Watching players at a driving range, you might see something that looks a little odd: a golfer standing with their feet touching, swinging away as if it’s perfectly normal. It's a common sight among skilled players, but it prompts an immediate question. Can you really play golf with your feet together, and more importantly, why would you want to? This isn't just a strange practice habit, it's one of the most effective drills you can use to improve your balance, timing, and overall ball-striking. This guide will walk you through exactly why this drill works, how to do it correctly, and when to use it to dial in your swing.
The short answer is yes, but it’s almost exclusively used as a practice drill, not a method for playing a full round of golf. While there have been legendary players, like Sam Snead, who were famous for their narrow stances, the modern feet-together drill is a tool designed to isolate and improve specific parts of your swing.
You can certainly hit chips and short pitches on the course with a very narrow stance, and it's quite effective - more on that later. But when it comes to full swings with irons and woods, its true value is found on the practice tee. A feet-together swing intentionally creates an unstable base. By doing this, it forces you to make a more efficient, coordinated motion. Any major swing flaw, like swaying off the ball or throwing the club with just your arms, is immediately exposed because you'll lose your balance. It is, in essence, a truth-teller for your golf swing.
So many common swing faults are disguised by a wide, stable stance. A wider base allows you to get away with bad habits because you have more room to shift and recover. By bringing your feet together, you remove that safety net and compel your body to find a more centered and efficient way to swing the club. Here are the core benefits you’ll see right away.
Balance is the foundation of a repeatable golf swing. Many amateur golfers struggle with swaying - their hips and shoulders drift too far away from the ball during the backswing, or they lunge aggressively toward the target on the downswing. This excessive movement makes it incredibly difficult to consistently return the club to the same impact position.
The feet-together drill solves this in a hurry. With your feet touching, your base of support is tiny. If you sway even slightly, you’ll start to wobble or even fall over. To stay upright, you are forced to rotate your shoulders and hips around a fixed point: your spine. This teaches you what it feels like to stay centered over the ball throughout the swing, a fundamental I teach all my students. After hitting just a few balls this way, when you return to your normal stance, you’ll have a newfound awareness of true, dynamic balance.
One of the most frequent issues for recreational golfers is poor sequencing. This often shows up as the arms starting the downswing before the body is ready, or the arms getting "stuck" behind the body's rotation. The result is a weak, disconnected swing that produces pushes, pulls, and inconsistent contact. The swing should ideally be a synchronized movement, where the arms, hands, and club are powered by the turning of the body.
With your feet together, you can't generate power by lunging or aggressively firing your hips from a wide stance. Instead, you are compelled to turn your torso away from the ball and then unwind your torso toward the target, allowing the arms and club to simply come along for the ride. This drill practically forces you into a "one-piece takeaway," where the shoulders, arms, and club move together. It trains your body and arms to work as a single, connected unit, which is the cornerstone of powerful and consistent ball striking.
Are you a golfer who feels like your swing is fast, jerky, or rushed, especially at the transition from backswing to downswing? A hurried swing ruins any chance of making solid contact. The feet-together drill is a wonderful antidote to a quick tempo.
Because your balance is so precarious, you physically cannot make an aggressive, jerky move from the top without stumbling. The drill encourages a fluid, more deliberate pace. It helps you feel the weight of the club head and allows it to gather momentum naturally, like a pendulum. You’ll feel a smoother tempo - back and through - and a much less hurried transition at the top. This improved rhythm will carry over when you return to your regular swing, helping you stay in control even when you swing with more speed.
Incorporating this drill is simple, but to get the most out of it, you need to approach it the right way. Don't just try to smash driver with your feet together on the first try. Follow these steps for the best results.
The feet-together drill is incredibly versatile. Here’s how you can weave it into your practice routines for maximum benefit.
Before you start a practice session, hit your first 10-15 balls with a wedge, using the feet-together drill. This is a perfect way to activate your core, find your center of balance, and establish a smooth tempo for the rest of your session. It helps set the tone for a productive practice before you even move to a full swing.
Every golfer knows the feeling: you’re midway through a bucket of balls and your swing just starts to feel off. You're hitting chunked shots, thin shots, or spraying the ball everywhere. This is the perfect time to go back to the feet-together drill. Hitting 5 or 10 shots this way will immediately quiet the "noise" in your swing. It strips away all the compensations and gets you back to the fundamentals of rotating around a stable center. It's one of the quickest ways to find your rhythm again.
While a full swing with feet together is best left to the range, a narrower stance is gold for short game shots around the green. For a standard chip shot, setting up with your feet very close together accomplishes a few things. It encourages a shoulder-driven, "putting-style" stroke by limiting excess leg and hip movement. This prevents a common fault of trying to "help" the ball into the air. By keeping the lower body quiet, you can make a simple, descending blow that produces crisp, consistent contact and predictable rollout.
The feet-together golf drill is a fantastic tool because it beautifully simplifies the cluttered, often over-thought golf swing. By forcing you to focus on balance and rotation - the true engine of the swing - it provides instant feedback on where your motion is breaking down and trains your body to move more efficiently and in sequence.
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