Watch part 2 now to see how you're moving your body in the opposite direction of the pros!
Standing "Outside the Shoes" in your address position in golf
One of the most common things we with the address position in golf are players that are "outside of their shoes."
This means their weight is distributed so that it pushes the outer edge of the shoe outward, often making it protrude beyond the sole of the shoe.
This is extremely common, and it actually makes many different things in the golf swing much harder to do.
Next time you're in your address position, take a moment to look down and check whether or not you can see the outside of your shoes.
If you can't, you may be "outside" your shoes.
Why Does it Matter?
When your weight is on the outside of your shoes, it leaves your hips very unstable, ready to slide all over the place.
More importantly, we see many golfers who, as they go into the golf backswing, have their weight way out over their right leg, leaving them no prayer of getting back to the left - it'll never happen - and that's one of the most important parts of the golf swing.
Here's How to Fix It
Standing outside your shoes leaves your hips unstable
One simple motion will get you back into good golf posture at address. Just take your ankles and roll them slightly inward, just until you feel some increased pressure on the inside of your shoes.
That's it!
Now, be careful not to roll your knees in. Just move your ankles slightly, just a tiny bit, until you feel that you can push some weight down on the insides of your shoes.
You should find that you can now look down and see the outsides of your shoes.
You may find, once you roll your ankles in a bit, that you feel some tightening on the insides of your thighs.
That's exactly right; it should feel almost as if you were trying to drag your feet together.
Of course you won't be applying that much pressure, but you might notice a little bit of tensioning in your thighs, which is good.
You should feel your glutes and the insides of your thighs engage, and now you won't feel all that instability that you did when you were on the outside of your shoe.
Balanced and Stable
You will feel some tension in the inner thighs
The goal in your address position in golf is to feel balanced and stable, and rolling those ankles slightly inward is one of the keys to achieving it.
When you push the weight down toward the insides of your ankles, you will be in a much more balanced, stable position.
With your ankles correctly positioned, you won't sway to the outside of your shoe or the outside of your foot.
You will be nice and balanced, and will be able to finish nice and balanced in your golf swing.
Remember, get into your address position, roll those ankles slightly in, especially if you can see your shoes bulging out on the outside edges.
It's an awkward angle; you can have a friend check for you if you can't see it yourself.
Get way onto the insides of your feet, and you'll have a much more stable, balanced position at address.
