Experience Better Golf

“Single Leg Balance”

The Foundation of the Weight Shift

The Biomechanics: Why Golf is a One-Legged Sport Golf might look like it is played on two feet, but dynamically, it is a series of single-leg athletic movements. During the backswing, the majority of your pressure loads into the trail leg. During the downswing, you aggressively transfer that pressure into the lead leg.

If your brain does not trust your ability to balance on one foot, it will never allow you to commit your weight fully to that side. It will subconsciously keep your mass centered or falling backward to keep you from falling over.

The Golf Connection: The Domino Effect Poor proprioception (your body's awareness in space) and weak stabilizing muscles in the foot and ankle lead directly to weight-shift failures:

  • [Link: The Sway]: If your trail leg cannot stabilize the load in the backswing, your knee and hip will slide laterally over the outside of your foot.

  • [Link: Hanging Back]: If your brain does not trust your lead ankle to support your swinging body weight, it will actively prevent you from shifting forward, leaving you trapped on your back foot.

  • [Link: Loss of Posture]: Shaky balance forces the body to stand up and lock the joints to find stability, pulling you out of your spine angle.

The Self-Screen: The Blind Single-Leg Hold

Test your nervous system's proprioception (awareness in space).

  1. The Setup: Stand barefoot on a flat, hard surface.

  2. The Test: Lift your right knee up until your thigh is parallel to the ground (90 degrees). Put your hands on your hips.

  3. The Challenge: Once you are stable, close your eyes and hold the position.

  • ✅ PASS: You can hold this position with your eyes closed for 15 seconds without dropping your foot or hopping.

  • ❌ FAIL: You immediately lose your balance, your ankle shakes violently, or you have to open your eyes within 3 seconds to keep from falling.

The Protocol: Rewiring Your Balance

If you failed the screen, your ankles and glute medius (side-glute) are asleep. You must train barefoot to wake up the sensory nerves in your feet.

1. Barefoot Single Leg RDL (Romanian Deadlift) This builds immense stability in the ankle and hip while teaching the body to hinge properly.

  • Setup: Stand barefoot. Shift your weight entirely onto your left leg. Soften the left knee slightly (do not lock it straight).

  • The Action: Slowly hinge forward at the waist, kicking your right leg straight back behind you. Keep your back perfectly flat and your hips square to the ground. Go down until your torso is parallel to the floor, then slowly stand back up.

  • The Breathing Protocol: Inhale slowly and deeply as you hinge forward—this fills your abdomen with air to stabilize your spine. Exhale steadily as you push through your left heel to stand back up.

  • Reps: 8 slow, controlled reps per leg.

2. The "Airplane" Hip Hinge This builds dynamic balance while forcing the hip stabilizers to work.

  • Setup: Stand on your left leg, knee slightly bent. Spread your arms out to your sides like airplane wings.

  • The Action: Hinge forward, kicking your right leg back. Once your torso is parallel to the floor, slowly rotate your chest to the right (pointing your belly button to the wall), then rotate it back to the floor. Stand back up.

  • The Breathing Protocol: Inhale as you hinge. Exhale steadily as you rotate your torso, using the breath to brace your core so you don't fall over.

  • Reps: 5 slow, controlled reps per leg.