The Nissan Open and Balance in Your Golf Swing

The Nissan Open at Riviera this week in LA marks the return of Ernie Els to the PGA Tour. Els suffered a year ending knee injury last year just before the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

Many articles on Els have provided detail on the rehabilitation of his knee and the return to the European and PGA Tours. Some of those articles discussed the physical therapy performed to get his knee back in shape.

One part of his knee rehabilitation and any training program for golf includes balance training.

Before we go any further let us define balance in relation to the golf swing. Balance is the ability of the body to maintain the anatomical positions and center of gravity during all phases of the swing.

A simplified definition but it works for us. Relating it to the golf swing, it is connected to maintaining the proper spine angle, and having the ability to rotate around a fixed spine angle efficiently.

Realize swing mechanics are only one component of maintaining proper balance during the swing. The body is the second component and often times where balance in the swing breaks down for the amateur.

Understand the nervous and muscular systems of the body directly correlate to the ability of your body to balance in the swing. If your body has poor balancing capacities it will have a direct effect on the swing.

How do you improve your balance capacities for your golf swing? Simply implement a golf fitness program that trains your body for the swing. This will assist in maintaining a constant spine angle during the swing, and increase the probability of good contact with the ball.

Sean