WrightBalance.com - Golf Tips

Golf Tips and Articles

Golf Tips & Articles Archive

The Biomechanics of Balance

Email this Article to a Friend

David F. Wright, Ph.D., PGA

The picture above was taken from my research in Dr. Frank Jobe's biomechanics lab at Centinela Hospital. This foot scan was from Bob E. Smith, PGA and Champion's Tours player. There were 1000 sensors in each of Bob's shoes that measured force. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you will notice two very small boxes that represent the average center of force in each foot. This scan was done when Bob was in his address position. This is a great illustration of Balance.

In the years past, as an athlete, I thought I could find Balance by simply rocking back and forth on my feet until I found a stable foundation. The results from the biomechanics lab present a very different picture of Balance.

The left image is of Canadian and PGA Tours player Perry Parker. Notice the dowel pole attached to Perry's hip line. I am in the process of attaching the upper pole to his shoulder line. We are validating the use of the dowel poles to measure body lines in my golf schools and individual lessons.

Notice the wraps around Perry's ankles. That is the connection to the 1000 sensors in each of Perry's shoes. The light electrodes "lit up" as a result of the reflection from the camera flash. If you look carefully at the top corners of this picture you will see two of the eight high speed cameras that measure changes in the position of the light electrodes on the body and the dowel poles relative to a target line. An even closer look on either side of the green mat shows two of the light electrodes on the floor that represent a target line. Perry is standing on a green mat that has lines one inch apart and arranged in a straight line relative to the "target line." Each player is set up relative to that line on the green mat. Changes in body position are noted relative to this line. We are looking at over 75 different set up positions with each player, 20 swings and 20 putts. Each of those 75 set up positions represents a different position of Balance. We see club or putter path change with each change in balance.

Core Rotation

The following picture is of me on the range with a dowel attached to my hip line. Notice that the mat I am standing on has lines spaced 1 inch apart and parallel to a target line, the same reference points we are using in the lab. Also notice how much my hips rotate left. This rotation is actually coming from my "core."

This core rotation is the same we are seeing in all of the players in the lab. Not all of them have the same amount or direction of rotation I have here. Some rotate left and others right. I am set up on this mat with my feet shoulder width apart and no flare in either foot. My shoulder width is 19 inches measured tip to tip. My shoulder width stance is measured from the center of my right foot to the center of my left foot. The rotation you see in this picture is coming from my core. Your core is made up of the muscles on both sides of the body from your upper spine to your lower spine.

Also notice that my feet are on the same line and 90 degrees to that line. Foot flare changes the entire picture. I will address foot flare in a future newsletter.

This core rotation is represented in the following foot scan (left image). Note how much weight is loading into the left heel. Players with similar core rotation show this type of weight distribution.

The following picture (right image) shows me face on with my arms hanging "naturally" at my side in the same stance as the above pictures. Notice how much more my left hand rotates inward than my right. Both my core rotation and internal rotation of my left hand have significant implications for alignment and grip from this position if I am trying to set up in the textbook railroad track alignment: Square stance, Square hips and Square shoulders.

One of the things I have learned from the lab data is the importance of stance width. In the left illustration (click to enlarge) I have narrowed my stance.

Notice how much more my left hand rotates inward (left picture / click to enlarge) and how much more my core rotates open from this narrow stance (10 inches wide) in the following picture (right image).

The following scan (left image) shows what you would expect with increased core rotation left, more weight loading into the left heel.

The next illustration (right image) was a bit of a surprise when the research began. Notice that as I get wider my hips actually rotate the opposite direction, right. This is approximately my driver stance width. Playing from a square stance at this width I would get stuck or blocked and would not finish from this closed hip line. My stance width in this picture increased from 19 inches to 22 inches.

As you would expect, when my core rotates right, my weight will load more into my right heel. This is illustrated in the following photo (left image) from the lab foot scan with a player showing similar core rotation.

One of the more interesting characteristics of core rotation is the correction for balance. The following picture is a repeat of the first one you saw earlier in this newsletter. I am in my shoulder width stance (19 inches) and my core is rotated left.

You would think that for me to square my hip line that I would pull my right foot back. On the contrary, when I pull my left foot back as in the following photo I take the stress of my core and my hips square to the target line.

Notice that my left foot is pulled straight back and my hip line becomes square (parallel) to the target line. Also notice in the following picture what has happened to the internal rotation of my left hand. When my hips are parallel to my target line (square) my arms and hands hang in a more "neutral" position. This is important to me as I teach my students to assume their grip with their arms hanging naturally at their sides. As you can see from these illustrations, how a player stands determines how their arms will hang at their sides. This observation has major implications for how you should stand when you place your hands on the club and your alignment to the target line. If you have attended my golf school or individual lessons, you have the "correction strategy." Please use this as a reminder of how to stand when you assume your grip.

To date, I have measured the core rotation of well over 1,000 players. Every player is different. No two players have exactly the same core rotation and less than 2% of those measured show no core rotation from every stance width.

What should you take from this months tip? Your core rotation plays a major role in Balance and Balance creates club path. There are numerous set up positions that impact Balance.

If you attended my golf school, you may be wondering why I haven't done the "3 Minutes to Square" exercise program to correct my core rotation. Many of you have never seen my core rotation. That is because I do the "3 Minutes to Square" exercise every AM upon awakening. I purposely did not do the exercises prior to taking these pictures to show that it only takes 24 hours for my core rotation to return to an "open hip line" if I don't exercise. I also wanted to illustrate all of the set up problems that one part of Balance can create.

Next month I will show you how to check your core rotation.

Announcements: August Golf Schools:

Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club (Southern Orange County Area)

One Day: August 6 and August 21

Two Day: August 13 and 14

Three Day: August 26, 27 and 28

Golf Club of California (Northern San Diego Area)

One Day: August 8 and August 30

If you are in the Southern California area, please join me for an evening on the green at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo. August is the 5th month of our ongoing free lecture series. The lectures are generally the third Tuesday from 7 to 8 PM. The August date is still pending: Either August 16 or August 23, 2005

My next topic:

Visualization and Balance: Seeing Lines Accurately from the putting green to the tee box.

If you are interested, please email me for the August date.
makeaputt@cox.net

7 PM to 8 PM

Email this Article to a Friend