Are you satisfied with your current level of play or are you continuously looking to improve your game? Would consistently crushing long straight drives make you happier? Have you ever or would you like to experience the following scenario? Driver in hand, you strut out to the first hole. You bend over, balancing on one leg as you pierce the ground with your tee. You like to leave about a knuckle-length between the ball and the ground. As you step back away from the ball, you line up your grip on the club. You peer over your shoulder with a quick glance at the line of foursomes waiting to tee off. You take one last practice swing which seems to cut the grass like a razor…You're ready. Your head is clear. Your eyes are focused on the ball as you bring the club head back. Feeling totally balanced, confident and in control; there's a slight rush of adrenaline as you torque your downswing and totally crush the ball on impact. With a "geez" from the Rodney Dangerfield looking guy waiting his turn behind the bushes; you watch your ball stop 310 yards down the center of the fairway. Nothing in golf compares to crushing a long straight drive like it was shot out of a cannon. That my friend is what makes you play the game. You may think that the average hacker like me needs a few pars to get through an 18 hole bad-hair day with enough of your ego still intact. Not true…Smashing that little white dimpled meatball 300 yards straight down the fairway like it was shot out of a 44 Magnum gets you out there for another round. I can tell you from experience that inconsistency fuels frustration regardless of how well you play from one round to the next. You always want more, So what's one of the enablers for more consistent play? "Balance" Now hearing this from a self proclaimed hacker like me isn't going to blow your skirt up. But hearing it from Manuel de la Torre a World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame Member and twice named by Golf Magazine as one of the top 100 golf instructors in America will get your attention. That's why we're going to have a little show-and-tell on golf balance training. With the help of Mr. de la Torre, I'll show you how and why balance training gives you more consistency and what balance board equipment you should add to your bag of tricks. On the subject of golf balance training this is what Manuel de la Torre had to say: If each swing feels different than the one before and your shots lack consistency, an aggressive weight shift to your right side during the backswing may be disrupting your balance. I teach my students to be in balance. To keep their weight centered between their feet from address until impact.  Another way to think of this is that you should be able to stand and swing on a platform while balancing on a log. See *Figure 1* above. Only after impact will the platform tilt toward the target as the majority of your weight shifts to the left side. Some teachers are in favor of a big shift to the right side, often known as "loading the right side." But I've found that players who heed this advice have difficulty making consistently solid contact.  Loading the right side changes the bottom of your swing arc, that point where the club contacts the ground. To understand the dangers, assume a top-of-the-swing position by making an aggressive move to you right side. See *Figure 2* above. Then, without moving your legs or body, let your arms lower the club to the ground. It will hit the ground several inches behind the ball. That's because your center has been moved laterally from its address position that far behind the ball. To make solid contact, you must precisely reverse this lateral motion in the forward swing, a difficult move to execute successfully and consistently unless you have hours to spend on the practice range. 
Swing to the top again, but this time, keep your weight evenly distributed between your feet, see *Figure 3* above, and perform the same test. The club will drop into the position it held at address because your center has remained fixed over the ball. This leads to greater consistency, especially if your practice time is limited. Use the image in *Figure 1* on top to acquire the feeling of centralized balance. As you swing back, concentrate on rotating your torso around the center of your body and avoid any impulse to move your center laterally. You'll quickly see a lot more consistency in your game. By: Rick Contrata ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Did you find this web page helpful? Do you think it would be of interest to your website's visitors? If so, then resource with us by giving your visitors access to this page by placing the link text in the resource box below onto your website.
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