Mobility allows for a free range of movement during the backswing, leg strength produces a powerful force into the ground at impact, and proper sequencing technique leads to consistency over time. These skills are absolutely essential for your golf game to thrive, but a key piece to this equation that gets overlooked in golf training programs is the driving force responsible for allowing this harmonious blend of mobility, strength, and technique to reach its maximum potential. Balance, it is the ultimate pillar of health, and it may just be the limiting factor to your golf game. It is the one skill that exerts the most control over the human experience. Without balance, it would be impossible to stand, walk, sit, or perform any type of athletic movement. Let us get familiar with the balance system so we can appreciate how this plays such a crucial role during the golf swing.

Balance is a part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Simply put, the ANS is always working to protect you, regulating a number of critical bodily functions that we don’t have to think about, ranging from controlling heart rate to digestive processes, but for the purpose of this article, the ANS also commands and controls body movement. While swinging a golf club, the ANS will singlehandedly prevent the body from executing a golf swing above the balance pay grade as a protection mechanism. By improving the working limits of the ANS balance system, forces created by the body during the swing are kept under control, resulting in repeatability, control, and power. The golfer can swing as hard as they may desire, but the ANS always holds influence over the player in motion, limiting body positions and clubhead speed as necessary to prevent injury.

The Human Balance System: Meet the Group

Eyes: Responsible for the sense of sight that is based on the transfer of light received through the eyes

Vestibular System: Located in the inner ear, containing tubes with very sensitive hair-like receivers through which fluid flows (think a carpenter’s level), creating a sense of balance and spatial orientation for the purpose of coordinating movement with balance

Proprioceptors: Receptor cells scattered near a moving part of the body (ex. a muscle) that sense changes to the positions of tissues as they stretch or contract

Mechanoreceptors: Receptor cells that interpret pressure from touch sensations and vibration, as well as the sensation of sound and body position for balance (Think of pressure plates located at the bottom of your feet)

Listed above are the key contributors that make up our balance system. As all these parts of the body work together in unison, the outcome results in perfect balance. What exactly does this look like? Jim Klopman, author of “Balance Is Power,” defines balance as, “thousands of micromovements that when combined give the appearance of stillness.” Just think about how that can be so beneficial during the golf swing. The swing is already so complicated, but achieving proper balance throughout eliminates any unnecessary movement resulting in an erratic shot. Now if you’re able to, I want you to stand on one leg and observe what is starting to occur. Notice the small micromovements occurring in your foot, ankle, and supporting leg, as the balance system becomes highly activated, with a goal of first, preventing you from falling over, and second, working to keep you as still as possible to achieve “perfect” balance. You’ll most likely notice your muscles quivering, which is a sign that your neural system is resetting itself and learning how to work together more efficiently. This applies to the golf swing as well. Whether you are drawing the club back, coming through the shot, or holding the follow through, your stabilizing muscles are hard at work in keeping you under control from any unnecessary movement that could cause any undesirable outcomes on the course.

The name of the game is keeping our forces under control throughout the duration of the swing by developing a strategy to overcome the forces created by the body to produce a more forceful effort. The best way to describe this in a real-life golf scenario is this: imagine you are 130 yards away from the pin and are between clubs, deciding between a pitching wedge or a 9 iron. If you go with the pitching wedge, you will have to swing harder in order to get it there. If you opted for the 9 iron, it would allow you to swing smoothly and more under control. Now each golfer differs from the next, but what tends to happen is the controlled swing will produce a shot that is generally on-line resulting in a better outcome closer to the target. Why is that? It is because the smooth 9 iron swing stayed within the working limits of your balance system. The full swing wedge produced forces above what your balance system is capable of withstanding, resulting in an ever so slight loss of balance that caused you to mishit the ball. Chasing higher clubhead and ball speeds are great goals to have, but in order to achieve that, we must establish a working balance system that is capable of withstanding those forces that will help to boost distance while maintaining control over the golf shot. I have found success in learning how to play within the working limits of my own personal balance system, and once you begin incorporating balance challenges into your training, you will begin to notice how improving this fundamental skill translates to the course. Your own balance will improve, increasing your ANS balance system working limits, so if you do decide to press down on the gas to generate more clubhead speed during a shot, your body will be trained and prepared to withstand the forces created by the body, keeping you under control without producing any unnecessary movements (granted you have also developed the proper range of motion to support the swing). As I stated earlier, balance is just a variable to the golf swing equation, but adequate balance will unlock access to a reserve of muscle and strength that you never knew existed. 

As you can imagine, the balance system requires a massive amount of neural bandwidth and muscle activation to support the body in everyday life, whether that’s walking down a set of stairs or standing over a three-foot putt. This is why balance training is at the center of HGP’s method of training. Every movement we incorporate into our training poses a balance challenge in some way, shape, or form, whether we are intentionally targeting balance or not. Balance falls under the “use it or lose it” category, as many of us are subject to lose it due to the rectilinear world we are consumed by. From staring at a flat screen for multiple hours a day, to perfectly flat, paved, sidewalks, to the shoes we put on our feet fail to challenge our system of balance becoming disengaged through disuse. The importance of balance goes way beyond the white stakes found on a golf course; it is a determining factor in longevity and maintaining your health. Below are some eye-opening statistics gathered from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) related to falls. This growing epidemic is very real and has serious consequences if we fail to frequently challenge our balance system. Luckily, as a golfer, you’re challenging the balance system every time you tee it up.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other falls research: 

• More than one out of four Americans age 65+ falls each year.
• Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults.
• The cost of treating injuries caused by falls is projected to increase to over $101 billion by 2030.
• Falls result in more than 3 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations.

No matter your age, you can improve your balance safely and effectively. Leveraging this crucial skill to your advantage will support you through the demands of everyday life as you will be surprised just how fast you can begin to improve this skill once you consistently begin to prioritize it in your training.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you are curious and inspired to do your own research surrounding the topic of balance. This article will serve as an introduction to a lot more work I have planned out that focuses on balance and its profound effect on the game of golf.

-Justin Moffatt, HGP

Sources:

Klopman, Jim, and Janet Miller. Balance Is Power: Improve Your Body’s Balance to Perform Better, Live Longer, and Look Younger. Lioncrest Publishing, 2016.

Betts, J. Gordon, et al. Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax , Rice University, 2022.

“Keep on Your Feet-Preventing Older Adult Falls.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Mar 2023; www.cdc.gov/injury/features/older-adult-falls/index.html.

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