Most people don’t notice that their stance is too wide, it just gravitates there over time. Rarely does a golfer come to me with a stance that’s too narrow. Most of the time their feet are spread too far apart at address.

And when this happens, it is a red flag that they have some balance issues in their swing.

Watch this short video to make sure that you have the proper width in your stance.

As a rule of thumb, you want the inside of your feet to be no wider than your shoulders with your driver which is the longest club in your bag. But if you are standing at address with a pitching wedge and have a driver-width stance, the chances are that you’ve got some balance issues.

Your stance needs to be a little more narrow with your shorter clubs and then get wider with your longer clubs where you need to support a bigger swing circle.

If you suspect that your stance is too wide, hit some balls with your wedge or a 9-iron and your feet just one or two clubhead widths apart. The test is to see if you can swing and still keep your balance. Put your feet together, take a couple of swings and see if you can brush the grass and still keep your balance. If you find you that you are losing your balance and taking a step, then you have some balance issues that you need to address in your swing.

Paying attention to the width of your stance will really make a big difference and it will help you become more consistent.