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THE BALANCE SYSTEM: There are two important characteristics of balance:
1. Balance is the organizing principle of a good swing. That is one reason you see so many different swings ranging from Bubba Watson and Jim Furyk to Nick Price and Fred Couples. Each different, but all the parts self organized around balance.
2. Balance can be cultivated and you can put its self organizing powers to work.
The Concept In Detail
To understand the concept of balance a distinction should be made between "street" balance and "golf" balance.
Evolution has given you a balance system that keeps you safe from falling. It's composed of tiny sensors located throughout your body, primarily in your muscles, joints and in the form of fluid, in your inner ear. Your brain receives a continuous flow of information about the position of your body and gives orders to your muscles to regain your balance whenever your body is in danger of falling.
This unconscious self preservation system is what I call street balance and while it can save your life, it can also ruin your golf swing.
The point is that because of the survival importance of remaining upright, your brain attaches a great deal of significance to any message that says "this container is falling over" and when it receives such a message, it automatically acts to recover.
This reflexive action is called the "Righting Instinct" and its power to control your body is supreme. Hit some ice while skiing and back on your heels you go; slip on a banana peel and out shoot your arms; trip over the rope that cordons off the green from golf carts, and you'll dance an inadvertent jig to regain your street balance.
The contorted arrangements (tilted spine, body bowed, left side straight, right side flexed, head back, hip ahead etc.) involved in hitting a golf ball is golf balance. The key is to undergo these distortions from the norm WITHOUT TRIGGERING THE RIGHTING INSTINCT because if you do, street balance will override golf balance every time. And when it does, it will prevent you from arriving at the impact configuration necessary for good shot making. You won't fall down but you'll ruin your shot.
For more on Balance see "The Thirty Second Swing" and "It's Good for Your Game."
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