CHAPTER 4
Balance and Body Awareness for a Solid Base
The number of golfers who do not perform any type of fitness program is surprising. If they do work out, it usually consists of a minimal number of exercises that are extremely nonspecific to the sport they are playing. Very few golfers incorporate balance in their routines or have even considered implementing a balance focus in their programs. However, when we analyze golfers, we often discover that just balancing on one foot can be challenging for them. How then can these golfers expect to have efficient balance during a powerful rotational movement such as the golf swing?
Every golfer, amateur or professional, knows that every golf shot is different. The distance to the target, wind speed and direction, lie of the ball, type of grass or sand, and speed of the greens are all variables outside the golfer’s control. One of the greatest variables within the game of golf is the surface the golfer must stand on while addressing the ball. The ball may lie either below or above the golfer’s feet, the golfer may have one foot higher than the other, the ground may be slick, or the golfer may have to stand at an awkward distance from the ball at address. Each of these variables requires the body to adjust. These adjustments must occur at rapid speeds and in a finely tuned manner. The smallest flaw in mechanics may result in an outcome that differs greatly from the golfer’s initial objective. By creating more efficiency in your body’s balance and training your body to adapt quickly to these environmental discrepancies, your golf shots will become more consistent, and you will be able to successfully complete more difficult shots.
Balance is a layman’s term for a number of processes that occur within your body to maintain your center of gravity over a base of support. The less work you have to do to maintain this position, the better your balance is. Your ability to stay in balance is dependent on your body’s ability to decipher sensory information and relay it quickly and effectively to the muscles and joints. Although this sounds very complicated, it is something you do on a daily basis without ever having to think about it. The most obvious example is of a person walking. When we walk, we don’t think about what muscles should contract or in what sequence they should contract. It just sort of happens. We are able to walk without thinking about it because our bodies have learned how to do it subconsciously. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to walk if you had to think about every movement of the body and every muscle that needed to work properly? Yet many golfers try to do just that with their golf swings. The more you get into your own head and try to control every aspect of the swing, the worse your swing becomes. It is impossible to analyze and react in a movement that takes less than a few seconds. For this reason, the more balancing you can do within the subconscious, the better.
Body awareness, otherwise known as proprioception, is your ability to sense where your body is in space at any given time. This is extremely important because of the various weight shifts, rotational forces, and energy transfers found in the golf swing. A very important skill to have is being able to correctly match up “real and feel.” This means that your perceptions about where your body and club are during the swing equal the reality of their actual positions. This makes lessons much more efficient and learning new skills much easier. Improved proprioception will not only increase the control you have over your body but also allow you to have better awareness of where the club is throughout the swing. Without this ability, it is very difficult to determine whether you are practicing the correct swing pattern or why a certain shot may have been mis-hit.
The golf swing happens very quickly, so these processes must occur within your body much quicker and more efficiently than in the average person. Balance and proprioception must be working at a high level in order to develop a repeatable, fluid, and functional golf swing (figure 4.1). During the swing, as weight is transferred onto the lead leg at the onset of the downswing, the pressure sensors in your feet detect changes in weight. This begins to send information to the muscles required to produce the stability and movement that ultimately result in balance. If any of this information is delayed or incorrect, the body is not able to recruit the proper muscles in the proper sequence. When this happens, the golfer has to depend on his hands to make up for poor body control during the golf swing. The end result is very inconsistent ball striking. This breakdown in communication will not only limit your shot-making potential but may also result in the muscles and joints being placed in positions where injury risk is elevated. In fact, decreased performance and chronic, unresolved pain are often the consequences of these dysfunctions in balance and proprioception.
Figure 4.1 Balance is the process by which the golfer maintains his center of gravity over his base of support. Key muscles for balancing in the core and feet.
Most of the exercises in this chapter incorporate movements or static positions on one foot. This is the best way to challenge your body’s balance and proprioception systems. As the chapter progresses, the exercises become more difficult because you are asking your body to incorporate more movement and more power generation while still maintaining a solid base of support. This is exactly what is required in your golf swing. When you first begin these exercises, you may notice that it takes a lot of energy to remain balanced. As you improve, you will find that some of them become fairly easy. In fact, improvement in balance can often be noticed within the first few days of introducing specific exercises into your fitness program. Significant improvements can often take place in as little as a few weeks. On the other hand, changes in muscle strength, speed, and flexibility can take much longer to notice. However, improving your balance and body awareness can greatly enhance the effectiveness of training these other aspects.
Unless otherwise indicated, perform 8 to 15 repetitions of each exercise in this chapter. For balance and proprioception exercises, you will find that often the main difficulty is in maintaining your center of gravity. For these exercises, attempt to complete 15 repetitions. However, other exercises challenge strength as well as balance. For these exercises, 8 repetitions is sufficient. Perform 3 sets of each exercise. If weight is required, use a weight that allows you to complete 3 sets of 15 repetitions. Once you master the exercise, increase the weight and complete 3 sets of only 8 repetitions with the heavier weight.
One-Leg Roll-Out
Execution
1. Sit on a stability ball with your left leg parallel to the ground and your right foot on the ground out in front of you.
2. Keeping your right foot, knee, and hip in line with each other, roll forward on the ball with your right foot.
3. Roll back to the start position. Complete the desired number of repetitions and repeat with the opposite leg.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Gluteus medius, hamstrings, quadriceps
Secondary: Hip adductors
Golf Focus
One thing that is very difficult for many golfers is being able to match up real and feel. This means that what they feel within their swing, as far as body and club positions, actually matches what really is happening in the swing. One-leg roll-outs are a great starting point to try to achieve this body awareness in your lower body. The challenge of this exercise is not just in training the muscles of the legs but also in getting your body to better understand exactly where it is while moving. Improving this second factor will help your muscles control fine movements much better and have a much quicker reaction time. Both of these are needed to get your body to the point where you can maintain proper body position during a high-speed golf swing.
Variation
One-Leg Roll-Out With Eyes Closed
Performing this same exercise with your eyes closed will present an even greater challenge. Your eyes are typically your body’s most powerful source of balance information. Without the use of sight, your feet and muscles are required to work much more aggressively to maintain balance.
One-Leg Airplane
Execution
1. Stand on your right leg with your left leg off the ground and behind you.
2. Move your arms into a T, and bend at the waist as if addressing a golf ball.
3. Keeping your right foot, knee, and hip in line with each other, rotate your torso first to the left, and then to the right.
4. Make sure to keep your arms in a T and turn with your torso.
5. Perform the desired number of repetitions and repeat on the opposite leg.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Intrinsic muscles of the foot, tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, peroneus brevis
Secondary: Tibialis posterior, gluteus medius
Golf Focus
Two of the major reasons that many golfers cannot make consistent flush contact with the ball are hip sway and slide. If you are unable to rotate around your hips, then the tendency is to sway (move away from the target during the backswing) or slide (move toward the target during the downswing). One thing that can limit you from achieving proper hip rotation during the swing is poor balance. This makes it very difficult to keep the club on path during your swing and therefore return the club face to the proper impact position. It also robs you of potential power that can be transferred to the club before impact. The one-leg airplane is another great exercise to train mobility and balance simultaneously. This will get you used to rotating only around your hips while keeping your foot firmly planted to the ground.
Variation
One-Leg Golf Swing
Incorporate this exercise directly into your golf game by performing one-leg swings. The same muscles will be worked, but trying to swing a club will be much more of a challenge. Swing at a very slow speed, and concentrate on maintaining good posture and balance throughout.
Modified Hand-to-Toe Pose
Execution
1. Stand with your legs together and your left hand reaching skyward.
2. Raise your right knee, and place your right hand underneath the outside of your thigh.
3. Stand tall, and pull your knee to hip height for 3 to 5 breaths.
4. Move your leg to the side, and hold it there for 3 to 5 breaths.
5. Repeat on the left.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Intrinsic muscles of the foot, peroneus longus, peroneus brevis, tibialis posterior
Secondary: Gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, psoas major
Golf Focus
Golfers at all levels can appreciate the grace and efficiency of a well-balanced swing that ends as easily and comfortably as when the golfer was in the setup. This is an easier version of the hand-to-toe yoga pose (hand holding the toes with the raised leg extended straight). The modified hand-to-toe pose develops balance, strengthens muscles of the supporting leg, and stretches the buttocks and inner thigh of the raised leg. It is a great beginner exercise to help all golfers gain a basic understanding of their ability to maintain equilibrium in a static form. When this exercise becomes easy, you can try the modification and move on to the more difficult exercises found throughout this chapter.
Variation
Hand-to-Toe Pose
The hand-to-toe pose is a more difficult exercise for two main reasons. First, it requires more flexibility through the calf, hamstrings, hip, and pelvis of the unsupported leg. Second, it requires better stabilization of the supporting leg because you have moved a greater percentage of your body’s mass away from your base. In this exercise, you grab the toes of the unsupported leg and attempt to straighten the knee as you move the leg to your side. When this becomes easy, you can attempt either of the two versions with your eyes closed.
Single-Leg Catch
Execution
1. Stand on your left leg with your toes pointing forward. Your right knee should be bent, with your right foot off the ground.
2. Hold a medicine ball with two hands in front of your chest.
3. While keeping your posture upright, throw a chest pass to a partner.
4. Catch the return pass with two hands while maintaining an athletic posture, left hip and knee slightly bent.
5. Perform the desired number of repetitions and repeat with the opposite leg.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, peroneus longus, peroneus brevis, gluteus medius
Secondary: External oblique, internal oblique, gluteus maximus, pectoralis major
Golf Focus
Maintaining balance during easy partial swings can be fairly simple. However, when you need to take full swings and apply massive speeds to achieve your shot, it becomes much more difficult. This exercise will help your legs learn how to balance efficiently while a force is being generated in your upper body. As this exercise gets easier, you can challenge this combination in a couple of ways. If you are using a partner, have the person stand farther away from you and throw the medicine ball with a much higher speed. Your partner can also throw the ball to you at different places each time instead of always throwing it to your chest (e.g., above you and to the sides so that you have to reach to make each catch). This will really teach your body how to balance effectively. As you increase the difficulty of the exercise, you will be better able to make golf shots that require both power and balance.
Variation
Single-Leg Catch Against Wall
If you are working out alone, get a medicine ball that bounces and throw it against a wall. The farther you are away from the wall, the harder you will have to throw the ball to make it return.
Stork Turn
Execution
1. Stand on your right leg with a slightly bent knee, and lock your left foot behind your right knee.
2. Get into golf address position, and cross your arms over your chest.
3. Trying to keep your upper body in line with your pelvis, rotate your pelvis from side to side.
4. Repeat on the left leg.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Peroneus longus, peroneus brevis, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus
Secondary: Tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, piriformis
Golf Focus
Being able to separate the lower body from the upper body is very important in golf. However, you must also be able to maintain great balance when trying to create maximum separation. When you begin to move your pelvis more freely and with more control, you will need greater balance. Stork turns will continue your development of pelvis movement and pelvis and torso separation and will challenge your balance at the same time. This will make you more equipped to create a full backswing with proper separation while still keeping a solid base beneath you. This is essential in order to set yourself up for a downswing that is on path and full of potential power.
Variation
Stork Turn With Medicine Ball
Holding a medicine ball in front of you will make the same muscles work harder and will also challenge your deltoids, external obliques, and internal obliques. This version really forces you to simultaneously strengthen the muscles that stabilize the legs and torso and the muscles that rotate the pelvis and hips.
Stork to Bow
Execution
1. Stand with your legs together.
2. Bend your left knee and hold your left ankle with your left hand.
3. Raise your right arm toward the ceiling. This is the stork position.
4. Bend forward until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor. This is the bow position.
5. Hold for 3 to 5 breaths in each position.
6. Repeat 3 to 5 times, then change legs.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Peroneus longus, peroneus brevis, intrinsic muscles of the foot, tibialis anterior, hamstrings
Secondary: Quadriceps, gluteus medius, rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique
Golf Focus
Golf is a sport that frustrates us with its challenges and bounces, yet it rewards us when we make an amazing recovery to save par to overcome these same challenges and bounces. A frustrating moment for any golfer is discovering that the ball you were sure had stayed in the fairway had actually rolled into the fairway bunker, leaving you with a difficult shot. The ball lies 1.5 feet (.5 m) below your feet, requiring you to have great balance and stability. The stork to bow exercise helps create better balance, flexibility, and stability and will help make these difficult golf shots a little bit easier.
Variation
Stork to Bow With Eyes Closed
To make this exercise even more challenging, close your eyes while moving between the stork and bow positions (just make sure there aren’t any sharp objects lying around for you to bump into!). By closing your eyes, you put more emphasis on the muscles and ligaments in your feet to provide the information your body needs for even better balance and stability.
Straight-Leg Raise on Stability Ball
Execution
1. Lie down with your legs straight and your heels on top of a stability ball.
2. Press down on the ball with your heels as you squeeze your gluteus muscles and lift your hips.
3. Slowly lower down to the start position.
4. Do the desired number of repetitions.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Hamstrings, gluteus maximus
Secondary: Gluteus medius, lower back extensors
Golf Focus
The golf world is beginning to appreciate the importance of getting one’s body weight onto the target-side leg at impact. The stack and tilt method actually encourages a continuous increase in the weighting of the target leg from the onset of the backswing through the finish of the swing. Positioning the body weight over the target-side leg at impact allows the golfer to drive hard into the ground and explode her pelvis upward, creating a tremendous amount of power development and transfer through the body and into the golf ball. The ability to utilize the large muscles in the hamstrings and buttocks to extend the pelvis is an important aspect of this maneuver. Having proper balance and coordination in the legs, pelvis, and spine is just as important as having the ability to extend the pelvis. The straight-leg extension variation is a great beginner exercise to develop better pelvis extension as well as coordination and control within the legs, spine, and pelvis.
Variations
Straight-Leg Extension on Stair, Step, or Chair
If you do not have a stability ball or if you are new to exercising and find it difficult to perform the exercise on the stability ball because it keeps rolling away from you, try the same movement but put your heels on a stair, step, or chair. This allows you to strengthen the main movers of this exercise while making it a little easier to balance yourself.
Unstable Leg Extension on Stability Ball
To make this exercise more challenging, try raising your arms over your chest so that they are reaching up to the ceiling. This will decrease your base of support and force your body to increase the activation of the stabilizing muscles within the pelvis and spine. This is a great way to increase the functional aspect of this exercise.
Hamstring Curl on Stability Ball
Execution
1. Lie down with your legs straight and your heels on top of a stability ball.
2. Press down on the ball with your heels and lift your hips.
3. Stay in the lifted position as you bend your knees and roll the ball toward your buttocks.
4. Return your legs to the straight position and repeat.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Hamstrings, gastrocnemius
Secondary: Gluteus maximus, lower back extensors
Golf Focus
One of the significant differences between top professional golfers and the average amateur is the coordination and movement of the legs throughout the golf swing. Many amateurs let the lead leg collapse inward at the knee during the backswing, making it difficult to drive onto the target-side leg during the downswing. When this happens, the golfer will hang back at impact. This leads to inefficient transfer of energy into the golf ball and poor direction control of the ball. In other words, poor leg movement leads to decreased power and less accuracy. The hamstring curl on stability ball is a great exercise to learn how to use the legs in a coordinated manner and develop strength along the posterior chain (calves, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back extensors). When this exercise becomes easy, you can try the modified versions to create more difficulty and increase the strength in these muscles. These are great exercises to both develop proper movement within the legs and increase strength within the hip extensors.
Variations
Unstable Hamstring Curl on Stability Ball
To make this exercise more challenging, try raising your arms over your chest so that they are reaching up to the ceiling. This will decrease your base of support and force your body to increase the activation of the stabilizing muscles within the pelvis and spine. This is a great way to increase the functional aspect of this exercise and make it much more challenging.
One-Leg Hamstring Curl on Stability Ball
When this exercise becomes too easy for you, try the same movement with one leg on the stability ball and the other leg hovering slightly above the ball. This position will greatly increase the load on the leg on the ball and will force the pelvis and spinal stabilizers to work much harder to keep the pelvis flat and not let it tilt toward the unsupported side.
Kneeling Medicine Ball Toss on BOSU Ball
Execution
1. Kneel on a BOSU ball, dome side up.
2. Raise your feet off the floor.
3. Hold a medicine ball with bent elbows at chest height.
4. Throw the medicine ball to a partner standing in front of you.
5. Catch the ball and repeat.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Hip adductors, psoas major, gluteus maximus, hamstrings
Secondary: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, triceps, rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique
Golf Focus
Every golfer has experienced the difficulty of hitting out of the deep rough. Most amateur and many professional golfers have a difficult time maintaining their balance when they attempt to put a little extra muscular effort into the shot while trying to power the ball out of the rough. Often they will extend early from their posture and will not be able to drive through the thick grass to make solid contact with the ball. This is due to both a weakness in their ability to stabilize the body and poor balance and proprioception in the spine and pelvis. The kneeling medicine ball toss on BOSU ball will help train balance and stability at the same time, making it a great option for players of all levels.
Variation
Kneeling Medicine Ball Toss on Stability Ball
When your balance improves on the BOSU ball and your stabilization and strength get to the point where the BOSU ball version of this exercise becomes easy, you can try the same exercise on a stability ball. This makes the balance aspect much more difficult.
Tug of War
Execution
1. Stand on one leg, and hold onto the handle of exercise tubing with one or two hands. If using one hand, place the other hand on your abdomen.
2. Have a partner hold onto the other handle and attempt to pull you off your one leg. Your partner can be standing on one leg or on both legs.
3. Perform the desired number of repetitions and repeat with the opposite leg.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Intrinsic muscles of the foot, quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus
Secondary: Internal oblique, external oblique, tibialis anterior, gluteus medius, gastrocnemius
Golf Focus
There is something majestic about watching a golfer who develops a great deal of power from the legs and has the stability and balance to transfer that power through the body and into the ball at impact while remaining in perfect balance into the follow-through. Anthony Kim is a young player who exhibits such a skill. Having great balance and strength in your legs allows you to drive through the ball onto your target side at impact and into a well-balanced follow-through. The tug of war exercise is a fun way to improve your balance and increase the strength of your legs simultaneously.
Variations
Tug of War With Eyes Closed
To make the balance aspect much more difficult and really work the small muscles and ligaments in your foot and ankle, try this exercise with your eyes closed. Make sure your partner doesn’t pull too hard, though! Closing the eyes and having to stabilize in random multiple directions places a lot of stress on the receptors of your foot. This makes them develop quicker for better results on the course.
Tug of War With One Foot on BOSU Ball
When your balance and strength have improved to the point where tug of war becomes easy for you, try performing the same exercise while standing on the flat side of a BOSU ball. This creates an unstable platform for you to balance on and places even more responsibility on the small muscles in your foot to provide quick and accurate information as to where your body weight is in reference to your foot and what muscles need to be stabilized in order to maintain your balance.
Knee-Up Reverse Lunge
Execution
1. Stand on your right leg with your left knee bent 90 degrees and left thigh parallel to the ground.
2. Reach your left leg straight back behind you, and touch your foot to the ground.
3. Drop your left knee straight down, and barely touch it to the ground.
4. Push through your right heel, and return to the start position.
5. Perform the desired number of repetitions and repeat with the opposite leg.
Muscles Involved
Primary: Gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hip adductors, hamstrings
Secondary: Tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, peroneus longus, peroneus brevis
Golf Focus
This is a great exercise to not only challenge your balance but also gain some strength in your legs. Keeping proper form is crucial in order to work the muscles properly and get the most efficient results. Keep most of your weight on your front heel while going into the reverse lunge as well as coming up from it. This allows your glutes to activate as much as possible. Also, the foot that you step back with should only lightly touch the ground. This forces you to keep the weight on your front heel and challenges your balance as much as possible. The knee-up reverse lunge gives you the strength, balance, and muscle control you will need for shots that require a little extra power.
Variation
Walking Knee-Up Lunge
For a slightly easier version of this exercise, perform walking lunges in a forward direction. Continue to bring one knee up in between lunges to challenge balance. This works the same muscles but requires a little less control and balance to perform.