BAL.ON Smart Kit Review

BAL.ON Smart Kit Review

There are countless training aids out there to help us improve but perhaps none as technologically advanced and at the same time as affordable as the new BAL.ON Smart Kit, produced by automotive manufacturing giants Continental. This cleverly designed piece of kit allows golfers and their coaches to measure the amount of force applied through their feet and then into the ground while making a swing. The most impressive thing about it, though, is it’s all measured through two extremely slim shoe insoles and derived from an internal competition within the Fortune 500 company.

While there have been ways to measure force in the golf swing for some time now, noticeably through the likes of force plates, there has been nothing quite as easy to set up and mobile as the BAL.ON Smart Kit. The whole package feels as though it weighs less than a packet of crisps, can easily be stored in your golf bag and can be purchased for £549 - significantly less than some of its competitors. While there is other golf tech on the market will measure up to four types of force, the BAL.ON Smart Kit only measures vertical force. However, even as a golfer who has a good understanding of the golf swing and ways to generate force and power, even I would be overwhelmed by the amount of data if there was more to unpack.

The kit itself comes in a neat case, where everything inside is ready to be assembled with the help of some simple directions, just like all the best golf accessories. The insoles are each fitted with nine pressure sensitive pads strategically placed around the areas of the foot where most force is applied through the golf swing. The insoles come in different sizes, and the sensors will measure up to 50kg of force. For reference an average human standing still will only generate 6.5kg of force in each sensor and so the device can handle the power of Long Drive competitors - it’s safe to say I wasn’t close to exceeding the limit!

The components all felt very premium and paired almost instantly via Bluetooth to my phone, where I had downloaded the BAL.ON app. While the pressure sensitive insoles are designed to be worn under your normal insoles, they will also work on top of them, if you cannot remove the ones already embedded. I did struggle to replace the insole of my G/FORE Gallivanter shoes smoothly back on top of the BAL.ON insoles, which was a little frustrating when assembling the kit prior to testing in the car park of the golf club.

When up and running however you wouldn’t know the insoles were in the shoes down to how light and thin they are. The smart pods that hang from the side of your shoes were a little annoying when walking around and so despite the fact the sensors could handle you playing on the course with them under your feet, the constant hitting against the side of your shoes when walking was somewhat irritating.

The app lets you easily record each swing and provides feedback on your pressure at setup, top of backswing and impact. If there is room for improvement, which for me there was plenty, there are training tutorial videos showing drills on where and how you could improve your force output, helping you make a better and more efficient swing. For me, the BAL.ON Smart Kit has to be considered one of the best golf gadgets out there.

I can see the BAL.ON Smart Kit and app being extremely useful for golfers who hang back through the ball and want better weight transfer, as well as for coaches to have in their arsenal for helping their students understand swing mechanics better. This clever device is currently only available in the UK and select European countries, although there are plans for it to be released in the US and further worldwide in 2024.