When working with clients or patients in the gym, we always focus on correct alignment and posture for exercising. Some people try and transfer what they do in the gym, directly onto the tee box when hitting the golf ball. Like any other sport, the golf swing has its own specific requirements for good technique. This includes a good stance and foot position. To perfect the finer details of the golf technique, one should follow the instructions of the Golf Pro, and not the gym instructor or even the Biokineticist.
When working together with the Golf Pro and getting an understanding of what is required for great golf technique, a Biokineticist can prescribe exercises to condition a person’s body in such a way that the correct technique becomes easier when playing golf. Following advice from both professionals and practicing these instructions through repetition – on the range and in the gym respectively – will ensure that exercise compliments one’s golf. One shouldn’t think about the gym exercise technique when on the golf course. The benefits of exercise should become automatic in your golf stance and swing.
In this article we’re looking at the physical factors that influence the address position in golf, and specifically the foot position. We will analyze it, and then look at some practical tips and exercises to promote a good, stable stance:
Foot position:
Setting up with your feet shoulder width apart will produce a balanced, solid base. Feet that are too close together limit hip stability while feet that are too far apart will cause the knees to collapse in towards the middle. This will impair your stability and rotation in the hip joints. People with weakness in the Gluteus muscles are more susceptible to this. One should be able to draw a line from the hip, through the knee, down to the foot. Knees should not come in and “break” this line in the address position.
Some coaches used to make players put a soccer ball between the knees to keep the knees apart. To hold a ball between the knees activates your Adductor muscles (inner thigh). Once the ball is taken away, you have actually aggravated the problem through creating over-active Adductors.
An easy exercise to combat this is the following:
Put your legs together and tie a Thera-band (elastic) around your legs just under the knees. Then put your feet shoulder-width apart and maintain the alignment. One has to now activate the Gluteus muscles to keep the knees apart, and this will give you more stability in your hips.
As William A. Foster once said: “Quality is never an accident: It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”
Jan Fourie
Biokineticist
