Swing in balance | By Alastair Brown

Balance is the key to a golf swing that produces power and speed. This will give you consistency, stability and efficiency in your swing, which every golfer asks for during their lessons.

The four balance points are the top of the spine (1), the base of the spine (2) and both your feet (3&4). When setting up to your golf ball you can think of these as your throat (1), your naval (2) and feet.

The secret is to keep these key balance points working in harmony as we rotate the body and the arms swing the club.

As you work on your swing you must realise that every action has a reaction. For example, if your hips sway back your head will move forward to keep you balanced and vice versa. If these faults occur then you are only going to practice a series of compensations in your swing and this drains the swing of efficiency because the club always follows the balance points.

Here is an example of a compensated swing.
The hips have spun out too early and the head has gone back which throws the arms and club out of position.

This will require a huge manipulation to get the club back to the ball which is never consistent.

Exercise for Good Balance

Hitting balls with your feet together is a daily drill I use to help harmonise the swinging of the arms with the rotation of the body. You should do this for around 10 minutes of your practice sessions and if you’re a beginner it’s actually a great way to play golf for your first few months. Having your stance too wide is usually detrimental to developing your body action in the early stages.

The key is to focus on these balance points and keep them working together for the good of the swing. It also helps you maintain the height of the body during the swing. Really try and feel what your feet are wanting to do in the ground.

With your feet nicely together, feel your balance points lied up over the ball.

The balance points feel aligned as you rotate and wind up your backswing.

Focus on the ball as you unwind...

...and clip it off the tee.

Finish with your balance points aligned with your body, arms and club working together.

Try hitting balls off a low tee peg with a 7 iron. Think about it as a training method so hit in sets of 10 (later you can mark your score out of 10 in terms of happiness level). Start by swinging smoothly and as you start to feel your movement, improve the build up your speed. You should be swinging in balance not swinging’ trying to stay in balance’ so take the time to train on this and it will stick with you on the golf course. After doing 5-10 sets of 10 try and hit some shots with feet normal width.

Hopefully this exercise gets your body moving more freely and let’s you transfer the natural flow of power through your body and arms into your golf club. Join me at the Peter Cowen Golf Academy at Emirates Golf Club to better understand your swing.