Static and dynamic balance control in older golfers

Purpose: To determine whether older golfers have better static and dynamic balance control than older but nongolfing healthy adults. Methods: Eleven golfers and 12 control participants (all male; 66.2 ± 6.8 and 71.3 ± 6.6 yr old, respectively) were recruited. Duration of static single-leg stance was timed. Control of body sway was assessed in single-leg stance during forward and backward platform perturbations. The lunge distance normalized with respect to each participant's height was used to compare the 2 groups in a forward-lunge test. Results: Golfers maintained significantly longer duration in static single-leg stance. They achieved less anteroposterior body sway in perturbed single-leg stance and lunged significantly farther than did control participants. Conclusions: The better static and dynamic balance control exhibited by older golfers possibly reflects the effects of weight transfers from repeated golf swings during weight shift from 2-leg to predominantly 1-leg stance and from walking on uneven fairways.