Checking in with Team Canada

A powerful balancing act

Golf Canada Magazine

Balance and the connection between your foot and the ground is an important part of your golf swing.  This is how you will have the ability to develop power and consistency on the course.  The key parts are ankle mobility and having a strong, stable foot in a properly fitting golf shoe.

Since Fred Couples started using comfort golf shoes it seems there has been an explosion in the number of golfers moving from the more traditional ridged shoes.  These comfort shoes are great for walking the 8 km course, however, they don’t offer as much stability during the golf swing as traditional rigid shoes.  Finding the right balance in comfort and lateral stability are keys for your game’s success.

Having a properly fitted golf shoe is also crucial to enhancing the connection of your foot to the ground.  Here are some tips for choosing the right shoe:

The foot works incredibly hard during your four hours on the course.  Some common injuries we often see as golf physiotherapists include:

EXERCISES

Here are three exercises to improve the mobility of your ankle, your standing balance and the co-ordination of the muscles in your foot.

MOBILITY

Sit or kneel down with your calf as relaxed as possible.  Hold a golf club so that the middle of the shaft is in contact with your calf.  Pull the club up and down your calf looking for trigger points (which are sensitive spots in the muscle).  Then, gently, using the shaft, massage out the trigger points for 20 seconds.  This improves your calf flexibility.

STANDING BALANCE

Stand with your hands on your hips.  Balance on one leg with your opposite leg bent to 90 degrees.  Keeping your big toe on the ground, balance as long as possible without stepping the opposite foot down. Work on completing two 20-second sets per leg.

MUSCULAR CO-ORDINATION

With your ankle relaxed, lift your big toe off the ground while keeping the rest of the toes on the ground.  Set the big toe back down and lift the rest of the toes whilst pushing the big toe firmly to the ground.  Alternate back and forth in a smooth coordinated way for 20 seconds; repeat three times.  You can progress this exercise from sitting, to standing, to standing on one leg.


A powerful balancing act

This article was originally published in the June 2015 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.