Three Setup Tips from PGA Tour Star Stewart Cink
The tiniest glitch in your golf swing can be the difference between sticking it next to the pin or having to get up and down from the bunker. To eliminate errant shots, you need perfection, beginning with the setup at the start of your swing. Otherwise, you will fail to hit the ball consistently close to your target.
Every golfer uses his own individual setup. Here, Stewart Cink, the PGA Tour star ranked 11th in the world, provides a few elements that are crucial to incorporate into your swing setup. His approach will boost your confidence next time you’re faced with a 200-yard five iron over water to a tight pin placement.
STACK: How should a golfer approach his setup?
Stewart Cink: You just want to stand in your natural position and just be ready to respond. That’s really what the golf swing is: [you] responding to the ball.
STACK: How wide a stance should you use?
SC: Your feet need to be slightly further apart than your shoulders. The idea now, with the way the new balls are, is to try to get the ball as high off the launch as you can, because it doesn’t spin enough to hit it low and expect it to rise with the trajectory. The way to do that is with the wider stance.
STACK: How should you distribute your weight in your feet?
SC: It’s important to have your weight 50-50 on both feet. You never want to stand with your weight on one side. Not too much on your toes or too much on your heels—just in the center.
STACK: What should your setup look like before you hit the ball?
SC: You’re going to slightly be at ease in your knees, nice and loose and ready. Your hips are going to be flexed, ready and active. You’re reacting to the ball, [so] your body has to be ready. You can’t [hit] from an unathletic position.
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Three Setup Tips from PGA Tour Star Stewart Cink
The tiniest glitch in your golf swing can be the difference between sticking it next to the pin or having to get up and down from the bunker. To eliminate errant shots, you need perfection, beginning with the setup at the start of your swing. Otherwise, you will fail to hit the ball consistently close to your target.
Every golfer uses his own individual setup. Here, Stewart Cink, the PGA Tour star ranked 11th in the world, provides a few elements that are crucial to incorporate into your swing setup. His approach will boost your confidence next time you’re faced with a 200-yard five iron over water to a tight pin placement.
STACK: How should a golfer approach his setup?
Stewart Cink: You just want to stand in your natural position and just be ready to respond. That’s really what the golf swing is: [you] responding to the ball.
STACK: How wide a stance should you use?
SC: Your feet need to be slightly further apart than your shoulders. The idea now, with the way the new balls are, is to try to get the ball as high off the launch as you can, because it doesn’t spin enough to hit it low and expect it to rise with the trajectory. The way to do that is with the wider stance.
STACK: How should you distribute your weight in your feet?
SC: It’s important to have your weight 50-50 on both feet. You never want to stand with your weight on one side. Not too much on your toes or too much on your heels—just in the center.
STACK: What should your setup look like before you hit the ball?
SC: You’re going to slightly be at ease in your knees, nice and loose and ready. Your hips are going to be flexed, ready and active. You’re reacting to the ball, [so] your body has to be ready. You can’t [hit] from an unathletic position.