Balance

If one of the greatest golfers to ever live happened to have a child that was also very interested in golf, what would they stress as important in the golf swing?  While we certainly don’t know everything Tiger is teaching his son about the golf swing, we did get a glimpse at a certain aspect that he has been stressing to his son. In a recent interview, he stressed the importance of having good balance during the swing.  He told him to copy Rory’s swing because he is always in balance. Telling his son, “You can swing as hard as you want on a shot, but you need to have balance.” (29). For those that tend to be more in the “Jack is the greatest ever” crowd, he also stresses the importance of balance.  He states that golf is a game of balance, rhythm, and timing. Declaring that “Being in balance allows you to play golf to your true potential.” (30) If the legends of the game believe balance to be one of the key factors in the swing, then we should probably listen. But we don’t just have to take their word for it.

Numerous research studies have been done proving balance is an important part of the golf swing (8,10,12,18,20,23).  A large study of over 250 golfers found the best players (plus handicap) had significantly better balance than less skilled golfers with handicaps ranging from 10-20 handicap (6). This study was supported by another which shows that there is a significant relationship between balance ability and handicap, with better balance leading to lower handicap (23). Not surprisingly this trend continues at the professional level with professionals having better balance than elite amateurs (10).  To further break this down, we see that Single Leg Balance is correlated with more greens in regulation (1), improved putting (28), and is also associated with improved driving distance (1,18) which are all things that we know correlate to lower handicap.  Titleist Performance Institute has found that common swing faults of Early Extension, Loss of Posture, and Sliding are all corelated with poor Single Leg Balance. In fact, golfer who cannot successfully perform a Single Leg Balance test on the left leg are 3x more likely to show these swing faults (19). With this trend being found consistently across many different researchers it makes sense that many of the studies recommend that balance training should be an “integral part of training” (1).

Why is better balance helpful?

If you read the Upper Extremity Article, then you remember that the driver pulls away from you with around 87 pounds of force during a driver swing of 100mph (31UE).  So while you are shifting your weight from trail foot to lead foot, rotating your hips and torso, trying to keep your head relatively still, controlling the low point of the club, controlling the club face, and trying to hit a 1.68 inch diameter ball on the sweet spot the size of the coin at the end of a 3 foot stick, you have a force pulling you with close to 90 pounds of pressure forward towards the ball. I think we can all see why balance is so important for good golf, aside from watching your buddy, the 25 handicap, lose his balance on every shot wondering why it won’t go straight. We all know that person.

Several articles (1,4,8,12,20) pointed to better balance leading to improved ability to transfer weight from trail foot to lead foot during the swing. This makes a lot of sense. We start with our weight more or less equally distributed, depending on the type of shot you’re playing. We then transfer about 80% of our weight to the trail leg, then quickly transfer 81-142% of our weight to the lead leg (8). This all happens in about 1 second, the approximate length of time to complete the golf swing. The downswing, where most of the weight transfer occurs, only takes about .3 seconds. Wrobel et al found that fastest weight shifting happens just after the end of the backswing (3). When you really break it down, it’s quite amazing we can hit the ball at all.

Wrobel et al (3) also found that better players have better balance at specific parts of the swing compared their less skilled counterparts. They saw improved balance when the arms were reaching peak speed, which is usually just past arms parallel on the downswing; and also at the moment of impact. This suggests that better players are better able to maintain balance by resisting the pulling pressure of the club allowing them to more accurately place the center of the clubface on the ball.  Likewise, Donatelli et al (20) also found improved balance at specific parts of the swing. They tell us that professional golfers have improved balance at the very end of the golf swing, in late follow through phase when most of our balance in on the lead leg. This shows us how well they are able to control their weight shift during the swing.

What is balance?

We all pretty much know what balance is.  Can you stand up without falling over or needing to take a step to avoid falling? To be more technical, balance is our ability to keep our Center of Mass over our Base of Support (Wikipedia).  Our Center of Mass is basically 2-3 inches straight backwards from where a belt buckle would be if you were wearing one. Our Base of Support is the part, or parts, of our body that is in contact with the ground, usually our feet but it could be your hands and knees if you were crawling. A wider Base of Support makes balancing easier since you have a larger area to keep your Center of Mass over. Standing on one leg makes our Base of Support only as large as the foot we are standing on so keeping the Center of Mass over it is much more difficult.

Generally, for younger more active people it’s best to check Single Leg Balance because standing on two legs is too easy and should not be a challenge. For golfers, Single Leg Balance is where we see differences between high level players and the rest of us.  Balance, on one or both legs, requires us to use our visual system, vestibular system (inner ear), and somatosensory/neuromuscular systems (the information with get back from our joints, muscles, tendon, bottoms of feet, ect.) (14).  Single Leg Balance still requires the use of these systems, plus now an increased demand of the trunk, hip, knee, ankle, and foot muscles (14). So not only is our Base of Support now smaller but we have also removed one leg’s muscles from helping us balance since it is not in contact with the ground.  Think about what we just learned about our weight distribution in the Backswing (80% trail leg) and the Late Follow Through (up to 142% lead foot). These two parts of the swing are basically Single Leg Balance.  If you read the EMG Article it’s becoming more clear, or about to become clear, why the Gluteal muscles are so important.

The research shows us that the hip muscles are the most important muscles in Single Leg Balance (14,15,17,20,22).  Numerous studies show that the Gluteus Maximus and Gluteus Medius have significant impact on balance in golfers (20). Tao et al tells us that worse balance is associated with decreased hip extension strength in the Gluteus Maximus and Hamstrings (14). Oka et al tells us that the muscles most important for Single Leg Balance are the Gluteus Medius, Hamstrings, Quadriceps, as well as the hip External Rotators (15). We have seen these muscles before in the EMG article. The Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius, and Hamstrings are the most important leg muscles in the golf swing. This all aligns perfectly with what we have learned in past articles.  If you want to get better at golf you need to be strong in these muscles.  Now would be a good time to check out the Lower Extremity Exercises Article if you haven’t already done so.

How to improve balance

Let’s be clear from the start, we are not suggesting practicing golf swings on one leg, while standing/kneeling on a ball or unstable surface, or doing any other than training or practicing on solid ground.  Balancing on unstable surfaces is unlikely to be effective at improving balance in people who don’t have clinical balance deficits (31). So let’s not waste our time. The stuff you see people do on the internet is cool and impressive, but it likely not translating to improved performance on the course.  Now that this is out of the way, let’s talk about what we SHOULD do.

The good news, this won’t add tons of time to your training. As little as 2 minutes a day of Single Leg Standing can be effective to increase balance (13).  If you read the Lower Extremity Exercise Article you know that we were strong advocates for Single Leg exercises such as Step Ups, Single Leg Squats, Single Leg Deadlift, and Standing Hip Abduction to name a few.  If you are already incorporating these in your training, then you are doing great. If you aren’t, then you need to add them.  If those are too difficult for you right now, you can start by just standing on one leg for 10 seconds and gradually try to increase to your time to 30 seconds. Once you can get 30 seconds easily, start adding some movements to increase the challenge. This movement can be tossing a ball off a wall or trampoline to yourself, swinging your other leg in the kicking motion, or doing arm exercises while on one leg. When these get easy progress to the Single Leg exercises listed in the Lower Extremity Article. Balance training is easy in theory, use your creativity to come up with fun ways for you to work on it. If done correctly, you should really feel your hip muscles burning.  

-A tip to get your hip muscles to engage properly is to stand as tall as you can when standing on one leg.

Vision is one of the main components of balance and many people will do balance exercises with their eyes closed to make it more difficult. For golf purposes, this is not necessary. Golf is a sport done with our eyes open, not closed.  Professionals have better eyes open balance than amateurs (3,6) but both groups were equally bad at balance with eyes closed suggesting this form of balance is not a component of improved golf performance (20).  Another aspect of balance that professionals are better at is Dynamic Balance (10). Dynamic Balance means that other parts of our body or our whole body is moving while balancing. Examples of training this would include Single Leg Balance while rotating your trunk to mimic a golf swing, moving your arms, tossing or catching an object, Single Leg Medicine Ball Slams or performing the Single Leg Exercises listed in the Lower Extremity Article, such as Step Ups, Single Leg Deadlifts, or Single Leg Squats. The options are endless, just make sure your eyes are open and parts of your body are moving.

Bonus Benefits of Improved Balance

An interesting study from Victoria University in Australia (12) showed that balance training does more than just improve our balance. They found balance training can lead to an improvement in Vertical Jump. Remember, Vertical Jump height is correlated with driving distance, which is correlated with lower handicap. So this is not a trivial detail. They believe this is done through a couple of mechanisms. “It has been proposed that improvement with balance could decrease the proportions of muscles allocated to stabilization and allow them to contribute more to” force production.  Balance training may lead to a quieting of the nervous system and muscle stretch reflexes leading to less “unnecessary” muscle activity which could lead to muscles fighting against one another causing us to lose balance. This enhanced efficiency of the muscles and nervous system also leads to an increase in the Rate of Force Development, basically how fast our muscles can produce force. With less muscles now needed for balance, the body has more muscles to help with force development. This is huge in the golf swing. We need to build large forces, very quickly. Increasing Rate of Force Development will increase muscular power, increase vertical jump height, and improve swing speed.

The authors do caution however, that “balance training can be a worthwhile adjunct to the usual training of non-elite athletes to enhance certain motor skills but [should not be used] in place of other conditioning such as resistance training”(12). In other words, don’t skip the gym for balance training thinking it will lead to the same result. Balance training will enhance the gains you make in the gym but will not replace them.

Summary

·      Better balance is associated with lower handicap, more greens hit in regulation, increased driving distance, improved putting, and less swing faults

·      Better balance leads to more fluid weight transfer during the swing

·      Single Leg Balance with eyes open what golfers need to focus on

- Gluteal muscle strength is the most important aspect of Single Leg Balance

·      As little as 2 minutes per day of balance training is enough to improve your balance

- Incorporating Single Leg Exercises such as Single Leg Squats or Single Leg

Deadlifts to your gym routine is enough balance exercise to see benefits.

·      Balance training can also lead to improved power development in the golf swing.

References

1.     Marshall, K. J., & Llewellyn, T. L. (2017). Effects of Flexibility and Balance on Driving Distance and Club Head Speed in Collegiate Golfers. International journal of exercise science, 10(7), 954–963.

3. Wrobel, J.S., Marclay, S., & Najafi, B. (2012). Golfing skill level postural control differences: a brief report. Journal of sports science & medicine, 11(3), 452-458.

4. Tsang, W.W., & Hui-Char, C.W. (2010). Statice and dynamic balance control in older golfers. Journal of aging and physical activity, 18 (1), 1-13.

6 Sell, T. C., Tsai, Y. S., Smoliga, J. M., Myers, J. B., & Lephart, S. M. (2007). Strength, flexibility, and balance characteristics of highly proficient golfers. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 21(4), 1166–1171. https://doi.org/10.1519/R-21826.1

8 Krysak, S., Harnish, C. R., Plisky, P. J., Knab, A. M., & Bullock, G. S. (2019). FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT AND DYNAMIC BALANCE DISPARITIES AMONG VARYING SKILL LEVELS IN GOLFERS. International journal of sports physical therapy, 14(4), 537–545.

10 Choi, A., Sim, T., & Mun, J. H. (2016). Improved determination of dynamic balance using the centre of mass and centre of pressure inclination variables in a complete golf swing cycle. Journal of sports sciences, 34(10), 906–914. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1076572

12 Hrysomallis C. (2011). Balance ability and athletic performance. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 41(3), 221–232. https://doi.org/10.2165/11538560-000000000-00000

13 Marcori, A. J., Monteiro, P. H. M., Oliveira, J. A., Doumas, M., & Teixeira, L. A. (2022). Single Leg Balance Training: A Systematic Review. Perceptual and motor skills, 129(2), 232–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125211070104

14 Tao, H., Husher, A., Schneider, Z., Strand, S., & Ness, B. (2020). THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SINGLE LEG BALANCE AND ISOMETRIC ANKLE AND HIP STRENGTH IN A HEALTHY POPULATION. International journal of sports physical therapy, 15(5), 712–721. https://doi.org/10.26603/ijspt20200712

15 Oka, S., Yamaguchi, J., Okoba, R., & Ariie, T. (2021). Relationship between single-leg stance test with light touch and hip muscle strength in healthy young adults. Journal of physical therapy science, 33(8), 576–579. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.33.576

17 Kim, Y., & Kang, S. (2020). The relationship of hip rotation range, hip rotator strength and balance in healthy individuals. Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation, 33(5), 761–767. https://doi.org/10.3233/BMR-181299

18 Green, A., Dafkin, C., Kerr, S., & McKinon, W. (2015). Relationships between physical and biomechanical parameters and golf drive performance: a field-based study. South African Journal for Research in Sport. 37,3.

19 Gulgin, Heather R.; Schulte, Brian C.; Crawley, Amy A.. Correlation of Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Level 1 Movement Screens and Golf Swing Faults. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28(2):p 534-539, February 2014. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31829b2ac4

20 Donatelli, R., Carp, K., Pagnacco, G., & Adams, J. (2011)  Skill Level and balance in golf. Lower Extremity Review.

22 PAZ, G. A. .; GUALTER SANTANA, H.; OLIVEIRA, F. de; BRANDÃO , A. C. B. .; SANTOS JÚNIOR, V. dos; MIRANDA, H. .; HÉBERT-LOSIER, K. The relationship between y balance performance and hip strength in recreationally trained women. Research, Society and Development, [S. l.], v. 10, n. 10, p. e327101019167, 2021. DOI: 10.33448/rsd-v10i10.19167. Disponível em: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/19167. Acesso em: 27 jan. 2024.

23 Speariett, S., & Armstrong, R. (2019). The Relationship Between the Golf-Specific Movement Screen and Golf Performance. Journal of sport rehabilitation, 29(4), 425–435. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2018-0441

28 Richardson, Ashley K.; Hughes, Gerwyn; and Mitchell, Andrew C.S., "Center of Pressure Excursion During the Golf Putting Stroke in Low, Mid and High Handicap Golfers" (2012). Kinesiology (Formerly Exercise and Sport Science). 33.

29 Dethier, D. Don’t copy my swing: Tiger Woods reveals advice for Charlie. Golf.com. December 3, 2022.

30 Jack Nicklaus: My lifetime principles for great golf. Golfdigest.com. January 21, 2020.

31 Schilling, B. K., Falvo, M. J., Karlage, R. E., Weiss, L. W., Lohnes, C. A., & Chiu, L. Z. (2009). Effects of unstable surface training on measures of balance in older adults. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 23(4), 1211–1216. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181918a83