A new game for the Nintendo Wii came out this week, it’s called “Wii Fit.”

I picked up a copy for my wife <ahem> and just to make sure it was working properly, I set it up and decided to give it a try.

After playing it for about 40 minutes, I’ve got to say, I’m a fan. You pay $89 and you get a copy of the game and a pad. Here’s what the pad looks like for those wondering.

When you first start, the game asks you to step on the pad and it’ll ask you to enter your height and birth date and it’ll take your weight and give you your BMI (Body Mass Index). They say that a BMI of 22 is optimal and your favorite O-town golf blogger has a lovely 26.36. I’m 6’0 195, the game (and my wife) says I’m over weight.. I think its broke.. 🙂 It then tells you to relax and stand on the pad and it works out your center of balance (i’m assuming based of the weight displacement between your left and right foot). My center of balance is slightly left of the mark and it uses all the data to work out your Wii Fit age which mine is 38. I’m 27 according to the gregorian calendar.

You then set a goal for yourself, I’ve chosen to lose 22lb over 3 months which will lower my BMI to a 23.4.

The game has four training modes; strength, yoga, aerobics and balance games. Every training mode has a routine you follow and the more you play the game the more exercises and reps you’ll unlock. The game tracks your progress as you train and they throw in little nuggets of wisdom while your doing the exercises.

It’s pretty freaking cool. This game got me thinking about golf and how much a skewed center of balance could affect your swing.

I’m a lefty golfer and according to the game my center of balance is shifted to the left by about 1/2 an inch. So my theory is that because of this balance shift it’s likely that I’ll make contact with the ball on the upswing versus the down swing. Which, I believe causes a loss in carrying distance due to the angle of the club face on contact.

I plan on doing some research on this and post more about it later, but if any of your low handicap hackers have any insight, feel free to comment or email.

I found this article while briefly searching for balance, I like the finding a chair in the dark portion. 🙂 I found myself trying to duplicate the exercise in the office and started making fun of myself…

The Perfect Address – And It’s Not Madison Avenue! by Bobby Lopez, PGA

The formal definition of “address,” as used in golf, is to place the club behind the ball and take a stance in preparation to hit it. It may be beneficial to think of this act as being akin to addressing an envelope. The envelope’s address tells you where it is going.

Your address in a golf swing tells your body where it is going. Even if you are unaware of it, your subconscious mind understands this principle.

The address encompasses all aspects of the setup. These include grip, stance, posture, alignment, aim and balance. Balance is one of the more overlooked aspects of the golf swing, yet is one of the ultimate goals in achieving a proper golf swing. For this reason, we will cover it now.

Balance in the Beginning Brings Balance in the End.

Balance in all body positions is the ultimate goal of the address. Exaggerated positions in the opening stance lead to exaggerated motions and/or compensations throughout the swing. Balance is present in all athletic motions.

When you see a graceful athletic motion, your eye recognizes the balance in both movement and timing. With golf, you have the luxury of a static starting position. Most players, unaware of the importance of setup, turn the luxury into a burden.

The First Balance Point: Foot Placement.

Width of Stance- How far apart should you set your feet? The most common advice is to plant them at approximately shoulder width, (measuring from your heels or insteps) for the five iron, then increase the width slightly for longer clubs and decrease it for shorter ones. This is an excellent reference point from which to begin, and is probably suitable for most players. The proper width for you is the one that provides the best balance between stability and movement.

Your stance should be wide enough for stability, but not so wide that it inhibits proper hip and shoulder rotation. It’s OK to experiment with slight width adjustments, provided that balance is paramount in your mind.

Angle of Feet- Your feet should be turned out slightly. Many golfers have been trained to set the back foot perpendicular to the target, but for most players this will inhibit the kind of upper body rotation needed to generate power and control. The outward turn of the front foot will encourage continued rotation to a proper finish. The angles can be adjusted slightly to add or inhibit rotation mistakes in the swing.

Ball Position Within Stance – Since consistent ball striking is our goal, consistent hand position is vital. We do not want to have thirteen different hand placements for thirteen different clubs. You will find different theories on where the hands should be at address. However, I would say that your ball position must match your angle of attack (your path to the golf ball).

The various clubs will determine the ball position. Each club’s manufacturer has designed its club to sit in a particular position. In general, the shorter clubs (6 iron thru SW) will sit primarily in the center of your stance. The longer clubs will gradually move forward, (club head only) in the stance up to the driver. The entire set will not move at all in the butt of the golf club, only the club head.

A consistent hand position will also increase the likelihood of making contact at the optimum point in the downswing. This will help you maintain the same club face angle at impact. Consistent club face angle and loft angle in every swing add up to more consistent direction and trajectory.

You need to find your ideal impact position and develop an address position that is similar but not identical. Of course there are special situations when it makes sense to move the ball in the stance. For instance, you may move the ball back in your stance if you need to keep the ball low or if you are positioned on a slope. However, please avoid significantly repositioning the ball to accommodate club length.

The Second Balance Point: Posture

We will use “posture” to refer to several body angles, all of which are connected. Again, the overall objective is to create balance. Good posture in the address encourages balanced body positions throughout the swing.

The Primary Bend Point:

Since all parts of the body are connected, it is somewhat misleading to say that any one part of posture is the most important. However, one of the most common breakdowns occurs in the bend between the upper and lower body.

Many players make the mistake of bending toward the ball by using their lower back and waist. This posture results in a disconnected position between legs and torso, preventing their proper interaction. It also makes it impossible for the player to rotate the upper body on a level plane.

The hip bend desired for a golf swing can be compared to the movement made when trying to find a chair seat in a dark room. Imagine for a moment the kind of movement your body makes to sit in a chair. Imagine you are in a dark room and you are not sure how tall the chair is. Your first move would be to lower your buttocks. You would bend your knees and drop your rear slowly, keeping the center of balance over the balls of your feet. If you simply bent forward at the waist, you wouldn’t get any closer to the chair.

When addressing the ball, you should experience this sensation of bending at the hips, forcing the buttocks back slightly. The result will be a relatively straight spine angle from the hips to the lower part of the shoulder blades. This posture is similar to that of quarterback awaiting the snap of the ball from the center.

Try to keep your balance in the center of your feet. If you are centered, you should be able to shift your weight toward your toes or heels without losing balance. It is helpful to stay somewhat “light” on the feet; don’t plant them like a tree. If you could choose a part of the foot as a fulcrum, it would be just at the back of the ball of the foot, in the higher part of the metatarsals.

The knees should bend slightly, just enough to keep your weight centered in the feet as your torso bends forward. A player with good posture should have the shoulder blades and knees relatively in line with the balls of the feet. In other words, you should be able to draw a straight line down through the shoulder blades and knees to the center of the feet. This is a good mental image to hold when setting up.

The Third Balance Point: Position of Arms and Shoulders.

Arm position is closely related to grip. With a neutral grip the arms are more likely to hang freely and naturally. This is the feeling you should try to develop in the arms. Any type of muscle tension or contrived arm position indicates a problem. With an athletic swing, the arms will move naturally in response to the centrifugal force created by turning the center (the hips and torso). A good setup makes this pendulum action possible.

With a proper grip, the front arm will be relatively straight, but it should not be stiff. Golfers have often been told to keep their left arm straight and in line with the club shaft. Many players try so hard to accomplish this that they develop an awkward, tense setup.

The right arm will be bent slightly, but not to such a degree that it severely pulls down the right shoulder. A right shoulder too low during address will encourage a vertical rather than horizontal rotating motion.

The player will also tend to lay back instead of following through properly. Then the player will be forced to use the hands to compensate for the incomplete body rotation. The result: inconsistency.

It is natural for the right shoulder to be slightly lower than the left, because of the right hand position on the grip, but be careful to avoid extremes. The shoulders should feel relaxed as you are setting up.

With a good arm position you will notice that the elbows point approximately at the hip joints. The arms should be just far enough from the body to allow natural extension. The position is a matter of personal preference but you should have room for your arms to hang down naturally from your shoulders. Choose your own balance point but be aware of the danger of extremes.

What happens if your hands are in too close? If the hands are too close to the body at address, the club will have to swing on too vertical a swing plane. This will cause you to take too deep of a divot, and usually causes a weak slice. Vice versa, if the hands are too far away, this promotes a very inside take-away and you will lose the proper angle of attack for the ball. Once the angle is lost, your body will create a “compensation” to get proper ball contact. This will cause various ball flights and great inconsistency.

Open Shoulders (shoulders aimed to the left)

Typical Cause: Positioning the hands too forward in the stance.

Remedy: Place a golf club on the ground in the direction of your intended ball flight and square your shoulders to the golf club.

Typical Ball Flight: Pull if the club face is square to the path, pull slice if the club face is open.

Closed Feet, (feet aimed to the right)

Typical Cause: Lifting of the back to look at the target area.

Remedy: Only swivel the head to look at the target.

Weight Too Much On Heels

Typical Cause: Bending as if you’re sitting on a bar stool.

Remedy: Bend from the hips and maintain weight on the balls of your feet in an athletic pos

Get a FREE online golf lesson from the Golf Swami at:

Bobby Lopez, PGA
Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM
(757) 382-5500 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (757) 382-5500      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
bobbylopez@bobbylopezgolf.com
www.bobbylopezgolf.com
http://golftipsbobbylopez.blogspot.com/

Article Source: Golf Articles

-Dave

Save up to 70% on tee times when you book on GolfNow.com Today!