Where Should My Balance Be When Setting Up to the Golf Ball?
The title of this article is a question that has been asked many times by millions of golfers. So, how should we set up to the ball to maximize our balance and effectiveness when getting ready to swing a club? This is a very important topic, and I can honestly say that I have worked with many amateur/beginner golfers that have never even thought about it! Ask any golf instructor and they will tell you how crucial the balance of one’s setup is to executing a proper swing and staying balanced throughout the motion. If you don’t start in the right position, what are the odds that you are going to be able to create the desired movement as you begin the swing?
Although it is common that an instructor teaches their student that balance is a must, it doesn’t always mean that they know how to get that person into a position of true balance. In order to do this, the instructor must first know what is required in relation to the laws of physics and anatomy for the body to be positioned properly. Often I hear our clients saying that they were taught to be on the balls of their feet, in an “athletic position.” I read in a very popular golf instruction book just a couple of days ago that a fairly well known Tour Pro would try to feel as if he were standing on the edge of a 50 story building looking over the edge, trying not to fall off. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound very balanced to me. Contrary to popular teaching, I am going to challenge this theory by saying that our weight should be more toward the ankle and heels than the balls of the foot.
So why do we hear that all of the time, “get on the balls of your feet,” “get in the ready position,” or “get your weight forward like you’re an outfielder?” It is true that these are “athletic” positions and can prepare the athlete to perform a desired task more effectively. Although this is the case in most sports, it is not necessarily the case in golf. If we look at the stance in which athletes maintain their weight on the forefoot or balls of their feet, they are in a position prepared to react and move in one direction or another, such as in basketball, football, or soccer. This is not what happens in golf. We are not REACTING, we are CREATING the action. We don’t want to move in one direction or the other; we want to be as stable as possible while we create a powerful rotation. Does the Iron Byron teeter on 2 small feet with its weight leaning forward? No, of course not; it has a huge stable base that is meant to be as anchored as possible. Otherwise it would fall right over as soon as the weight of the arm swings forward.
In order to get someone in a truly balanced position, we need to look at the makeup of our bodies and analyze the forces that come into play. First, as we stand in an upright posture (for an ideal picture of this, look at a profile picture of a skeleton in an anatomy text) our center of gravity should fall right through the ankle. That, of course, is why our ankle is there and not at the front of our foot. When we get into our golf posture, ideally we would keep our spine/trunk posture in basically the same position and simply hinge from the hips. In doing this, more of our weight is dispersed backwards (as our rear end drops back). Due to this shift of weight, our center of gravity must change from when we were upright. Therefore, our balanced position has actually moved more toward our heels as opposed to our toes.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a little test. Stand up, let your arms hang at your sides, and bend at the hips. (Make sure you are bending from the hips, not your waist, they are 2 very different parts of the body!) The motion should be as if you were bowing to greet someone. Now hold that position. Close your eyes and sway forward to the balls of the feet and then back toward the heels. Do this several times, and then I want you to teeter back and forth until you settle into what feels like the most balanced position. Where did your weight end up? Was it more toward your heels/ankles? It should be. If not, ask yourself this question: if someone nudged me from behind, would I fall forward, or would I be able to maintain my balance?
By keeping the weight back in our stance, we are also able to brace ourselves better when the force of motion from the club swings around the body. As we rotate the club toward impact, we create a large amount of force in front of us. It doesn’t make sense that we would want to be up on our toes or leaning with our weight forward. That would make us more inclined to fall forward through our swing. In fact, this can often be the source not only for balance issues in one’s finish, but also in the all too common back pain that is experienced by golfers. If the body is being pulled forward in an off balance position, we can’t use our legs as much to support us, so we often use the back muscles to pull back against the force of the club. This topic could be the discussed in an article all its own! In fact, one of the most common responses that my clients have given after changing their setup is that they don’t experience nearly the back pain that they had before.
The bottom line is that we need to figure out what creates the most stability in our stance so we can create our swing in the most efficient and balanced way possible. The traditional instructions of getting in the “athletic” stance in order to REACT to the motions of the swing don’t allow us to do this. By using the force of gravity and our body movement to our advantage, we can improve our game significantly and protect ourselves from injury for many years to come.
Written By:
Jeff Pelizzaro, MPT
Director of Training/Physical Therapist
Performance United Fitness
www.PerformanceUnited.com
