California
"Jose, poor balance has two primary causes: 1) Poor
weight shift, the weight is not shifting to your rear foot on the
back swing, therefore cannot shift to your front foot on the thru
swing. 2) The club is off plane and is causing your body too be
out of balance when it reacts to the club position. Jose, I hope
this helps please contact me if you have any more questions."
- Adam
Schriber, Teaching Professional |
California
"The drill you are doing (putting your feet together) is
designed to give you more freedom in swinging your arms. It will
destroy your balance. To achieve better balance, hit the golf ball
and then hold your finish (or follow through) until the ball hits
the ground (or count to 7). At first, you will fall off balance,
but keep doing it until you can control your follow through
(finish). When you can do this every time you will have balance.
If that doesn't work, then the next solution is your weight
transfer. If you need help with this, e-mail me, and I will
help." - David
Ruvolo, Teaching Professional |
California
"Dear Jose: Put
all your weight on your left foot, with your left knee bent, and
your right foot pulled behind your left foot and a little to the
right. The balance must be under your sternum or belly button.
And swing smoothly. Be happy." - John
DeSantis, Teaching Professional |
California
"Jose: Poor balance arises from many factors. First off,
check your grip, aim, stance, and posture are correct. You must
start in balance and finish with your right knee touching your
left (for right-handers) on your right toe. Imagine you are trying
to hit the ball to left field and allow your whole body to follow
the motion as if you were throwing a ball in that direction.
Notice where your body finishes and where your weight is. Your
hands should finish somewhere near your left ear with the club
pointing behind you (for a 3/4 finish). This really is not a
question that can be answered in a few short sentences as there
are so many factors involved in staying in balance but at least
check your set-up with a qualified Professional and then focus on
what I stated above on the finish. Try holding the pose to the
count of 3 regardless where the ball goes. Good Golfing." - Kati
Biszantz, Teaching Professional |
Colorado
"I feel very strongly that you may have poor posture. You
must learn to stand correctly...not too much knee bend. Stand in a
bowing position by sticking your butt out first and just let your
knees flex naturally. This is the first step in keep good balance.
If you bend your knees too much you will pull out of that position
in the back swing and find yourself off balance. Hope this will
help."
- Paula
Adelman, Teaching Professional |
Florida
"Jose: Hitting balls with your feet together is a great
drill to help you feel the action of the hands and arms in the
swing because it neutralizes the body and does not allow the sway.
It is safe to assume that you do not feel balanced in your swing
from your question, but where and when are not exactly clear. I
believe in the laws of cause and effect in the golf swing. At this
point I would be watching your back swing and trying to detect if
you are in a "power" position, or have gotten yourself
into a "reverse pivot," at the top of your swing. The
results of this will most definitely cause a downswing motion that
is working in the opposite direction, which is falling back off
the ball. Place the inside of your feet approximately under your
armpits, bend at the hips to allow a good turn and turn that torso
behind the ball on your back swing. In this suggestion you will
have "somewhere to go" on your downswing move and the
balance should come more natural." - Tony
Simpson, Teaching Professional
|
Florida
"Are you in in balance before you swing?
Are you keeping the proper flex? Have you seen yourself on video?"
- Mike
Calbot, Teaching Professional
|
Florida
"You
must do exercises to improve your somatosensory systems (joint
and muscle sensors). See a physical therapist who specializes in
helping golfers to get the exercises."
- David
Balbi, Teaching Professional
|
Florida
"Don't worry about it. Watch what you eat and maybe
change your diet. It is probably a motor skill issue (genetics)
enjoy your self even if you are off balance." - Sean
Gorgone, Teaching Professional |
Illinois
"Jose: first of all, congratulations on noticing that
balance is an essential component of the golf swing. Without
balance you cannot have any consistency to the motion. I will
share with you several ways I have seen to improve one's balance.
First, from a biomechanical point of view, your body needs to be
balanced. Can you stand on one leg at a time and hold your balance
for 20 seconds? Is one leg easier to stand on than the other? If
so, then the leg that is easier to hold your balance on is
stronger than the other. In order to be balanced, both legs need
to be of equal strength and flexibility. I suggest you find a
trainer who can help you achieve better athletic balance. Second,
set up in you normal fashion (feet shoulder width apart, weight
evenly distributed 50/50) and make practice swings (no ball) and
hold your finish for at least 3 seconds. A balanced finish is one
where 90 to 95% of your weight is on your front foot, your navel,
eyes, and knees are facing or pointing at the target, and your
standing tall while your back foot is resting only on its toes. If
you are successful at this, then do the same thing except with
your eyes closed for the entire swing. This will test your balance
and enhance your ability to find it.
When you are able to achieve this without the ball, then you let a
ball get in the way but focus on achieving a balanced finish (not
the hit.) Please let me know if this helps you achieve better
balance.
Thanks for your inquiry." - Ryan
Graff, Teaching Professional |
Massachusetts
"Jose, do you have any hearing loss or allergies? Both of
these will affect your balance. If so, experiment with your width
of stance and adjusting your clubs longer so that your body does
not have to be tilted as much at address. If not read on. If
you do a drill too much you become reliant on the drill and it
becomes part of your game. Check the speed of your swing in
practice. Swing slowly at first paying attention to your balance.
Gradually increase the speed until you notice a loss of balance.
Once you lose balance tone down the motion a bit making balance
your goal. Gradually increase speed again until you get used to
the faster speed. The other thing I'd like to know is your strength.
Does your posture go up and down? If so you might have some core
body strength issues that need to be looked at. It would help to
know if you are falling into the ball, away from the ball, away
from the target or towards the target." - Phil
Fecteau, Teaching Professional |
Missouri
"If you keep practicing with
your feet together, be sure when you set-up to have your weight
in the center of your feet, not on your toes or heels. As you
practice with them together, slowly start spreading them. If you
feel off balance, go back together and keep repeating. Also when
you set-up, put about 60% of your weight to your inside right
foot (If your right handed). You will notice that your right
knee will slightly go in. When you hit focus on keeping that
pressure on the foot and don't move your right knee from it's
set-up position. You may also want to check your left foot, be
sure that it does not lift up on the takeaway. Hope this may
help!" - David
Mulso, Teaching Professional
|
North Carolina
"If you are having trouble with your
balance, check to make sure that you don't have to much weight out
on your toes. Try to set your weight more underneath your
shoelaces. Check your tempo and make sure that you are not
swinging to hard at the ball. Also when you are coming into
impact, make sure that your head is behind the shot, this keeps
the upper body behind the shot and lets you rotate into a balanced
finish position." - Ben
Hynson, Teaching Professional |
Pennsylvania
"Jose: Practice swing with your thumbs off the club
entirely. Swing full but gently. When you hit practice balls try
doing so with your thumbs just lightly touching the club. It
sounds as though you either have an incorrect grip or too much
pressure in your hands."
- Bob
Sheppard, Teaching Professional |
South
Carolina
"Dear Jose: When you go out to
play try squeezing your knees together slightly. This will help
with your balance. Also make sure your shoulders are over your
knees, that is a must in any sport. Good luck."
- Sean
Carey, Teaching Professional |
Texas
"Your
balance is poor because either you move laterally on the back
swing or you initiate the down swing with mostly your hands. Try
to hit balls with a glove under your left arm to reduce the hand
action. Also, start the downswing by moving the left knee towards
the target one inch as a first move down." - Kim
J. Brown, Teaching Professional
|
Texas
"Check your set up and make sure your center of balance
is between the balls of your feet. Make sure when you swing that
the swinging of your arms and club doesn't throw your body out of
balance, a.k.a. swinging too hard. Start swinging with your eyes
closed. Try hitting balls with your eyes closed. Think and feel
your feet and make sure you move through your swing with proper
foot work."
- Fred
Collins, Teaching Professional
|
Texas
"Jose: Poor balance is a result of poor posture. Try to
get into more athletic posture. Bend more forward from the hips so
that your belt line is in line with the shaft. This will make your
legs feel more stable and allow you to make your powerful swing.
Good Luck."
- Dave
Baron, Teaching Professional
|
Virginia
"Jose: Your problem is your posture. If you are a reader
get "Five Lessons" from Ben Hogan. This will help a lot."
- John
SanGiacomo Teaching Professional
|
Wisconsin
"Jose: Usually, posture leads to balance. When a person
practices with their feet together, they normally stand more
up-right. Try to get into the same posture, knee flex and hip tilt
as you would have when you swing with your feet together." - Craig
Waryan, Teaching Professional
|
