Ask A Professional: Can Foot Orthotics Improve My Golf Game?

Can Foot Orthotics Improve My Golf Game?
By: Deny Dallaire, B.Sc., C.Ped (C)Certified Pedorthist (Canada) with Thera-Ped Moncton

Before I answer this question, let me begin by presenting you with the following situation: You're out on the golf course with friends. You have a good game going, but for some reason, your feet or legs start to ache and everything seems to go wrong from the 15th hole on. If this has happened to you, it may not be because you're a terrible golfer. In fact, a Canadian Certified Pedorthist may be able to help.
One of the roles that our lower leg muscles play is to keep our feet in proper alignment, while standing and walking. When someone has improper alignment or mechanics in their feet, these muscles have to work much harder.
Any golfer will tell you that sometimes you need to take a difficult stance in order to hit your next shot, simply because of the lay of the land on the golf course. Spread this out over 18 holes and those lower leg muscles become fatigued. In fact, by the 15th hole, they are probably no longer very efficient at maintaining alignment. Since these muscles aren't working efficiently, the alignment in your legs, feet and arches can change. Consequently, your stance, and therefore your swing, changes. The results are poorly hit shots.
By using the many orthotic options available to them, Canadian Certified Pedorthists can help you to maintain proper alignment in your feet and legs throughout your game. As we all know, alignment is crucial to a good golf swing.
In the end, playing a good golf game is a question of practice, skill and luck. Therefore, the short answer to the question is NO; foot orthotics will not improve your golf game. What they will do however, is help maintain good foot and lower leg alignment and allow you to swing your best swing all the way through to the 18th hole. Who knows? Maybe you will save a couple of strokes after all…