Golf is a game of precision; every part of your body needs to work together. If you watch the best players in the world, you’ll notice they have incredible balance.
Unfortunately, most amateurs lack this control and balance in the golf swing, and as such, are missing out on the massive role it plays in becoming a consistent golfer. Without proper balance, it’s easy to early extend your golf swing and potentially injure yourself in the process.
Unbalanced posture can also lead you to transfer your weight improperly, and ultimately suffer from inconsistency.
Keep reading to learn how to develop more balance so you can build a more reliable golf swing.
Balance in Golf: The Secret to Consistency
Every golfer wants one thing – consistency. Not only in terms of ball striking but scoring consistency from one round to the next.
When you have better balance, you’ll be able to get closer to that elusive goal and reap these benefits;
- Improve your strike: Better balance equals better mechanics and finding the center of the club more often. This leads to more fairways, more greens, and probably lower scores.
- Prevent injuries: Poor balance leads to compensations in your swing and undue stress on your hips, knees, and lower back, which are injury prone areas for golfers.
- Add more distance: Proper balance will allow you to generate more power, time your swing properly, and increase speed for longer drives. More distance means shorter approach shots and more opportunity for better overall scores.
Clearly, balance is important – to improve it, you need enough core strength, setup fundamentals (posture, stance, etc.) and a plan.
Why You Need Core Strength in Golf
Let’s start with core strength, as it’s usually the culprit to a lack of balance. Unfortunately, most people don’t get enough activity, rarely stretch, and eat too many calories. All of which lead to a weak core and make it easy to suffer a back injury too.
But a strong core – which includes your abs, obliques and lower back – will help you avoid injuries and maintain balance. These muscles stabilize your body for a controlled rotation and ability to generate power from your lower body.
Consider these moments in the swing where balance and core strength are key:
- Setup position. A solid setup makes the rest of the swing a lot easier. A balanced stance sets the stage for stability and allows you to have equal weight distribution. This will help avoid swaying and instead focus on rotating to generate power.
- Backswing. As you rotate your upper and lower body, your core keeps your posture stable. A weak core makes it easy to extend early and leads to a variety of thin and fat shots.
- Impact: The moment of truth is where you need stability to transfer your weight and rotate toward the target.
- Follow through: This is the final moment of the swing and easy to determine if you have balance or if your stability needs work.
Exercises and Stretches to Improve Balance
To improve your core stability, focus on these exercises and stretches:
- Single leg balance drill: Stand on one leg with your foot slightly off the ground. Hold for 20–30 seconds and switch legs.
- Single leg exercises: If you’re already pretty stable but want more of a challenge, try out single leg squats, deadlifts, or lunges. Start with body weight and progress to weights once you’re more advanced.
- Core exercises: Keep it simple with planks, which target your entire core and other big muscles. You can also try out med ball twists, throws, and slams to engage your core muscles.
- Balance board training: Use a board or stability trainer to learn how to shift your weight like you would in your golf swing. You can also hit golf balls while using one of these for an efficient practice session.
You might want to consider occasionally doing some yoga or golf stretches too.
Setup Fundamentals For Better Balance
Now that we’ve covered what to do off the course, make sure to focus on these parts of your game too.
Stance
Your stance greatly impacts your ability to stay balanced. If you find yourself constantly sliding or having “happy feet” after a shot, your stance might be to blame.
The stance width needs to match the club you’re hitting…the longer the club, the wider the stance. Oftentimes golfers take too narrow of a stance which makes it easy to get off balance as you swing. On the other hand, too wide of a stance makes it hard to rotate properly.
Check your stance often to ensure you’re set up for a balanced golf swing.
Golf Posture 101
Another setup position to check is your posture. For starters, make sure your weight is evenly distributed in the middle of your feet, not on your toes or heels.
Then, make sure your back is relatively straight, avoiding the C or S posture. Additionally, make sure you have a slight amount of bend in your knees so you’re in an athletic position to swing the club.
Proper Warm Up
Lastly, make sure you always warm up before hitting golf balls or playing a round. Especially if you sit at a desk and don’t get a ton of movement in your day-to-day routine.
Even 5–10 minutes of light stretches, foam rolling, and body weight exercises can help loosen your body up and avoid injuries.
Creating Your Stability Plan
Now that you have a strong understanding of how balance impacts your swing, make a plan to improve.
- Start by assessing your game and possibly recording your swing to see what your balance looks like. Make adjustments to your posture and stance as needed.
- Incorporate balance discs or board, swing trainers, and other training equipment to improve balance on every swing.
- Focus on adding more core work in your exercise routine 2-3x per week. Even 5–10 minutes can make a big difference in your golf swing.
- Consider golf fitness programs like TPI, Golf Forever, or working with a personal trainer who specializes in helping golfers.
Finally, make sure to stay consistent to build better habits and correct any issues.
Focus on Balance for Better Golf
Hopefully you can see how balance is important for all golfers, especially seniors, for better golf. When you have a stronger core, you’ll be able to swing more consistently and avoid common golf injuries.
With proper exercise and stretches, you’ll have a more consistent setup position and make it easier to swing the club properly—which will lead to better golf and likely, lower scores.
Once your balance is good, make sure to keep grooving a more consistent swing. If you don’t know what part of your swing to work on first, consider the SwingFix AI app.
Using our proprietary software, you can upload a video of your swing and let artificial intelligence identify the area that needs the most improvement. Then, we’ll send you tips and drills to start working on fixing your golf swing issues for better ballstriking, contact and consistency.
