A Deep Dive Into Pressure Mapping Technology
Quick Summary
The Bal.On training aid offers professional-grade pressure mapping technology that fits in your shoes, providing immediate feedback on weight transfer patterns throughout your golf swing.
Most golfers will want to use these for their long game, but this is also a great tool for giving insights into your short game and putting mechanics.
Super easy to set up and use, weight transfer and pressure analysis is a niche focus which golfers need to consider before buying.
Perfect for:
– Golf coaches
– Tech-savvy golfers
– Players focused on technical improvement
✓ Excellent accuracy and data quality
✓ Easy to use and transport
✓ Professional-grade feedback
✓ Versatile for full swing and short game
Not ideal for:
– Casual golfers
– Those who prefer feel-based learning
– Budget-conscious players
✗ Premium price point
✗ May be overwhelming for some users
✗ Requires commitment to data-driven practice
As a golf coach, I’ve always understood the importance of understanding pressure and weight transfer during the golf swing when coaching, but until recently, accessing this data required expensive force plates costing thousands of pounds. For many years I ran the golf biomechanics for elite players at Leeds Beckett University and our two force plates cost £80k in total!
The Bal.On sensors change this, offering professional-grade pressure mapping technology that fits right in your shoes. In this review, I’ll share my testing experience and help you decide if these sensors are worth adding to your practice routine
Technology & Build Quality
The engineering behind these sensors is impressive. Despite being incredibly thin and lightweight, each insole contains 18 micro-thin pressure sensors (9 under each foot) that capture detailed data about weight distribution from heel to toe and side to side.
The sampling frequency is high enough to capture the rapid weight shifts during a golf swing, providing precise feedback throughout your motion.
The build quality is excellent – these aren’t flimsy insoles that will wear out after a few uses. They’re designed to withstand regular use and can be placed either above or below your existing insoles, making them versatile for both personal use and coaching scenarios.
Performance Analysis
It’s tricky to benchmark these against anything as they are the only real product on the market with this tech. Also, the sensors show you trends and relative data in heatmaps vs numeric values.
In testing, the sensors seem very accurate and responsive. Walking around, swiftly moving from foot to foot and heel to toe shows a very responsive change in the app. Also, mimicking different types of weight shifts in a golf swing is really well reflected in the app.
The Bluetooth connection to the app is stable, and the synchronisation with video recording is seamless. What really impressed me was the immediate feedback – within 30 seconds of setup, you’re getting great data about your pressure patterns.
The pressure mapping is particularly revealing for:
– Setup position analysis
– Weight transfer during the full swing
– Short game pressure patterns
– Putting stroke stability
How should golfers use the Bal.On swing analyser?
Swing analysers and training aids don’t magically cure your swing. Rather, they provide you with clear feedback on certain parameters. If you want to work on your strike, low point or improving distance then these could be a great pick for you.
If you are after more distance and feel your weight transfer is sub-optimal, these will also be a brilliant addition to your practice sessions.
Long game analysis
When you have these in your golf shoes, you can see a live feed of your pressure. This allows you to see where your weight is at setup and how it moves through your backswing and downswing.
You can toggle the analysis between a synced trace (left), a percentage score for setup, backswing and downswing (not shown) and the swing metrics tab which aims to rate different aspects of your kinetics (right).
If you switch to live capture in the Bal.On app it will try to automatically register your swing and sync it with a video it captures through the front camera. This missed the odd swing in our testing but worked pretty well.
Bal.On provides a scoring system for your pressure data, and although this can be handy I would advise against following it in the hope you’ll start driving it like Rory McIlroy. It will guide you to what is generally a good pressure and weight transfer, but in my past role, running the biomechanics analysis for elite players I’ve seen tour winners with almost reverse pivot pressure patterns.
So use this as a good guide and for feedback, but it won’t guarantee you elite golf.
Short game
As we touched on earlier. I feel this tool has a great place for golfers trying to work on their short game and putting. Many golfers struggle with their strike and low-point control, and the Bal.On will give these golfers awareness of where their pressure starts and what happens throughout their chipping and pitching action.
Putting
Pace control is a key part of becoming a great putter and over the years I’ve worked with many players who struggle with strike and roll. The Bal.On won’t solve all of these issues, but it provides great data on pressure at set up and how stable a golfers is during their stroke.
When I was testing them, I was quickly made aware of how much pressure I have on my front foot and through my toes on my lead foot. This kind of feedback is really valuable and can’t always be seen with video analysis.
Ease of Use & App Experience
The app interface is intuitive and well-designed. You can quickly:
– Record swings with synchronized pressure data
– Review pressure patterns in slow motion
– Track progress over time
While the app does provide scoring metrics for weight transfer, I’d caution against treating these as absolute truths – I’ve seen Tour players succeed with unconventional patterns. One players we analysed at Leeds Beckett had what would be deemed a ‘reverse pivot’ and still won on Tour that year.
Golf Insider Verdict
The Bal.On sensors represent excellent value for serious golfers and coaches. They provide unique insights previously only available through much more expensive systems. For coaches, they’re almost essential tools for modern instruction. They will give you more insight as a coach, but critically they will give your students clear feedback and data to help them accelerate their learning.
For individual golfers, the value depends on your commitment to technical improvement and what you are working on. If you are going through a one-off swing change on weight transfer, I wouldn’t worry about buying them.
However, if you have long-standing issues with weight transfer, balance and a poor setup, these offer a great tool. They also offer great data for golfers working on improving their driving distance and forces along with products like The Stack System.
Pricey, very niche but they are an excellent product and super easy to use.
Alternative Options
- BodiTrak Portable Force Plates
- Swing Catalyst Pressure Plates
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the battery last?
The guidelines suggest 26 hours and we’re yet to hit a limit after several hours of continuous use, easily lasting multiple practice sessions.
Can they be used with any shoes?
Yes, they’re designed to fit any golf shoes, but you do need to pick the right size for you (small, med, large). The medium size will be a good choice for coaches who want to use these with a range of golfers.
Being slightly too small means they’ll fit in any shoe and still give good coverage of the entire pressure distribution. Too big and they won’t fit into your shoe.
How should I use these as a coach?
There is the issue of hygiene if you plan to swap these from shoe to shoe, but Bal.On have a mode in the app for ‘use under sole’. This allows you to place them under the insole of a golf shoe and still get great data.
Do I need a subscription?
No, it’s a one-time purchase with free app access.
Happy golfing – Will @ Golf Insider