What is the transition?

It’s simply the moment of time in your golf swing when your swing is moving from the backswing to the downswing.

And it’s called the transition because there should not be a stop to your backswing and a start to your downswing. You transition between the two. And in fact, the transition is the START of you finding amazing power in your golf swing that you never thought existed or was even possible!

This amazing power will come with much greater accuracy too when you master the transition.

If I had to name one place in the golf swing (apart from impact) that separates the great ball strikers from the average ones it’s the quality of the transition.

So if you want to become a great ball striker this is one aspect of your golf swing that you’re going to have to really spend some time practicing.

But the pay off for doing this is huge i.e…. Longer and More Accurate Golf Shots!

Now like everything where only a small percentage are successful, the great ball strikers have spent a lot of practice time perfecting their transition from backswing to downswing. And to be completely honest with you, the transition is the hardest move in the golf swing to perfect. The reason for this is obvious.

During your swing, for a brief second your upper body should be completing the backswing while your lower body is starting to move towards the target.

So to complete the transition successfully you should have two main segments of your body (upper and lower) going in different directions. I know that sounds hard….and that’s because it is!

But it’s doable.

And when you “get it” you’re going to get so much more enjoyment from this game due to the extra distance and accuracy you’ll gain…you’re going to love it!

Now if you’ve ever taken part in any other sport that requires kicking (e.g. soccer), throwing (e.g. baseball), hitting (e.g. tennis) you would’ve experienced the transition move that is needed in the golf swing. And one move that almost every one can relate a transition to is the action of throwing a ball.

So if you wanted to throw a golf ball as far as you possibly could down the fairway would you?:

a) shift your weight to your back foot as you’re taking the ball back and then shift the weight to your front foot to throw the ball, or

b) keep your weight evenly distributed the entire time you’re throwing the ball.

I hope you picked “A” because that’s what any athlete would do to throw a ball as far and fast as possible. Just take a look at a baseball pitcher for example.

When they pitch they move their weight to the back foot. And they do this so much so that when they’re taking the ball back they lift their front foot up. Then to change directions they shift their weight aggressively to their front foot and keep moving all of their weight so that at the end of the pitch basically all of their weight is on their front foot. That’s an example of a powerful transition and one that you’d do well to model in your golf swing and here’s a great way to feel this move.

Get out your driver and setup as normal (but without a golf ball). Then swing to the top of your backswing and stop. While you’re stopped bring your front foot back so it’s together with your back foot. Then to start the downswing simply move your front foot back to the position where it was at address and swing down and follow-through.

By doing that you’ll quickly learn how the transition into the downswing should start with your lower body.

But once you have that drill down the next thing you should do is take out the stop of your backswing.

So swing back and as you’re swinging back move your front foot back to your back foot and as you’re completing the backswing move your front foot back to where it was at address. Doing this will help you to feel your upper body going back while your lower body is moving forward.

This is super powerful!

My beef, I guess, is that some (not all) pros seem to be trying to convince you that they’re really smart. Perhaps by overloading you with an infinite number of cues and swing thoughts, they feel that it will give you incentive to pay them a visit and pay them for their overly complex advice.

Back to my story. This golf pro was talking about balance and how important it is during the golf swing. I totally agree. You certainly can’t swing a golf club if you’re falling over all the time (sorry, I couldn’t resist). While I agreed on the level that balance is important, I was more than disappointed in his method of how a golfer should improve his balance.

Here’s what he did.

He flops these two dyna-disks down on the floor and stands on them. Now for those of you who don’t know what a dyna-disk is, it looks like a frisbee that went back for a third helping at Thanksgiving. It’s round, a couple of inches thick, and mushy. If you stand on them, there is a constant shifting of your feet in an attempt to maintain your balance. The pro says that he performs controlled (in other words slow) swings while standing on these mushy frisbees, and it improves his balance when he stands on the ground taking his regular swings. Better balance means you can generate more power.

Well that just sounds like a brilliant idea! In fact, if you watch him do it, it looks like it’ll work.

Does it?

Nope. It makes for a nice circus trick, but if you’re not rehabilitating some type of injury, it won’t make you a better golfer.

In fact, it could very well screw up your swing AND reduce your power.

Here’s what’s wrong with this type of balance training for golfers.

Problem #1

To maintain balance on an unstable surface, your brain uses what at called feedback mechanisms. Feedback mechanisms use information from your eyes, central nervous system, and proprioceptors (position sensors in muscles and joints) to help you maintain your balance. This is an ongoing process for as long as you stand on the squishy disks without falling off. The problem here is that during a dynamic activity like a golf swing we use what is called feedforward mechanisms.

Because of the high-speed nature of a golf swing (less than 2 seconds), golfers don’t have time to react with feedback mechanisms. They must rely heavily on a visualized and internalized image of the swing. In other words, you feel and see the swing in your minds eye before it occurs.

Therefore, using this type of balance training doesn’t even apply to task like a golf swing so you are wasting valuable time that you could have used to actually practice more effectively.

Now if you’re playing a bad lie off a waterbed, this dyna-disk type of balance training may just be the ticket.

Problem #2

Remember how I mentioned before that the golf pro would perform slow swings while balancing on the disks? The reason he did them slowly was because if he did them fast he would lose his balance and fall.

Let me ask you a question. Is timing a very big issue during a golf swing?

Of course it is.

Do you think that trying to swing a club on a constantly shifting surface would alter the timing and pattern of the muscles that you recruit to swing a golf club?

Of course it would. The activity of the muscles would be dependent on which way your body was swaying at the time (feedback) and not necessarily how you intended them to function in you predetermined swing (feedforward).

The end result is poor timing of your swing which is something we don’t want to carry over to our game.

Problem #3

Another comment on the slow swing concept;

Al Vermeil, strength coach for the world champion San Francisco 49’ers and Chicago Bulls, uses a saying, “Train Slow, Be Slow”. What he means is that training the muscles in slower motion versions of the actual task (golf swing) will teach the muscles to function slowly.

Balancing on a dyna-disk forces you to slow down your swing. Your weight shift from back foot to front foot will be slower. Teaching muscles to function slowly in a golf swing will reduce your ability to load and unload key muscles, which generate your power, which in turn reduces club head speed. That means less driving distance.

Problem #4

When you stand on an unstable object, you brain uses any number of strategies to maintain balance. It may make an adjustment in the ankle or knee or hip that will cause alterations in your trunk posture to maintain your balance over your feet.

Attempting to perform golf swings on the dyna-disks will force you to alter your swing axis during your practice swings. The concern here is that you may be creating a negative transfer to your golf game by teaching yourself an ineffective postural strategy resulting in hitting fat or thin shots during your game.

So what does science and experience tell us?

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface (like stability balls and dyna-disks) does not necessarily enhance balancing skill on a fixed and rigid surface.*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface may disrupt sport specific nervous programs (golf swing), and alter the profile of force-time (timing), rate of force development (a component of club head speed), and other biomechanical curves for sport specific application.*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface might be less effective than other forms of more conventional training in achieving specific motor skill goals (in other words there are better things you could be doing).*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface deals with relatively slow displacements from positions of balance and does not necessarily equip one to handle the more rapid disturbances under different conditions of loading encountered in actual sport (it may negatively alter your balance when you swing faster).*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface may inappropriately modify the musculoskeletal and kinesthetic systems (it may make your golf-specific balance worse).*

• Very few, if any, of the world’s top athletes in any sport perform balance training on a moving and deformable surface.*

So what can you do to improve your golf-specific balance?

Play golf. There is not a gadget or exercise which will improve your golf-specific balance like playing golf.

Why?

Because nothing can duplicate the demands of playing golf other than playing golf.

I know, it sounds silly doesn’t it. If you look at other athletes in any sport from martial arts to gymnastics to hockey, you’ll find that they simply perform their sporting skills over and over to acquire their amazing balance skills. They don’t rely on silly, useless gadgets.

If you were a tightrope walker, would you practice on a wooden beam or stand on a stability ball. Of course not, because it would not duplicate the demands of tightrope walking. The rope has its own “feel” and sway that nothing else but a tightrope can duplicate.

So if you want to improve your golf-specific balance, play golf.

*Reference: Siff, MC. Facts and Fallacies of Fitness. Fifth Edition. 2002.

About the author: Bill Hartman, is a Physical Therapist who has a degrees in Movement and Sports Science. Training golfers since 1990, Bill is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NCSA), USA Weightlifting Sport Performance Coach and a Level 2 Active Release Techniques Practitioner (ART). Bill also has advanced training in shoulder, knee and spine rehabilitation as well as many methods of strength, power and speed training.

People will say that Ben Hogan gave his golf swing secret in the Life article in 1954.  But in 1992 Ben Hogan wanted Golf Digest to pay him $150,000 to reveal his “real” golf swing secret.  Golf Digest turned down the offer, so you could argue that Ben Hogan went to his grave without revealing his golf secret… if indeed he had one.

Now assuming Ben Hogan did have what he thought was a golf swing secret, I’m going to show you where in his golf swing I believe Ben Hogan’s swing secret was.   But before I do that, you MUST understand this about Ben Hogan.

At the start of Ben Hogan’s professional career, he had a terrible hook that would get him into all sorts of problems.  So a lot of what he did with his setup and swing was to prevent a hook (i.e. weak grip, cupped left wrist).  And Ben Hogan was well known as having a power fade, but my point is that a lot of what Ben Hogan did is not advisable for the average golfer – UNLESS you suffer from a bad hook.  If you suffer from a slice problem and  always have done…. using Ben Hogan as a swing model is probably not the best thing to do.

Having said that, this Ben Hogan golf swing secret that I’m revealing in this article is applicable for anyone… IF you do it right.  If you do it wrong, you’ll hit it worse… a lot worse.

So take what I’m saying and test it out to see if you can get it to work for you.  And to start this off, I want you to watch the video below of Ben Hogan giving some swing advice, and then finishing with him hitting a driver.  Before you watch this, however, I’m going to tell you where to look and then I’m going to break down what I think his secret is, after the video.

So here’s the video.  And I want you to watch very carefully and listen to what he’s saying you should do, and then watch what he actually does with his LEFT HIP just as he is reaching the top of his backswing.  And continue to watch his left hip until just after impact.  You will probably want to pause the video on his swing and rewind it to have a real close look.  Ok, so with that in mind, watch this video now…

Did you see Ben Hogan’s golf swing secret?

Well, he said to look at what starts first from the top of the swing.

Now it’s the top of the backswing position of Ben Hogan’s left hip that I think is his golf swing secret.   But there’s more to it than that.  So to help you see what I think the golf swing secret is, I’m going to show you an analysis of Ben Hogan’s swing, focusing on the hips and the head position.  So here is a picture of Ben Hogan’s setup for the swing shown in the video above:

Here is a picture of Ben Hogan’s golf swing at a point where his club is parallel with the ground.  Notice that the left hip is moving away from where it was to start with.

Now here is a picture of Ben Hogan at the half-way point in his backswing.  Notice how the right hip is in pretty much the same place as it was at setup, and yet the left hip has moved back away from where it was at address.  This has happened because Ben has allowed his hips to rotate.

That’s a pretty stock standard position for a pro.  But from here on it starts to get interesting, because what Ben does is as he is completing his backswing he starts to move his weight to his left side, and he does this by laterally sliding his hips towards the target.  Here is a picture of Ben almost at the top of his backswing. Notice how the right hip is moving away from where it was to start with, and the left hip is moving back towards where it was at address.

Ben Hogan has been accused of having a reverse pivot.  But if he did his head would move to the left.  And it’s clear from these photos that Ben kept his head in the same place. BUT he did move his weight to the left by laterally sliding his hips to the left in the backswing.  He keeps doing this as he completes the backswing.  Here is a picture that follows a few frames on from the one above.  Note how much he has moved his left hip towards the target whilst still completing the backswing.

Ben Hogan in that video above, says at the top of the swing you move the lower part of your body first, i.e. hips and knees.  But as you can clearly see, before the backswing has been completed Ben has already moved his left hip back to the same place it was to start the backswing – although it’s still rotated.  So essentially he’s had a big head-start over what he said to do.

It’s also important to note that his head is basically in the same place it was at the start of the swing, although it’s a couple of inches lower.  If you did this move while moving your head towards the target you’d hit some terrible shots!

So what’s Ben Hogan’s golf swing secret?

Well, it’s about timing I believe, because in any good golf swing you have to laterally slide the left hip towards the target and turn it.  In Ben Hogan’s famous “five lessons” book, he says over and over again that to start the downswing you need to turn your left hip.  But many, many golfers have tried to do this (myself included) and have ended up hitting big pull hooks.  That’s the complete opposite of the shot pattern that Ben Hogan used to hit.  So the only way Ben Hogan could feel like he could just turn his hips to start the downswing, was to have them moved over to the left to start with.

And that’s exactly what Ben Hogan does.

He moves his hips laterally to the left in the backswing while keeping his head in the same place as it was at setup.  Although it does go lower, that just happens naturally.

So if Ben Hogan had a golf swing secret, that’s what I think it is.  And if you know where to look it’s easy to spot.

But I think this demonstrates greatly how feel and real can be greatly different.  And I’m going to demonstrate this some more, because Ben Hogan said in “Five Lessons” to start the downswing you simply turn your left hip.  But in his downswing Ben was continuing to laterally slide his left hip.  Look at this picture of Ben Hogan at impact and notice these two things:

1. Look at how much in front his left hip is compared to where it was at address.

2. Look at where his head is, i.e. in the same place as it was at address but lower.

Compare the left hip position from the position at the top of the backswing.

So Ben Hogan did definitely NOT just turn his left hip to start his downswing.  He slid and turned his left hip… a long way.

This move was to help him avoid the left side of the golf course and attack the golf ball from the inside without fear.  He might have felt like he just turned his left hip to start the downswing, but that’s certainly not all that was happening.

So could you use this Ben Hogan golf secret in your golf swing?

There’s no harm trying.  And to do this you have to simply laterally slide your left hip towards your target as you’re completing your backswing.  I say simply a bit tongue in check, because you would need to practice that a lot to get it down pat.  AND BEFORE YOU TRY THIS HERE’S AN IMPORTANT POINT!: YOU WOULD NEED TO KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE SAME PLACE AS IT WAS AT ADDRESS ALL THROUGHOUT YOUR BACKSWING AND DOWNSWING UNTIL IMPACT!

That’s some Ben Hogan CAPS  for you.

If you move your head forward with your left hip in the backswing you’re going to hit some terrible shots.

It’s important also to note, that from the position where Ben Hogan got his left hip at impact… he never went past that point.  His left hip did just turn.  Below is a picture of Ben Hogan at the finish of his swing demonstrating this.

So maybe that’s why he said that you should simply turn to start your downswing?  He did just turn, but this happened from impact to the finish of his swing.

So there you go.  That’s what I think Ben Hogan’s swing secret was.  It’s not that he did something completely different to other golfers, but the time in his swing when he did this was quite different  and unique to what every other golfer did and does.  The advantage I think in moving the weight to the left in the backswing, is that you have a head start in the downswing and the timing can be easier because you do feel like you are just turning your hips in the downswing.  You will get more lateral slide but it just happens.

So let me know your thoughts on this Ben Hogan swing secret, and let me know if it’s easier to spot now.

So I’ve made this video below, in which I reveal this long driving swing move… and then I tell you how you can practice it.

If you would prefer to read about this golf swing secret of Bubba Watson’s instead of watching it, I have a summary of what is in this video underneath it. So, either watch the video or read the commentary below the video (or do both ) .

At the top of Bubba’s golf swing, he has obviously turned his shoulders a long way and his club is well beyond parallel.  But his hips have also turned a long way too.

Bubba Watson's Backswing

Then to start his swing, Bubba Watson unwinds his hips a long way, very fast.   By doing this it creates a big separation between his hips and shoulders, so his hips are very open and his shoulders are still closed.

Bubba Watson's Downswing

From the position the picture above shows, Bubba hardly turns his hips any further, as the impact picture below shows.  So what’s happening at impact is… all of the energy that has been created by the big separation of the hips and shoulders, is unleashed into the golf ball.  And Bubba is using the ground to gain even more power, because he is pushing up off the ground (that’s why Bubba’s right heel is up off the ground).  When you do that it means even more power can be imparted to the ball.  It’s a very common move professional long drivers make.

Bubba Watson's Impact

If you look at Bubba’s hip rotation at impact, and then compare it to his hip rotation half way into his follow-through, you’ll notice that the hips have hardly rotated any more…

Bubba Watson's Follow Through

So you’ve got to understand this if you want longer golf drives.  From the top of your swing you want to unwind your hips as quickly and far as possible, while making the gap between your hips and shoulders as big as possible.  Then you actually want to stop trying to turn your hips, and brace yourself for the hit so you can unload all of the stored up energy into the back of the ball.

The best way I suggest you train to do this is to get an impact bag.

Impact Bag

Once you have an impact bag, then setup to it as though you’re about to hit a real shot. Swing back to the top of your backswing, and from that point unwind your hips as fast as you can and unload into the impact bag. And when you’re doing this you can practice moving up at impact, so you’re using the ground to create more power.

Brace Yourself For Impact So All Power Goes Into The Bag

This is a great way to practice this move, because you’re going to naturally brace yourself for the strike as you’re hitting into a bag and not a golf ball.

If you practice this you too will hit longer drives. Maybe not Bubba Watson long – but you will be longer. And if you need an impact bag go here to get this one that I recommend.

MOVING!

I so often see the golf swings of amateur golfers where you’d think the golfers were wearing lead boots! Or they have their feet stuck in concrete.

Now look, if you don’t move your legs during the golf swing you’ll be costing yourself a lot of distance. Because you’re even reading this I imagine you want to hit the golf ball as far as possible, right?

Well then, you must learn to use both your feet and your legs effectively in your golf swing in order to do that. So in this article I’m going to explain to you how to do that and I’ll give you some good drills to help you learn to do it.

But before I get started, first let me give you an example of how not using your legs is costing you distance in your golf swing.

To do this I want you to setup to a golf shot as you normally would. Before you make your golf swing, however, I want you to put down your golf club and pick up the ball and get ready to throw it. Then once you’re set I then want you to throw the ball as far as you can, BUT when you do this don’t allow your legs to move at all. Feel as though your feet are stuck to the ground and as you’re throwing the ball your legs are not moving at all.

Once you have done this I then want you to get another ball and throw that ball as well. But this time I want you to use your feet and legs freely as you throw, to help you throw the ball as far as you can. Just imagine you’re a baseball pitcher. So move your weight back onto your back foot (and you can even lift your front foot off the ground if you’re keen) as you’re taking your arm back, and then quickly move your weight to your front foot and throw the ball and fire your legs and hips and allow your back foot to rise up so at the end of your throw you’re facing the target, your back foot heel is up off the ground and you have used your legs powerfully to help you throw the ball as far as possible.

After doing this compare which ball went the furthest.

Even without doing this you know that the ball you threw like a baseball pitcher is going to go a lot further than the ball which you didn’t use any leg motion to throw, am I correct?

Well, the same is going to be true in your golf swing. The same universal law applies whether you’re throwing a ball as far as you can, or hitting a golf ball with your golf club as far as you can.

So now you know this, how can you use this information to improve your golf swing?

Ok, first you need to have a clear idea of how your legs should move in the golf swing and that’s what I’m going to explain now.

When you setup to swing a golf club your back leg should have some flex in it. When you swing the flex that is in your back leg should stay pretty much the same all throughout your backswing. You should not straighten your back leg at all during the backswing because that will promote a reverse pivot, which basically means that the weight is going onto your front foot instead of your back foot – and that is very bad!

So while you’re swinging back you should be keeping your back leg in pretty much the same position that it was in at setup, all throughout your backswing. You should also let your front knee move naturally in towards your back knee during the backswing. This will just happen naturally though. You don’t need to try and make this happen.

Now to make a powerful transition in your golf swing from your backswing to your downswing you should transfer your weight from your back foot to your front foot.

A great way I have found to do this is to initiate the downswing by moving the front knee towards the target.

However, it’s a good idea when doing this to try and keep the back knee where it was in the backswing because this knee separation creates lag in the downswing, which helps to create the late hit that every golfer wants because it gives longer golf drives!

Every long hitter in the world does this knee separation and the longest hitters start this knee separation before the backswing has been completed. To help you get this feeling I suggest you do the following.

As you’re getting to the top of your backswing get to a position where you are fully loaded into your right side, and as I’ve already said, I believe that to start your downswing you should do it with your left knee and left hip first.

So as you are about to reach the furthest point going back you should be starting your downswing movement with your left knee first and then your left hip. The feeling should be one of moving in two directions at once for a split second. This is not the easiest thing to do, but with practice it creates tremendous clubhead speed and you’ll notice a big increase in distance.

Here’s a great drill that teaches you the leg movements in the golf swing that I’m talking about. Get a beach ball and place it between your knees at setup. Then swing back as normal, and to start your downswing you need to separate your knees so that the beach ball falls down, and then swing through normally.

If you master this knee separation move you’ll hit the ball longer than you ever have before, and you’ll be more consistent too. I’m sure you’ll love both of those benefits, won’t you?!

Now the follow-through really is a result of how good the backswing was. So you must concentrate on getting a good solid backswing before you even look at your follow-through. With that being said it’s a good idea that you have a clear picture of what you should look like at the end of your swing, where your weight should be and what your feet should be doing… which is what I’m going to give you now.

At the end of your golf swing almost all of your weight should be on your front foot. Your belt buckle should be pointing towards the target or even to the left of your target. And lastly, but very importantly, your back foot should be almost completely off the ground. It should just be resting on your toe.

Hopefully now you’ve got a good idea as to how you can best use your feet to get the most power in your golf swing. So I’ll now summarize the points you should work on…

1. During your backswing you should concentrate on keeping your back leg in the same position that it was in at address.

2. To start your downswing you should do so with your front knee moving towards the target, attempting to separate the knees.

3. At the finish of your golf swing you should have the majority of your weight on your front foot, with your belt buckle pointing towards the target. Plus your back foot should be up on it’s toe so you can see all of the spikes in your shoe.

If you follow these points your golf swing will be more powerful and more consistent, and consequently you’ll have more fun playing golf. I suggest you concentrate on your backswing first, then start on the downswing, and then the follow-through last. But when you go to work on your follow-through here’s something that will help you.

Pose your follow-through so that it’s perfect, then have a swing and attempt to get into the same follow-through position that you just posed.

At the end of every golf swing you should be able to hold your follow-through until the ball has stopped rolling. You’ll only be able to do this if you have swung within yourself. Lastly, remember a good finish generally means a good shot so get in the habit of holding your follow-through until your ball has stopped moving.

If you do these things you’ll hit longer golf drives because of your vastly improve golf swing.

The issue I have, I suppose, is that some pros (not all) appear to be trying to convince you that they’re really smart. Maybe by overloading you with an endless amount of cues and swing thoughts, they think that it’ll give you incentive to pay them a visit and pay them for their overly complex advice.

Back to my story. This golf pro was talking about balance and how important it is during the golf swing. I totally agree. You certainly can’t swing a golf club if you’re falling over all the time (sorry, I couldn’t resist). While I agreed on the level that balance is important, I was more than disappointed in his method of how a golfer should go about improving his or her balance during their golf swing.

Here’s what this golf pro did.

He flops these two dyna-disks down on the floor and stands on them. Now for those of you who don’t know what a dyna-disk is, it looks like a frisbee that went back for a third helping at Thanksgiving. It’s round, a couple of inches thick, and mushy. If you stand on them, there is a constant shifting of your feet in an attempt to maintain your balance. The pro says that he performs controlled (in other words slow) swings while standing on these mushy frisbees, and it improves his balance when he stands on the ground taking his regular swings. Better balance means you can generate more power.

Well that just sounds like a brilliant idea! In fact, if you watch him do it, it looks like it’ll work.

Does it?

Nope. It makes for a nice circus trick, but if you’re not rehabilitating some type of injury, it won’t make you a better golfer.

In fact, it could very well screw up your swing AND reduce your power.

Here’s what’s wrong with this type of balance training for golfers.

Problem #1

In order to keep your balance on an unstable surface, your brain uses what is called feedback mechanisms. Feedback mechanisms use information from your eyes, central nervous system, and proprioceptors (position sensors in muscles and joints) to help you maintain your balance. This is an ongoing process for as long as you stand on the squishy disks without falling off. The problem here is that during a dynamic activity like a golf swing we use what is called feedforward mechanisms.

Because of the high-speed nature of a golf swing (less than 2 seconds), golfers don’t have time to react with feedback mechanisms. They must rely heavily on a visualized and internalized image of the swing. In other words, you feel and see the swing in your minds eye before it occurs.

Therefore, using this type of balance training doesn’t even apply to a task like the golf swing so you are wasting valuable time that you could have used to actually practice more effectively.

Now if you’re playing a bad lie off a waterbed, this dyna-disk type of balance training may just be the ticket

Problem #2

Remember how I mentioned before that the golf pro would perform slow swings while balancing on the disks? The reason he did them slowly was because if he did them fast he would lose his balance and fall.

Let me ask you a question. Is timing a very big issue during a golf swing?

Of course it is.

Do you think that trying to swing a club on a constantly shifting surface would alter the timing and pattern of the muscles that you recruit to swing a golf club?

Of course it would. The activity of the muscles would be dependent on which way your body was swaying at the time (feedback) and not necessarily how you intended them to function in you predetermined golf swing (feedforward).

The end result is poor timing of your golf swing, and you certainly don’t want to carry that poor timing over into your golf game.

Problem #3

Another comment on the slow swing concept;

Al Vermeil, strength coach for the world champion San Francisco 49’ers and Chicago Bulls, uses a saying, “Train Slow, Be Slow”. What he means is that training the muscles in slower motion versions of the actual task (golf swing) will teach the muscles to function slowly.

Balancing on a dyna-disk forces you to slow down your swing. Your weight shift from back foot to front foot will be slower. Teaching muscles to function slowly in a golf swing will reduce your ability to load and unload key muscles, which generate your power, which in turn reduces club head speed. That means less driving distance.

Problem #4

When you stand on an unstable object, your brain uses any number of strategies to maintain balance. It may make an adjustment in the ankle or knee or hip that will cause alterations in your trunk posture to maintain your balance over your feet.

Attempting to perform golf swings on the dyna-disks will force you to alter your swing axis during your practice swings. My concern with this is that you may be creating a negative transfer to your golf game by teaching yourself an ineffective postural strategy, thus resulting in hitting fat or thin shots during your golf game.

So what does science and experience tell us?

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface (like stability balls and dyna-disks) does not necessarily enhance balancing skills on a fixed and rigid surface.*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface may interfere with sport specific nervous programs (golf swing), and alter the profile of force-time (timing), rate of force development (a component of club head speed), and other biomechanical curves for sport specific application.*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface is possibly less effective than alternative methods of more conventional training in achieving specific motor skill goals (in other words there are better things you could be doing).*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface deals with relatively slow displacements from positions of balance and doesn’t necessarily equip one to handle the more rapid disturbances under different conditions of loading encountered in actual sport (it may negatively alter your balance when you swing faster).*

• Balance training on a moving and deformable surface could inappropriately modify the musculoskeletal and kinesthetic systems (it could make your golf-specific balance worse).*

• Very few, if any, of the world’s top athletes in any sport perform balance training on a moving and deformable surface.*

So what can you do to improve your golf-specific balance?

Play golf. There is not a gadget or exercise which will improve your golf-specific balance like playing golf.

Why?

Because nothing can duplicate the demands of playing golf other than playing golf.

I know, it sounds silly doesn’t it. If you look at other athletes in any sport from martial arts to gymnastics to hockey, you’ll find that they simply perform their sporting skills over and over to acquire their amazing balance skills. They don’t rely on silly, useless gadgets.

If you were a tightrope walker, would you practice on a wooden beam or stand on a stability ball. Of course not, because it would not duplicate the demands of tightrope walking. The rope has its own “feel” and sway that nothing else but a tightrope can duplicate.

So here’s the bottom line – if you want to improve your golf-specific balance, play golf.

*Reference: Siff, MC. Facts and Fallacies of Fitness. Fifth Edition. 2002.

About the author: Bill Hartman, is a Physical Therapist who has a degrees in Movement and Sports Science. Training golfers since 1990, Bill is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NCSA), USA Weightlifting Sport Performance Coach and a Level 2 Active Release Techniques Practitioner (ART). Bill also has advanced training in shoulder, knee and spine rehabilitation as well as many methods of strength, power and speed training.

By the way, these tips can also be used to help when you’re playing golf on rainy days as well.

Ok, let’s get started then. The first tip is to have a dry towel or three!

If you know it’s going to be hot and sticky or raining then make sure to pack some extra towels. Then before every golf shot you should wipe your grips and your hands.

If it’s raining then make sure you keep your towel under your umbrella to help keep it dry for as long as possible. Then when it’s too damp, swap it for a dry towel.

Another grip tip you can use to help you hold onto the club in hot, humid weather (and even when it’s raining) is to get sand from the bunkers and rub the sand onto your hand. By doing this it will help to absorb some of the sweat from your hands, which will help you to hold onto the club better as you’re swinging. But take note of this very important point – be sure to never do this when your ball is in the bunker – this is against the rules of golf.

If you’re super prepared then you can take some talcum powder or even cornstarch powder with you to keep in your golf bag for the hot, humid days to rub on your hands as and when needed.
So here’s a summary of what you can do to hold onto the golf club better on hot, humid and even rainy days, to ensure you maintain a good golf swing in all conditions.

First, make sure you have plenty of clean, dry towels. Second, rub sand on your hands to help you absorb sweat (when there is no play from that bunker), or take talcum powder or cornstarch powder to the golf course with you for rubbing on your hands. If you do these two things then you shouldn’t have a problem holding onto the golf club in the hot, sticky weather; or in the rain.

There’s nothing worse than losing your grip as you’re swinging – so make sure you use these two golf tips to make sure you don’t lose your golf grip when you play golf.

Sadly a lot of golfers have the reverse of this happening at impact which creates very short shots, and no matter which golf club the golfer uses the ball still tends to only go the same distance. So I’m going to give you a really good drill to help you get into a great impact position with your wrists.

Ok, let’s begin…

The first thing I want you to practice is something called power chipping. To do this I want you to setup to a chip shot as you normally would and then take the club away without breaking your wrists.

Only swing the club back a couple of feet and then when you swing the club back to the ball I want you to make sure your left wrist is flat at impact and your right wrist is bent. At the finish of your chipping swing stop and check that this happened. If it didn’t then keep practicing this chipping swing until you can do that consistently. That is critical.

When you’re doing this you don’t need to worry about the results of your chip shots. You’re just supposed to be concerned with the action of your wrists through impact.

After you have got this mastered with your chipping golf swing then I want you to move up to doing longer swings, while still making sure that at impact your left wrist is flat and your right wrist is bent.

I suggest you start with a golf swing where your left arm is parallel with the ground on your backswing. But when you do these longer practice golf swings make sure you abbreviate your follow-through so you can check your impact position easily.

This golf swing drill is critical if you want to hit powerful golf shots with a penetrating ball flight. Because if you contact the ball with a left wrist that is bent, like a lot of golfers do, then you’re going to hit weak, short golf shots.

Picture a boxer punching with a bent wrist. If they did that they would break their wrists. Although with golf you won’t break your wrists hitting the ball with a bent left wrist, you will never hit the golf ball as far as you possibly can. Also, a lot of your irons will go the same distance, as I’ve already said. In other words, you can never reach your full golfing potential if your left wrist is bent at impact.

So please don’t take this information for granted and do the golf swing drill I have suggested to work on your left wrist position at impact. All the best ball strikers hit the ball with a left wrist that is flat. So be sure to practice this and reap the rewards of longer, more accurate golf shots by doing this golf swing drill.

First, you need to understand that the setup you use to hit a golf ball has a HUGE affect on your balance, or lack thereof, as you’re swinging a golf club. So to help you achieve a balanced setup position, here is the step-by-step posture setup drill I want you to go through:

1st. Stand up straight. Position your feet about shoulder width apart.

2nd. Let the straightness out of your knees so they have a slight bend to them.

3rd. Position a driver along your spine.

4th. Bend forward slightly while making sure that your spine remains straight. Having the golf club on your spine will help you to feel this. When you do this it’s important that you feel as though your backside is moving back like you are going to sit on a chair. Doing this creates a balanced posture position. Also, it’s important that your weight is positioned on the balls of your feet, not the heels or the toes.

5th. Move your left hip slightly towards your target by about 2 inches. This helps to place your head behind the ball so you can put all your power behind the shot for longer golf drives.

6th. Get the driver from your spine and setup with it as though you are about to hit a golf ball. You may have to either bend over more or stand up straighter to get into a comfortable setup for your driver.

Now to tell if you are in a good balanced posture position I want you to get someone to lightly push on both shoulders from behind and in front. You’ll find when you get someone to do this that it will force you to anchor yourself to the ground and balance yourself so you are not easily pushed over.

When you find your balanced setup position you’ll discover that when someone gives you a slight push you will be steady and solid. So to fix your balance problems in your golf swing, do this setup exercise and get someone to test you to make sure you’re in a balanced setup posture position. You’ll find when you get this mastered that you’ll hit much better and more consistent golf shots and your golf swing balance problems will be solved!

Well, I’ve found something really cool that will train you to swing faster so you hit longer shots and it won’t screw up your tempo or rhythm. In fact, it will probably improve it a lot. To find out more about it simply click play on the short video below…

Pretty cool, huh?

The Golf Swing Speed Challenge has been getting rave reviews all around the world because golfers are gaining so much distance from it. To find out more about it simply go here.