We are pleased to announce that Sean Cochran, a nationally renowned golf fitness instructor and the personal golf fitness trainer to 2005 PGA Champion Phil Mickelson, has joined PGA.com as a fitness advisor. Cochran, who also has served as strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres major league baseball teams, will write a weekly fitness blog that will appear exclusively on PGA.com. He'll update it a couple of times a week, telling you about how to achieve better fitness, life on the road -- and in the gym -- with Lefty, plus answer your questions about fitness and how it can help you play better golf. More of Cochran's articles and his acclaimed fitness aids are available at his web site, www.bioforcegolf.com.
Balance in Your Golf Swing Leads to More Power
What a finish at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Geoff Ogilvy won at 5 over par. The rough was thick and penalizing the entire week. The greens were bumpy and pin placements difficult to reach. Congratulations to Ogilvy and his win.
Balance is a word that is synonymous with golf. We hear it all the time. Swing coaches tell us we need to "stay balanced" during our swing. Media types often declare how a player has "great balance," but do we really know what balance is all about?
Balance is absolutely critical if you want to lower your scores, drive the ball farther, and get more enjoyment out of the game. This is what we are aiming for in the next couple of articles. To give you an understanding of balance and its connection to the golf swing.
In order for the body to execute a golf swing correctly, it is necessary to move the club on the proper swing path. Developing better balance within your body and golf swing is one way you can build a repeatable swing and consistent swing path.
Balance is not the only physical skill needed to execute a correct swing, but balance is a component of the overall process. Balance is often misunderstood to be a principle solely connected to the mechanics of the swing. The reality of the situation is very different. Swing mechanics do not create good balance, but rather the body creates optimal balance.
Balance is the ability of the neuromuscular system (nerves and muscles) to maintain the proper alignment and center of gravity during biomechanical movement (golf swing included). -- Gray Cook, Athletic Body in Balance -
Simply put, balance is the ability of the body to maintain control of itself during physical activity.
Balance in relation to the golf swing is the ability of the body to maintain the proper postural alignment and center of gravity during all phases of the swing. Throughout the entire sequence of movements contained within the swing, it is necessary for you to maintain proper position of the spine, perform a rotational and linear movement simultaneously, and execute each biomechanical movement in the correct sequence and with the correct timing.
Improving your balance will help your body to maintain the proper anatomical positions required by the swing. It will take less effort to control your body, amounting to greater efficiency, power and consistency in your golf swing. Remember, balance in your swing comes from your body, not from your swing mechanics.
Previous blog entries:
06/13/06 Getting Yourself Ready for a Round of Golf
06/06/06 Joint Range of Motion and a Fluid Golf Swing
05/29/06 Flexibility Exercises to Help with Those Tight Muscles
05/23/06 Guidelines for Your Golf Flexibility Program
05/16/06 Assess Your Flexibility First
05/09/06 Better Golf Exercises to Improve Your Swing
05/02/06 Developing a Repeatable Golf Swing and Your Body
04/26/06 Increasing the Clubhead Speed in Your Golf Swing
04/18/06 How To Prepare for Your Round
04/17/06 Swing Faults are Not Really Swing Faults
03/27/06 You can improve balance in your swing
03/24/06 Improve Your Flexibility and See Results in Your Swing
03/20/06 Your Body is the Foundation of Improving Your Golf Swing
