[golfbulldog]

I always felt balance was a by-product of good mechanics. Important, yes indeed. Most over looked- Start Down.

Hi Mike, if you read my old threads about balance then it probably comes as no surprise that I think that one can and should consciously use balance to improve mechanics...."balance drives, not balances is..." is what I said then and still believe...

Balance is the body's ability to maintain COG in an appropriate position relative to stance, in the context of forces acting upon the body (forces which may vary), so that the body as a whole can maintain a desired position. - my definition. Websters does theirs:-

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balance

If G.O.L.F. is about force management and maintaining stability of "stationary post" then balance in the very heart of G.O.L.F.. Adults have forgotten how to use balance to learn motor tasks - IMO.

Children ( and grandchildren - like Yoda's Annie ) I suspect are more used to learning motor tasks with their balance at the core... I think of kids learning to ski and then compare that to adults learning to ski... the subtle movements of the body are too refined to be learnt purely through "seeing" and copying them -ie. imitation...but they spent the first 2-4 years of their lives struggling and playing with gravity and the way their body reacts to gravity makes them experts in force management...maybe not consciously but experts none the less.

I also think waiters carrying trays...dashing through crowded restaurants, tray held above their heads... nobody would teach that through consciously telling an apprentice waiter how to move their body to counteract the wobbly glasses full of wine and beer...instead they use their hands controlled pivot technique....remember the sensor homunculus.... enormous hands....teach the young waiter to appreciate the varible forces through the pressure receptors in his/her fingertips and trust in balance is a more refined method.

I agree with Mrodoch, dynamic balance and footwork...my footwork improved alot when i consciously worked on balance...and the mechanics improved ... but , for me, balance was the first egg and mechanics my chicken.

Balance, being conscious of ones balance and improving balance are key to so many life techniques...gets alot worse with age sadly...