In this video, sports technician Javier Varela explains exactly how to get in the right position before hitting your driver. As soon as you improve your stance, you will see an immediate impact on the quality of your swing. Keep reading to discover Javier Varela’s tips and practise your technique on the spectacular courses in the Costa del Golf.
What is meant by stance?
Golf stance is the position you adopt before hitting the ball. Bringing stability, a good stance is defined by a straight back, slightly bent knees and separated feet, with the ball between them. The best way for beginners to learn how to achieve a good stance is to take some golf classes led by a qualified instructor. The Costa del Golf is home to a wide range of schools and academies where you can work on your game, regardless of your age or level. Your teacher will help correct your stance until you adopt the right position.
How to position yourself in relation to the ball: Javier Varela’s top tips
In the video sports technician Javier Varela gives you some tips on how to improve your golf stance. He goes into greater depth on the commonly-given advice, which you have probably heard, that when using a longer club, the ball should be closer to your left foot, while with a shorter club the ball should be closer to your right foot. “Many shots will justify this situation,” he explains, “however in a normal situation, with a normal shot, I like to think that the ball should always be at the same distance from your left foot. What happens is, for instance, when I have a sand wedge, I will adopt a more closed stance, my feet are closer together. It therefore feels like the ball is closer to my right foot. And it is, but it is actually the same distance from my left foot.”
To demonstrate this, Javier Varela hits a five iron. To do so, all he does is move his right foot though, in reality, the ball remains the same distance from his left foot. What has happened here is that he has opened up his stance and the ball is now, in fact, closer to his left foot rather than his right foot. However, his body does not move. All you need to do is leave the ball close to your left foot and then move your right.
When it comes to hitting a 3 wood, Javier Varela explains what he is going to do: “I move my foot even further away. I change the axis of my body, my angle of attack. Though this changes everything, in actual fact the ball is still at my left foot. When I come back to the sand wedge, I don’t move, I just close my stance.”
A good stance
To achieve a good stance, your legs will be separated. Nevertheless, the degree of separation will depend on the shot you want to hit. Your feet should be approximately hip-width apart when playing with a 5 or 6 iron. With more open clubs, you should be thinking about closing your feet (keeping them almost entirely together for wedges on an approach shot), while with closed clubs (woods and drivers), your feet should be progressively further apart. Your knees need to be slightly bent, your weight evenly distributed between the soles of your feet and your back comfortably straight, bending from the hips, sticking your glutes out a bit to help you get good balance. Your arms will fall comfortably down and your hands should be free of any tension.
Practice, practice, practice is key to achieving the perfect golf stance. And what better place to do so than the golf courses in the Costa del Sol, where the incredible weather enables you to play all year round. The Costa del Golf awaits.
