Swinging a golf club around your body at increasing speeds to accurately hit a small round object at a specific point on the ground requires good dynamic balance.
As the weight of the clubhead tries to pull away from you during the swing, if you are not in a position to contain this, whether you like it or not, your body will keep you from being pulled in that direction by automatically moving in the opposite direction to compensate.
This rebalancing is the cause of many swing problems golfers experience.
While golf shoes are great, their design can hinder your natural understanding and development of your dynamic balance throughout your technique as they can give you too much support. So rather than them enhancing your balance, we generally use them to sustain it.
Sam Snead, Rocco Mediate, and Charles Howell III have all practised barefooted to refine their dynamic balance.
I appreciate that this tip is unusual, but I guarantee after trying it you will have a better understanding of where your centre of balance is and how you maintain it throughout your swing.
TRY THIS…
Test your balance by holding your follow-through position for a couple of seconds. It’s a position many amateurs feel is unimportant as they can no longer influence the ball. But by holding your follow-through you will recognise balance problems in your swing and will actively encourage stability throughout it.
Scott Clark is a PGA teaching pro at the Colin Montgomerie Links Golf Academy at Turnberry. For lessons, call Scott on 01655 334190. Follow him on Twitter  @ScottClarkPGA
Originally published on bunkered on August 20, 2012.
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