One of the areas in which far too few golfers focus their attention is balance, one of Homer Kelley's essentials. At any course or driving range you can see golfer after golfer attempting to hit drives as hard, and as far as possible, but almost none of them realize the basic requirement of good balance in the swing.
Ask most golfers if they swing in balance and you'll generally find that people think they are 'mostly' balanced during their motion, and tend to dismiss the need to work in this area.
For the next month I would suggest practicing every day for 5 to 10 minutes swinging two clubs held together, or any one of the many 'heavy' clubs on the market, especially those that encourage rotation through the release.
Focus on these keys:
1) start and finish in complete balance - feel 'comfortable' and well 'set' at address. Not tense or rigid in any way.
2) close your eyes
3) swing back and through without stopping
4) swing slowly, as if in 'slow motion' letting the club and gravity show you the pace
Focus on the feels in your hands and feet - one of Toski's best keys IMO.
Find your balance and you will find your ball in the fairway much more often.
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"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
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I think one of the reasons for bad balance is the idea that some sort of weight shift is needed to hit the ball far. Ideas concerning weight transfer through the ball, etc. I therefore like to remind myself that we do not want to shift the weight consiously or on purpose in the golf stroke. Weight shifts because of the twisting and tuning of the body. And the reason for the turning of the body is so that the hands can take a direct ball back and through the ball.
I like the drill. I have practiced hitting the ball with my eyes closed and discovered that I don't perform as well as I do with just the drill and no ball.
Balance is an essential and it is a function or a result of the pivot
I know that some of the pro's practice with their feet together and hit balls. This will usually tell you immediately by the unnatural feel that you don't have as good as balance as you thought you did.
Also I know the guys who developed the Whippy, have a number of drills and though they don't mention balance they are aimed at learning to pivot correctly which means to be in balance.
Eyes closed is a good drill. Nice write up, thanks
The weight shift happens in a full power swing so that shoulder rotation alone can get the hands ahead of the ball at impact without adding independent arm motion and without losing your balance. With educated hands, this becomes unconscious. For those who are still learning to move the hands ONLY with the pivot, a conscious effort is required to lead with the tailbone.
Last edited by MizunoJoe : 10-08-2005 at 05:59 PM.
I like hitting balls with my eyes closed and really letting my "brain" do the work for me. No need to even see the ball if you just "shut down" and let your brain do it.
I've been known to hit 180-190 5 irons this way too
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I'm not a TGM or PGA certified Pro, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night
I did this once what a great drill. I am going back to this because I have felt the way the ball gets compressed and i remenber being able to hit my ONE and TWO Irons with very little effort. I have fallen and know its time to get back up to the well 12-1 /12-2 /12-3 till I have mastered all 24 componnets,This is really a fun drill and you can really use your imagination.
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Last edited by Ball Turf : 10-12-2005 at 02:07 AM.
Do you concern yourself with imbalances in your feet only?
Eyes closed is good. What about inner ear balance? Core imbalances? What are some other ideas for balance improvement?
Do you like Bosu balls or balance disks? Foam rollers? Eye restriction?
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