A good golf stance is the foundation for a solid swing. If you start out with a bad stance, you’ll probably follow with a bad back swing, downswing, and follow through. But don’t worry, developing a good stance isn’t difficult, and staying balanced and relaxed can help you compensate for a less than perfect stance. The key is to make sure that you begin with your weight evenly distributed between your left and right legs.

To get into a good basic golf stance, start by putting your front foot just ahead of the ball and place your front and back feet shoulder width, or slightly more than shoulder width apart. Again, remember to keep your weight evenly distributed.

Once you have your feet set, soften or slightly bend your knees and bend at the hip, keeping your back straight. The angle of your back to the ground should be approximately 45 degrees so that your arms can hang straight down from your shoulders, and your kneecaps should be directly above the balls of your feet. Keep in mind that good posture counts. Be sure to keep your back straight, but stay relaxed so you don’t tense up. You may even want to think of the bend in your hips as pushing your back pockets higher. In this position your weight should be on the balls of your feet rather than your heels or toes and equally balanced between your left and right sides. Staying balanced should help you to remain comfortable and less tense, which is a key part of any good golf stance and swing.

Now that you know how to position your body, you need to properly line up your stance. To do this, think of a line being drawn across the front of your feet. If you were extend this line it should point directly to your target (so your feet are lined up with your target). You may want to check this by placing your club against your toes and then stepping back to see if the club is pointing toward your target. The line from your toes to the target is called the “target line” and when you get in your stance you should make sure that your knees, hips, and shoulders are parallel to this line. However you’ll need to make one slight adjustment to your shoulder position. If you are right handed, when you assume a proper golf stance and grip your club, your left arm will form a straight line between your shoulder and the ball. For this to happen, your right shoulder will need to be slightly lower to the ground than your left shoulder, but both shoulders should still be parallel to the target line. For left handed golfers, the right shoulder will be slightly lower.

Now that you know the proper golf stance, you’re ready to grip the club and take a swing. Remember to stay loose and relaxed. Once you get into your stance you may want to release some tension by shifting your weight from one foot to the other and then balancing out your weight distribution before taking your shot.