Not typical in my world. I know about 12 springers and they all walk on LLW and off lead with out any problems and they've never been near a head collar.
it all comes down to patience, consistency and method. The best method is the double flick method. Read Lez Graham - The Pet Gundog she explains it in her book. Along with walking in a anti clock wise circle (if the dog is on the left) and turning sharp left, so the dog has to get out of your way. be unpredictable in your sharp turns, The dog soon learns that it has to keep an eye on you and keep out of your way. Turn left sharply as soon as the nose goes past your knee. Dogs think in pictures and th epicture you are teaching the dog is the picture of your left leg, hip and side of body. DO not walk in a straight line for more than 10 yards. Be prepared to do this for 5 - 10 minutes solid. It's a long time and the dog will steadily fall into posiiton. Do it as many times a day as you can and do it for as many weeks as is neccessary. Once you cracked it, keep on doing it weekly and when ever the dog even thnks about moving forward.

Warm up for dog training in the pub?