When you watch great players the golf swing is a controlled movement with the body action and shoulders, whereas when you look at average players it’s a case of throwing the club at the ball and which demonstrates a poor quality hands and arms swing.
There are three key balance points to control in your swing. Line up your balance points directly on top of each other starting from the ground up.
Poor balance in the golf swing stops the flow of energy and the control of your club.
The most common mistake is the lower body sways to the right and instantly the balance points don’t match up. This puts the pressure outside the right foot and the naval (mid balance point) behind the throat (upper balance point).
This backswing mistake produces a slide on the downswing and the throat (upper balance point) gets behind the naval (mid balance point). This is called counterbalancing! Outcomes of this are striking the ground before the ball or a thin strike, but most of the poor shots come from this.
I do the following golf exercises to create better balance awareness with my players.
DRY EXERCISE (NO CLUB)
Set yourself into athletic posture and place your fingers on your mid and upper balance points. Make some practice movements focusing on both staying in line as shown on both backswing and through swing.
HITTING EXERCISE
The best drill in golf is hitting balls with your feet close together.
This will automatically line up your three balance points in a vertical line. As you swing think of maintaining this line through your body. Start off trying to hit pitch shots and as you develop in your own time move into full swing. Make sure to keep moving to the finish and you will instantly be aware of how controlled your balance is.
Watch the video above for a more in-depth view of the drill. Or if you want to check your mechanics, why not visit the Peter Cowen Academy Dubai and find out at first hand why his players are the most successful on Tour.
