Balance Training for Golf

By Dr. Craig Davies
CJGA Team Canada Performance Therapist / Strength and Conditioning Coach
drdavies@chirotraining.org

Often overlooked in a fitness program is the importance of training for balance.  Interestingly enough, proper training will result in quick and efficient results.

Whenever I give a lecture to golfers, I always ask how many of them are performing a fitness-training program for golf and it always surprises me how many do absolutely nothing.  Even those who do train quite often do so without much direction or planning.  The most common answer I hear from a young golfer is, “I usually run sometimes, do some sit-ups and some bicep curls”.  More often than not, balance training is never part of the equation.
 
To perform an efficient golf swing it is imperative to have great balance throughout and balance training is the easiest part of a quality fitness program.  Improvements in balance can often be noticed within the first few days of introducing specific exercises into your fitness program.  Significant improvements often take no more than a few weeks while changes in muscle strength, speed or flexibility will take quite a bit longer for noticeable differences to occur.  This is what makes me question how golfers determine what their fitness program should consist of.

Balance is a layman’s term for a number of physiological processes.  The ability to “stay in balance” is dependent on the ability of an individual’s nervous system to perceive and decipher a tremendous amount of information and relay that information to the muscles and joints that allow for balance to be achieved.  We require this processing to occur throughout our normal day-to-day activities.  The most obvious example is of an individual walking.  When we walk or run, we don’t think about what muscles should contract in a certain sequence.  It just sort of happens.  The reason we are able to walk or run without “thinking about it” is because all of these neurological processes occur within our subconscious.  You may notice however, that everyone runs or walks a little different.  One of the reasons for this is that we each have a different level of neurological efficiency.  Some of us walk with our feet pointing outwards, some of us are not able to actively contract our butt muscles and some of us walk with our weigh shifted slightly to one side more than the other.  The end result of all of these different “styles of walking” is the development of knee pain, back pain or possible foot and ankle problems.  These injuries are a result of walking for many years with improper walking mechanics. 

The golf swing happens very quickly.  It is for this reason that these neurological processes must occur so much quicker and more efficiently.  As weight is transferred onto the lead leg at the onset of the downswing, the pressure sensors (mechanoreceptors) in your feet detect these changes in weight and direction and begin to send information to the muscles in your body required to produce stability and movement.  If the information being perceived is slightly delayed or incorrect then the body is not able to recruit the proper muscles in the proper sequence.  The result is a golfer who depends on their hands to make up for poor body control during their golf swing.

End result…inconsistent shot making!

Balance training may be the most important and easiest part of fitness training to perform when used as a method for improving golf performance.  Below are three exercises for you to start incorporating into your fitness program to improve balance in your golf swing.

Exercise 1

Balanced Hip External Rotation

      

This 1st exercise is a great beginner exercise to develop basic proprioceptive input to the foot and ankle.  Try to maintain a stable base with the grounded leg while slowly rotating the raised leg to your side.  Your pelvis should remain facing straight forward throughout the hip motion. 

When you feel comfortable holding this position for thirty seconds try to hold the position with your eyes closed.  This will usually be much more difficult but will allow you to gain results faster.

Exercise 2

Stork to Standing Bow

This exercise is actually a combination of two yoga moves. The stork to standing bow is a great way for improving balance, while strengthening the muscles of the supporting leg, and stretching the front of the hip and thigh of the raised leg.
Stand with your legs together. Bend your left knee and hold your ankle with your left hand. Raise your right arm up to help you balance. This is the stork. Stay in this position for three to five breaths.
Bend forward until your torso is more or less parallel to the floor. This is the standing bow. Stay in this position for three to five breaths.
Straighten up by returning to the stork then put your left leg down.
Repeat on the other side.

Performance tips
One breath equals an inhalation and an exhalation. Keep your breaths steady and consistent in length and depth.

Exercise 3

KNEEING LUNGE

This exercise should only be done if you can perform a back stepping lunge with control and no pain.
Start in a standing position with your left knee and hip bent and the foot in the air.  Both of your hands should be placed on either side of your knee.
While breathing in drop STRAIGHT back into a lunge position.  You should maintain 60% of your weight on the front right foot with the weight placed onto the heel of the front foot (the right one).
Push off the right heel and butt to raise yourself back into the starting position.  Breathe out while you return to the starting position.
Only lunge back again when you have good balance in the starting position.
Repeat for 10-14 repetitions before switching legs

* When you feel comfortable performing this exercise WITHOUT weights add light (3-8 lbs) weights or a medicine ball.