I’ve never heard of Continental Bal.On? No worries. Neither did I until a little over a week ago.
After some internet research, a few phone calls, and a test run, I can say it’s something you’ll want to know about. That is if you are serious about your movement and understand the importance of balance.
At its most basic level, we’re talking about inserts for your golf shoes that serve as a pressure heat map for your swing. This is not new. What is new – and different – is the human interface, the user experience and the overall usability of the product. Continental Bal.On is designed to help you interpret the data it collects and then use that data to improve.
The story of what Continental Bal.On does is quite fascinating. Where it comes from and how the product came out can be even more interesting.
Continental ball. On: The backstory
We’ll get to the facts and features of Bal.On for now. First, what the hell is a “Bal.On?”
The interrelated concepts of balance and weight shift are fundamental to the golf swing. As a device that measures how well you shift your weight while staying balanced, the name Bal.On makes sense, in a nutshell. dot.com a kind of way.
“Before giving the brand a name, we asked: ‘What does the product actually do?'” explains Hendrik Stoffel, Marketing and Development Manager at Continental Bal.On. “Naturally the name came to be about balance . So Bal.On means Balance On.”
That explains the second half party, but what about Continental, the first half party?
If the logo looks familiar, it should. Continental Bal.On is part of tire and automotive giant Continental AG, headquartered in Hanover, Germany.
Continental was founded in 1871 as a rubber company. It began manufacturing tires in 1898 and is credited with producing one of the first treaded tires in 1904.
As Continental evolved, it branched out beyond tires into all aspects of automotive manufacturing. Through development and acquisitions, the company now specializes in braking systems, engine and chassis components, high-tech dashboard systems and, most importantly for our discussion today, automotive electronics and sensors. It is now the third largest supplier of automotive manufacturing materials in the world, as well as the fourth largest producer of tires in the world.
However, unlike fellow rubber and tire giants Bridgestone and Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI to Srixon), Continental never jumped into golf.
“Being a rubber company, something like golf balls would be obvious,” says Stoffel, “but we never did that.”
Ironically, it wasn’t rubber, but electronic sensors that ultimately brought the Continental to golf.
What business are you? really in?
Companies stagnate and die for one simple reason:
They forget what business they are really in.
If Continental saw itself as just a tire and rubber company, it would never have reached its 153rd birthday.
“Our company motto is ‘The Future in Motion,'” says Stoffel. “It makes perfect sense that we would think outside the box.”
Beginning in the early 2000s, Continental expanded into electronics. It bought the automotive divisions of Motorola and Siemens and, in 2021, acquired a minority stake in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology company Recogni.
In 2018, Continental asked its brainiest employees to exercise their innate creativity by holding an Open Business Model Challenge. Continental selected 100 people from across the company and sorted them into 20 teams.
“We were challenged to think outside the box and come up with ideas to expand the company’s core business,” explains Stoffel. “The goal was to do something outside of the core business.”
One group didn’t just think outside the box. Completely ignored the box.
“One team decided on something completely crazy and out of the automotive industry,” says Stoffel. “They looked at our machine learning capabilities and 3D printable sensors and applied them to sports. The idea was to build a smart training product using our machine learning team.”
Since three of the five team members were golfers, this was the logical sport to target.
Of the 20 ideas proposed during the Open Business Model Challenge, Bal.On it was the only one to hit the market.
A matter of balance…
Bal.On starts with 3D printed pressure sensors placed in thin 2mm golf shoe inserts (you won’t feel them) to create a portable pressure mapping system. In this respect, it is very similar to products such as salty. The difference, however, is in its user interface.
Bal.On sensors connect to the connected app and can be used in two ways. The simplest is the “Live” mode. You will see a live silhouette of your feet and pressure shift points on your device in real time.
“The numbers will tell you how much balance there is in the heel and toe of each foot and between the left and right foot,” says Stoffel. “This is especially valuable for live training and immediate feedback.”
Then it is unique to Bal.On Swing Review Mode.
“You film your swing using the Bal.On app,” Stoffel explains. “Your swing pressure points are synced with frame-by-frame video of your swing. When you watch your video, you’ll get a heatmap graphic for each frame and a detailed graph that shows you how much weight you’re shifting in the swing back, when you transition and how much vertical thrust you produce.”
The Ball.On system measures several metrics during your setup, return and impact. The video sync determines the timing of your transition and when you start landing with your lower body. It also measures your swing rate and the ground force reaction or vertical thrust you create.
“The amount and especially the timing of the vertical drive has a lot to do with clubhead speed,” Stoffel says. “Then, based on your data, we give you some coaching to improve on the areas that will have the biggest impact on your movement.”
AI element
One must give Continental Bal.On some loans. With the rest of the golf world throwing “AI” around like a ball, Stoffel says that while the app says its coaching system is “AI-generated,” it’s more machine learning than anything else.
“We have metrics that we collect from your swing and we have input from some of the best players in the world. You are being evaluated on these metrics. The AI behind the data will suggest exercises to make your movement a little more efficient and a little better.”
You track progress in the app. It saves your sessions, outlines your improvements and provides you with coaching. Additionally, Bal.On hopes to work with coaches and instructors eager to use data and technology to help their players improve.
“Ground force reaction is something that most teachers understand, but many consumers don’t,” says Stoffel. “It’s vital that people understand that there is a correlation between how you interact with the ground and how fast and consistent your swing is.”
The Continental Bal.On system is easy to use even without a trainer. Most of the charts are easy to understand and you can easily identify your movement, speed and how you transfer your weight. However, the total pressure and how it develops in your movement over time is a little more complex. There is a simple scoring system behind it, but a coach can help with the nuances.
Continental Bal.On: What does it tell you?
Any good instructor will tell you that the golf swing starts from the ground. If your legs are straight, then your balance is on. When your balance is active (if you’re bal.on, get it?), your vibrations are in sync and good things will happen.
If you are unhappy, well…
The most intriguing element of Continental Bal.On is how the app syncs your swing video with the heat pressure map recording of your feet. The heat map shows how you distribute the pressure on your front and back legs during setup. The rearward motion metric determines how much pressure is then shifted to your rear foot (he recommends up to 80 percent, with most of it in the rear heel). This will tell you how well you are applying pressure to the trail leg, a key element for power.
It then measures pressure distribution at impact, with just over 70 percent on your lead foot with iron shots and just under 70 percent for driver shots. It will also know where the pressure is on your lead leg. Ideally, it should be centered and towards the heel to show good rotation of the hips and body towards the target.
Bal.On also measures how much vertical thrust you’re producing and when you’re producing it. Both are critical elements in creating and delivering power to your swing, along with the timing of your pressure shift and the tempo of your swing.
The Bal.On app measures all these metrics and presents them in a simple chart form. Chef’s Kiss is that it helps you interpret all that data and provides coaching to improve, thanks to the machine learning that Continental builds.
The data
For any training aid to be worthwhile, it must be easy to use. So far, our limited testing shows Continental Bal.On passing that test. Second, feedback should be easy to understand and act on. Again, based on our initial testing, Bal.On shows promise.
In our testing, Bal.On told me my weight distribution was perfect (100), while my backswing was still very good at 92. My vertical push time was spot on (another 100). Unfortunately, my max vertical thrust wasn’t so hot (47). I wasn’t doing a lot of vertical thrusts, but orally, I was getting the most out of what I was doing.
The impact was also 100. However, both transition and pace were a problem. Bal.On AI’s coach gave me some drills to work on my swing rhythm.
My coach, Steve Thomson of Golftec in Danvers, MA found the Bal.On helpful.
“If you’re working on where your lateral movement is being tracked, that will put some data behind it,” he says. “It’s very simple to use and tells you what’s going on.”
Continental Bal.On: Final Thoughts
At $599, the Bal.On Starter Kit is not for the casual golfer. For that kind of money, you better be serious about upgrading. The package includes insole sensors and rechargeable Smart Pods for each foot. The carrying case also includes a place to hold your phone so you don’t need a tripod or another person to hold your phone while you record your movement. It’s a small but useful touch.
Poles come in small, medium, large and extra large, based on your shoe size. There is a size guide on the website to help you choose the right one.
You can use Bal.On on the range or on the course (if your partners don’t mind you setting up your phone before each move). As with any machine learning, the more swings you input, the more the system will be able to compare your data to that of the elite pros and amateurs it has in its database. This allows the system to show your improvement and provide you with appropriate practice exercises.
As mentioned, the Bal.On Starter Kit costs $599 and is available at Continental Bal. On the website.
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