More Balance - the ignored essential

I think that most people see "balance" as a result of good mechanics....commentators always talk about a "balanced finish" and stuff like that... it is seen as a external manifestation of sound swing mechanics. ie, a "description of the result" rather than something that can be used as your primary tool.

You have parts of you brain which are highly specialised in balance and generally act in an unconscious manner to allow us to do the clever things like write poems, kill people etc...

I am starting to feel that balance is actually the very core of the swing and hence fully deserving it place as an essential ... not merely some afterthought... but as an active conscious part which we should seek to use.

All the old books ( Hogan, Snead, Morrison etc ) in the pre video era have alot to say about footwork..they always go on about it..photos...feet rolling etc.... you hardly ever see as much on footwork in a modern book!!

Why... i think the problem with video cameras is the have allowed us to focus on mechanics and people have forgotten about balance. We already have balance built in as a standard in Homos Sapiens...no need for an upgrade!!! Just need to tap into it...keep something stationary and really feel your footwork whilst directing your loaded lag on plane... just thinking about this recently has dramatically improved my impact. ( both where my hands are at impact and the way the ball flies off the clubhead...it decreases any intention to flip...my focus is on managing forces whilst maintaining balance...what? hit the ball?? no need to worry about hitting it now!!...it runs into my clubhead like a lemming waiting for death!)

Consciously feel your balance and do your imperatives.... wow!

Any comments???

I agree,it can feel like a" no power "swing.
But if you are in balance you have much more chance of getting that lag pressure delivered-effortless power.

Originally Posted by neil I agree,it can feel like a" no power "swing.
But if you are in balance you have much more chance of getting that lag pressure delivered-effortless power.

Yes, I agree it feels easy "effortless power" type thing... but what i am saying is that rather than just "Being in balance"...actually use BALANCE TO DRIVE your swing.

Balance is an engine...a key part of your brain...always listening to your body and having rapid message pathways back to your body to make it stay in balance...even when your steady state balance is under attack from variable forces ( as in golf swing) ... your balance centre is already connected to all the bits of the body it needs to control....it will do the work if you focus on force and balance...

A steady lower body, correct footwork etc are results of using balance to drive/power your swing....the problem is that golf is being taught by people who teach the result ( stable lower body) rather than teach the cause which is using your in-built balance engine to create the results...

The balance engine needs to be educated to the task...and that is understanding the forces and orientation required in a G.O.L.F. stroke. Teach forces and orientation and imperatives...

Balance DRIVES.... not balance IS...

Yes, i have been re-reading Shivas Irons' thoughts recently...

No, I have not been using any illegal and/or prescription medication...

But the doors of perception have been smashed wide open...

Just my 2 cents...please take with salt as required...

Ernie Els is always described as having smooth tempo, great rhythm and balance....

He does whole body waggles... not just moving the clubhead prior to hitting the shot...





Most people skip over this passage in Ben Hogan's "The Modern Fundamentals of Golf"

page 40 my edition...Chapter 2 Stance and Posture...

"Many golfers make the sizeable error of thinking of the stance as that preparatory part of the swing in which the player merely lines himself up on the target he's shooting at. While one of the purposes of the stance certainly is to set up the direction of the shot, it also has quite a number of other functions that are much more important. Power and control must be combined in a good golf swing, and the stance is that step in which a golfer sets himself up so that 1) his body will be in balance throughout the swing, 2)his muscles are ready to perform fluidly and , 3) as a logical result, all the energy he pours into his swing will be channeled to produce maximum control and power. When you see a fine player making little individual movements of his feet or his knees or his shoulders as he settles into his satnce, do not mistake these for empty gestures of nervousness. And they're not movements, either, that precede his arriving at a static, fixed position. What he's actually trying to do is to feel that everything he will be calling on in his swing is in balance and poised for action"

Now go back and watch the Els footage and see him feel his balance...or perhaps see his balance feel his body and clubhead....

I tell you "true gravity" is there for all to use...

Originally Posted by golfbulldog Yes, I agree it feels easy "effortless power" type thing... but what i am saying is that rather than just "Being in balance"...actually use BALANCE TO DRIVE your swing.

Balance is an engine...a key part of your brain...always listening to your body and having rapid message pathways back to your body to make it stay in balance...even when your steady state balance is under attack from variable forces ( as in golf swing) ... your balance centre is already connected to all the bits of the body it needs to control....it will do the work if you focus on force and balance...

A steady lower body, correct footwork etc are results of using balance to drive/power your swing....the problem is that golf is being taught by people who teach the result ( stable lower body) rather than teach the cause which is using your in-built balance engine to create the results...

The balance engine needs to be educated to the task...and that is understanding the forces and orientation required in a G.O.L.F. stroke. Teach forces and orientation and imperatives...

Balance DRIVES.... not balance IS...

Yes, i have been re-reading Shivas Irons' thoughts recently...

No, I have not been using any illegal and/or prescription medication...

But the doors of perception have been smashed wide open...

Just my 2 cents...please take with salt as required...

You mean, inner ear controlled, hands controlled pivot?

Like - "hit the ball with your inner ear".

I think we need a more well balanced opinion from Edz than my humorous(?) musings.

Hi Burner, i agree - waiting for some other opinions to discuss this further. This is my second thread on balance and i am threatening a third unless we get some activity on this thread!

If you consider that the book has only 3 imperatives and 3 essentials....do a search for each and balance comes out near the bottom in terms of threads.... why..because it is unimportant?? or we just do not get it...what it really means...

There were some old photos of Brian Gay on a balance ball thing making swings with yoda in front of full length mirrors... now i am not sure exactly what the drill was... but i bet Brian was thinking balance!

Originally Posted by Yoda The Golfing Machine begins and ends with Balance.

Per the 45-item Mechanical Checklist of All Strokes (12-3-0):

12-3-#1 Stance and Balance;

12-3-#45 Body Position and Balance.

And per 1-L:

"Off-balance force is notoriously erratic."

Thanks Yoda, balance envelopes the swing, but I guess that you are not convinced that it drives the swing... i shall continue my experiment with B.D.O.P.F.A. Swing and report back wih results...I will withdraw my threat of further balance threads until i have more evidence....I suggest not holding your breath....

Is it the person who should be in balance or the club that should be in balance?
Tiger Woods tells us in “How I Play Golf” - “Let’s start the full swing by setting the club into motion correctly. Notice I said the club, not your body. The reason you’ve worked hard at positioning your body the right way is so it can transport the club on the proper path and plane throughout the swing”
If Tiger is correct then concentrating on the body parts and their positions may be studying the effects not the cause. Could it be that the imperatives of the golf stroke are encapsulated in the dictates of the club, not the dictates of the body? Is so, what are the imperative precision alignments of the club during the golf stroke and are they observable and/or measurable in Iron Byron?

"balance driven / on plane force aware"

Re-order the words

"force driven on plane/balance aware"

and I think it has a more tangible meaning.

Balance, imho, is not a driver but the desired result of an efficient motion made by a well organised, cohesive and co-ordinated G.O.L.Fer.

9-0 Zone 1 Body Control: Pivot Body Balance

Pivot Rules

Practice pivot until balance is maintained.

This is essential.

Pivot Rules!

Originally Posted by strav ... Could it be that the imperatives of the golf stroke are encapsulated in the dictates of the club, not the dictates of the body? Is so, what are the imperative precision alignments of the club during the golf stroke and are they observable and/or measurable in Iron Byron?

Not sure about Iron Byron...but the prime consideration of the movement of the club( shaft/head/face...and hence sweetspot) is the heart of TGM - no doubt.... but the club movement is permitted by the body... interacting though lag pressure.

Nobody argues that a club moving in an unbalanced fashion will NOT cause the body to become unbalanced ...but why not use balance to move the lag pressure... and then see how the club moves... i suspect that it will be moving as Tiger would like...

I found this quote by Yoda on another site...
my underlining and bold and italics...


"As Bobby Jones once wrote, "There is no virtue that cannot be exaggerated into a fault."

Per 7-17, the Address Position loading of the Feet is an even distribution between both Feet but with enough on the heels to allow the toes to be lifted up momentarily without altering the distribution between the toe and heel.

Throughout the remainder of the Stroke, the player's sense of balance and force rules. Per 1-L, "Off-balance force is notoriously erratic. The mechanical device has no balance problem but the human machine does, and mastery of the Pivot (Zone #1) is so essential for good Golf. "

I feel that an active balance sense is key part of zone 1 training but should not replace primacy of the hands in playing.

Originally Posted by Yoda The Golfing Machine begins and ends with Balance.

Per the 45-item Mechanical Checklist of All Strokes (12-3-0):

12-3-#1 Stance and Balance;

12-3-#45 Body Position and Balance.

And per 1-L:

"Off-balance force is notoriously erratic."

Balance is the 'glue' of physics - efficient force.

Most certainly the vast majority of folks do not pay attention to balance as much as they should.

Monitoring balance - simply holding your finish until the ball lands - is a goal worth focusing on.

Eyes closed, 'swing' a heavy club back and through, back and through.

Those 'effortless' swings are the times you are really balanced, not the times you simply 'think' you are balanced.