Split Stance Drill – Top 5 Drills

Happy Fourth of July weekend!!! I hope everyone is able to have a great time, potentially get a round in on this beautiful weekend. If you are, try thinking about this one HUGE concept to the golf swing and the coinciding drill to boot.

Do you have trouble with balance through your swing? Hitting it fat? Being able to get onto your lead side and clear your hips? I think the split stance drill can help cure all of these ailments which is why I am deeming it one of my top 5 drills for a golfer.

Not to be confused with the Split Grip drill, the Split Stance drill is all about your lower body. This will help with lower body stability, proper weight shift and distribution, and has even helped me achieve consistent ball first contact. I think you might even start to see a more in-to-out swing path (if you struggle with coming over the top). I like to focus on making sure my lead leg straightens out, like a post, on my downswing. To set up for the Split Stance drill, you’ll want to:

1. Grab a short iron (8 or 9 iron) and set up to the golf ball normally, with the slightly ahead of center in your stance.
2. While in your golf position, take your trail foot and drop it back to where the toes of your trail foot are slightly behind the heel of your lead foot. This creates your Split Stance position.
3. Take note of where your weight is and readjust so that you can address the golf ball comfortably, while keeping your feet in the Split Stance.
4. Once comfortable, start with some short swings – really focusing on your lead leg straightening out just right before impact. Continue doing this until you are achieving consistent contact then gradually lengthen your swing.
5. When you are making consistent contact, you can then move onto full swings from a normal stance.

This drill is pretty simple, yet a very powerful tool to help iron out your game. Start slow, you won’t see any kind of change or improvement if you are rushing straight into full swings because you have not established any kind of muscle memory. Try it out, let me know what you think with the form below!