The first step toward improving your balance is understanding the problem. Once you know that your balance is an issue and it is negatively affecting your ball striking, you can get down to work on a solution. Of course, as is so often the case in golf, you can’t really expect to completely fix this issue overnight. Rather, it is going to take time and you are going to need to watch for progress along the way.

In this article, we will talk about how to make the most of your available practice time to improve balance. For now, however, we would like to highlight a few points to watch for as you seek improvement in this part of your game. When the following points start to show up, you’ll know that you are on the right track.

• Consistently solid contact. This point probably isn’t too surprising. If mishit shots are caused largely by poor balance, it stands to reason that improved contact will be associated with better balance. When you start to see that more and more of your shots are coming off the center of the clubface, you can feel good about what you are doing with your balance. It’s unlikely that your ball striking just suddenly got better all on its own, so you can be confident that your balance is the underlying reason for the step forward.
• Improved confidence over the ball. As you continue to make better and better swings, you should find that your confidence grows significantly over where it was when your balance was a problem. Confidence is not something you can fake, so any additional positive feelings you have in your game are certainly the results of progress that you have made. Added confidence is particularly valuable when it starts to show up on the course itself. It is one thing to have improved confidence on the driving range, but having newfound confidence on the course is really when you know you’re on the right track.
• Hitting the ball the right distance. The ability to hit your shots the right distance is an underrated part of playing quality golf. High-caliber golfers are generally able to hit the ball the right distance on a regular basis, even though no one is perfect in this regard. However, amateur golfers tend to struggle in this category, as mishitting the ball makes it nearly impossible to hit the ball the right yardage. As your balance continues to improve, you should notice that your shots are starting to fly the right distance with greater regularity. That improvement will help you plan your shots more accurately, and you’ll be a better golfer in the end.

It is all too easy to get frustrated on the golf course. Every round is going to have at least a few bad shots, and sometimes it will feel like you are stuck in neutral with regard to making progress in your game. With that in mind, it is helpful to watch for very specific signs of improvement that will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. As you work toward better balance, keep an eye out for any of the three signs of progress above.