Strive for balance

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

The position in which you finish is a direct by-product of how you swung the club. A balanced finish indicates you kept your balance during the swing, also denoting a solid strike. Similarly, an unbalanced finish signifies you lost your balance, also betokening a wayward shot.

Losing your balance during the swing robs you everything you want to get from it. Balance is one of the most essential elements of a graceful, dynamic golf swing that looks nice and easy.

Finding yourself suffering unrequited love for golf and unrewarding efforts, you are better giving your first priority to balance. Your endless love for golf and strenuous efforts to improve your ball-striking ability will soon bear fruit.

Indubitably, a prerequisite for a balanced golf swing is to set up without being off balance. It's essential to get your weight evenly distributed on the balls of the feet with the upper body bent from the hips.

Placing too much weight on the heels or toes puts you off balance, leaving you with very little chance of hitting the ball solidly in the center of the clubface. Contact with the ball will be on either the heel- or toe-side of the clubface.

Stand over the ball a little farther away from the ball if contact is made on the heel-side of the clubface and stand closer when contact is made on the toe-side. That allows you to properly set the bodyweight on the balls of the feet at address.

Crucially, make a point of feeling your feet staying vital, live and active, the knees slightly flexed.

The best way to maintain balance and enjoy solid contact with the ball in the center of the clubface is to swing at no more than 75 percent of your potential power. That keeps the club quiet at the top of the backswing, preventing you from rushing down to the ball. When you swing down at a leisurely pace as if you were swinging a pitching wedge, it becomes easier to keep your balance and release the club properly and fully.

When you make a short pitch shot, you don't use all your force. It is important to be clear about the fact that a full swing is basically a longer version of a balanced pitch shot that is made without brute force and at a sedate pace.

Too fast a swing tempo costs balance, forcing you to either straighten up or dip at impact, with the result being a skulled shot or a chunk.

Similarly, you will be off balance when you over-swing, or rather take the clubshaft beyond the point where it is parallel to the ground at the top of the backswing. Over-swinging tends to throw your timing, making it hard to keep your balance.

To fix an over-swinging problem, check in a mirror at the top of the backswing if the side tilt of the spine to the right away from the target is maintained. The spine should not be leaning toward the target.

Also important is to check on your bodyweight, which needs to be on the right leg at the top. Without a doubt, you need to maintain the flex in the right knee so it is not pointing outside the right foot.

Equally crucial is to keep the left arm relatively straight. You need to avoid bending it too much at the elbow.

Similarly, be sure that the last three fingers and the fleshy pad of the left hand are not separated from the handle of the club.

Importantly, check to see if there is a gap between the thumb and index finger of the left hand. If they are not tightly pressed together, the handle of the club cannot stay secure during the swing, leading to over-swinging.

With a longer club, such as a driver, be sure that the clubshaft is horizontal to the ground and parallel with the heel line, while the shorter irons do not reach parallel. Entertaining the idea of over-swinging in the hope of more power and distance spells the opposite. It only interferes with timing, footwork, harmonious coordination among all parts of the body and, above all balance.