5. Where the club starts
Get these reasonably close and you'll give yourself a much better chance of making a comfortable golf swing.
Don't worry about making your setup perfect. At this stage, we're simply trying to build a good starting position you can repeat.
Step 1: Start With Your Feet
For a normal iron shot, start with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart.
You don't need to measure this.
Your stance should simply feel balanced and comfortable — not extremely wide and not with your feet together.
Try standing naturally first, then widen your feet slightly until you feel stable.
Step 2: Put the Ball Near the Middle
When you're learning with a mid-iron, start with the golf ball around the middle of your stance.
You don't need to get the position exact.
Look down at your feet and imagine a line running halfway between them. The ball should be somewhere around that area.
Different golf clubs eventually require slightly different ball positions, but you don't need to learn all of those yet.
For now:
Mid-iron = ball around the middle.
Step 3: Bend Forward Slightly
Stand tall first.
Then bend forward slightly from your hips while keeping your back comfortable.
Let your knees soften rather than squatting down.
Your arms should be able to hang naturally toward the ground.
You should feel athletic and balanced rather than stiff or crouched.
Step 4: Let Your Arms Hang
Once you're in your posture, let your arms hang naturally underneath your shoulders.
You shouldn't feel like you're reaching a long way for the golf ball.
You also shouldn't feel like the club is jammed too close to your body.
Hold the club using the grip you've already learned in lesson #1 and let your arms remain relaxed.
Step 5: Put the Club Behind the Ball
Finally, place the clubhead on the ground behind the golf ball.
The clubface should be pointing toward where you want the ball to start.
Lets take one last look at your setup:
Feet comfortable
Ball around the middle
Slight bend from the hips
Knees relaxed
Arms hanging naturally
Club behind the ball
You're ready to make a swing.
Your Stance Doesn't Need to Be Perfect
You may see experienced golfers discussing exact ball positions, alignment angles, spine tilt, weight distribution and other setup details.
Those things can matter later.
But they're not what you need to concentrate on during your first few trips to the driving range.
Your first goal is much simpler:
Find a comfortable, balanced setup that you can repeat.
If you're comfortable over the ball and can swing without feeling cramped or stretched, you're heading in the right direction.
4 Common Beginner Setup Mistakes
Quick beginner checklist
Before You Swing
✓ Feet comfortable and balanced
✓ Ball around the middle
✓ Slight bend from the hips
✓ Knees relaxed
✓ Arms hanging naturally
✓ Club behind the ball
✓ Grip comfortable
Then:
Don't chase perfection. Get comfortable and hit some golf balls.
Got Your Stance? Next: A Golf Swing for Beginners
Now let's put your setup and grip together and learn the basic golf swing.
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