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Balancing Your Checkbook And Golf Swing
By: Sean Cochran
We all search for it. Balance in our daily lives. Balance while riding a bike. Politicians are always debating a balanced budget in Washington, and most of us could use a little balance in our checkbooks. Balance is a term used in golf quite often as well. It�s a �buzzword� and almost a clich� when it comes to the golf swing. I am sure you have heard numerous times from swing coaches that �you have to stay balanced when swinging your club.� Others phrases that I hear when we talk about golf and balance are the following: �When it comes to a sand shot, dig your feet into the stand so you can stay balanced,� �If the ball is on an uphill lie and above your feet, make sure you swing through the ball, and stayed balanced,� and �Stay balanced when hitting the driver and get to the finish position in perfect balance.� The list could go on and on, and I am sure all of you could probably add to the short list above.
Two questions always arise in my mind when I hear the word balance in association with golf: 1) what does balance exactly mean, and 2) how do I create balance in my golf swing? I am guessing quite a few of you have these same questions, or similar ones, when you talk about the subject of balance in relation to the golf swing.
I am going to answer both of these questions. We will first define balance and its relation to the golf swing. Secondly, we will discuss how you develop the balance capacities of your body in relation to the golf swing. So without further ado let�s get started.
What is Balance?
This is a really great question and the perfect way to begin. So let�s hear it! What is the definition of balance? Think about it for a minute and then write down a couple of your answers. I understand that this is not the easiest question to answer (trust me, I have asked it plenty of times), and it is okay if you are not able to create a good working definition of balance (that�s part of what we are going to do with this article). Okay, time is up, what did you write down?
Well, let me tell you some of the replies I have received for this question and we will take if from there. Here are just a few that I hear: �head over your belly button between your feet,� �swinging a club on the correct path,� �knowing where your body is in space,� and �kinesthetic awareness.� All of these answers are somewhat correct, but none of them gives us a good sound understanding of what balance really means.
The definition of balance is simply the ability to control your body during movement. Sounds pretty simple, does it not? It really is when you think about it, but let�s break this definition down so we understand it completely. Starting with the first portion of the definition: �the ability to control� means what? Well, it is probably easiest to imagine what �out of control� looks like. Take the mental image of a racecar crashing into the wall. We could describe the car as out of control. Now take the flip side of this, and what would this car look like if it were in control? It would probably zoom around the track without hitting anything. The body is the same; if your body is out of control it will, in a sense, crash or fall over. If the body is in control, then it performs whatever movement you are asking of it without �crashing.� Take the example of a toddler running. Sometimes they get going so quickly that they get out of control and fall over. Other times they stay in control and are able to run.
Moving onto the second part of the definition: �your body.� Pretty easy concept to understand, don�t you think? Your body includes your torso, head, arms, legs, and anything attached to the arms or legs, like a golf club. Up to this point we can put together the first two parts of the definition and summarize it as: the body (including your arms, legs, torso, head, and golf club) must be under control. Let us add the final part of the definition into the mix to complete our understanding.
The final piece of the definition is: �during movement.� This simply means anything your body is doing. It can be walking, running, throwing a baseball, or, in our world, swinging a golf club. Swinging a golf club is �our movement� when discussing this definition. We are now at the point to put the whole definition together. Let us use the example of a golf swing to create the connection we are looking for in terms of the definition.
Balance is the ability of your body (i.e. nerves, muscles, and skeleton) to swing a golf club effectively and efficiently on the correct path without changing the position of your body in such a way that it is detrimental to the swing and its outcome (i.e. contact with the ball). Pretty simple definition when you break it down, and from now on when your swing coach says, �You have to stay balanced,� you know what he is talking about.
Developing Balance in Our Golf Swing
Okay, we now know the definition of balance and its relationship to the golf swing. Now, for the second question of this article: �how do we develop balance in relationship to our golf swing?� This next section will answer this question for you. I would also bet that the answer is not as obvious as it appears.
I will first say that developing balance in your swing is a combination of a couple of factors. The first and probably most obvious factor is mechanics. The golf swing is a biomechanical movement that requires the body to take the club through a specified swing path in a certain sequence and timing. The body must learn the biomechanical movement of a golf swing to become efficient with the movement. As your body becomes aware of the movement, more efficient with the movement, and has a better �feel� for the movement, the concept of balance in your swing will improve. So the first part of developing balance in your swing is linked to the mechanics of the swing and becoming more efficient with these mechanics. This all funnels down to two things: 1) proper instruction about the swing, and 2) practice. Practice, practice, and more practice is necessary to create better balance in your swing.
The second factor has to do with a term that many of you have probably heard before. That term is �muscle memory.� Realize that within your body the skeleton is controlled by your muscles, muscles are controlled by nerves, and the nerves are told what to do by your brain. The messages sent to your muscles through your nerves by the brain create movement (i.e. muscles working to make the body move). These movements can either be efficient or inefficient. Inefficient movements by the muscular system tend to be �sloppy� and �unrefined.� Efficient movements are just the opposite. Efficient movements by your muscular system are refined and technical. Improvement in balance is a result of the latter (i.e. efficient muscular movement). Efficient muscular movement is developed through training the muscles and nerves of your body to become more efficient. This is not done through typical exercises like bench press or leg press, but through stabilization and balance exercises.
As golfers we have our priorities. Let�s get some balance in our golf swing by training our bodies, getting proper instruction, and certainly a lot of practice. Once we�ve got balance there, then we�ll start talking about balancing our checkbook or helping Washington balance the federal budget.
Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques available to amateur golfers on the website www.bioforcegolf.com
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Narrow Your Focus. Consistently making short putts is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. To help maintain concentration, find a blade of grass directly in front of the middle of the hole as you prepare to strike the putt. Don�t look at the hole itself or the back of it, but simply try to roll the ball over the spot on the front of the hole. Using the front of the hole makes the target closer and makes your focus that much more specific.
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Check out Jean Littler's golf book for yourself and learn how to swing a golf club the right way!
By Lee MacRae
How To Swing A Golf Club
Learning how to swing a golf club properly is the Holy Grail for any golfer. Beginners usually start out by having someone show them how to do it. But even longtime golfers are often watching their friends or asking others for tips on how they do it. Then try to apply what they see or hear. In a nutshell, everyone is looking for the perfect way to swing a golf club.
For some, learning how to swing a golf club properly is an easy task. But for the vast majority, the golf swing becomes an elusive entity. They have it one day and then it's gone the next. They make a great shot on one hole, and the sky's the limit. The next hole brings a bad shot, and they want to twist the club into a pretzel! Ever happened to you?
No matter how you swing a golf club, the golf swing can be broken down into individual components. You have the backswing, the downswing, the impact of the club with the ball and the follow-through after the impact. Each and every one of these has to be done in a specific way for the shot to be successful. Many people struggle with fitting them all together smoothly. And then many people forget about the pre-shot routine, another aspect of the golf swing that is highly neglected. Take a look at all of your professional PGA golfers and you will see that they have a consistent and usually very brief pre-shot routine. Then visit your local golf course and watch the long drawn out affairs so many people engage in before they hit a golf ball. And if you watch long enough you'll actually see that most people never do the same thing twice. Unlike the golf professional, the duffer has a varied pre-shot routine both in time and method. Neglecting any aspect of your golf swing is a sure fire way to higher scores.
Of course, for some people it still becomes very difficult to learn how to swing a golf club properly. Fortunately for us today we have videos. We have videos of modern-day golfers like Tiger Woods or Ernie Els and we have video images of Jack Nicholas, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones. We can actually sit and watch exactly how they swing a golf club and try to emulate it.
But keep in mind that these videos still needs to be used in conjunction with golf lessons. A few good golf lessons with a local pro and then a watching how the PGA professionals put it into effect, can do wonders to advance your game. But what about if you can't afford golf lessons? Well, there are a number of good books on the market that you can read and then watch how the pros apply it. One of the best e-books I've ever seen is one put out by Golf Hall of Fame legend Gene Littler. Littler had a fluid swing I could only dream about. If you don't believe me, you can find videos of this golf legend and see his amazing fluid golf swing for yourself. many have called his swing the best, or at the very least the second-best, golf swing of all-time.
If you do want to improve your game and learn how to swing a golf club properly, you would do well to use the available golf videos and other available help like golf lessons or golfing eBooks. Improving your abilties in the golf swing will do a lot to not only improve your game, but you will enjoy it a whole lot more. So, you can continue to drive your shots every which way and suffer or spend your money wisely and really learn how to swing a golf club properly. The decision is up to you.
About the author
Don't hesitate to buy your copy of Gene Littler's eBook How To Master The Golf Swing and learn how to swing a golf club the right way! In this book Gene reveals the golf swing secrets that led to his PGA tour success.
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The overall contour of the green can be assessed from 50-100 yards out. It's a fact that a ball will roll away from mountains and towards the ocean; so if there is a hill near the green the ball will roll away from it. If there is a lake near the green the ball will roll toward it.
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Handle Leads Hands-The body should continue to move the arms through impact and into the finish. Don�t allow the clubhead to pass the handle of the club until well past impact.
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