Since its official launch in August 2023, the BAL.ON Smart Kit, Continental’s first high-tech golf training aid, has seen PGA Professionals, Tour Pros, and amateur golfers in awe about its technology, functionality, and wide variety of use-cases in practice and play. Today, BAL.ON announces the signing of Alex Fitzpatrick, Esther Henseleit, and Matti Schmid as global brand ambassadors.
The trio represents what BAL.ON stands for: a continuous drive for improvement, finding the very own perfect swing, and inspiring golfers around the globe. A Wake Forest alumni and former Walker Cup player, Fitzpatrick has quickly and confidently made his way onto the DP World Tour after a breakout season during his first full year as a professional in 2023, featuring a 17th place finish in his first Major Championship appearance at the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, a second-place finish at the ISPS Handa World Invitational on the DP World Tour, and a maiden professional victory at the British Challenge on the Challenge Tour. Alex has amassed six top-20 finishes so far this season on the DP World Tour and is featured in Netflix’s “Full Swing” Season 2. Schmid also went to play college golf in the US, while Henseleit played most of her amateur career in Germany, representing the Hamburger Golf-Club and German national team. In their first seasons on tour, both Henseleit and Schmid won “Rookie of the Year” honours in Europe, a feat no lady and only two men from Germany have accomplished before. Currently, Schmid ranks comfortably inside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup, making the weekend for six straight tournaments, featuring three top-20 finishes as well as a tied 26th at THE PLAYERS Championship. Henseleit just had a career-best Major result, finishing seventh at the 2024 Chevron Championship, taking her up to a personal-best world ranking position at 72.
The number one mobile pressure analysis system on TOUR
“I am extremely excited to work with BAL.ON and be a part of this phenomenal team. It is a tremendous piece of technology you have developed and something golfers can use in every part of their games”, said Fitzpatrick during a content production day with BAL.ON earlier this year. “On a day-to-day basis , I specifically use the BAL.ON Smart Kit to make sure I am properly rotating on iron shots and in my short game, without getting the center of pressure moving too far on either trail foot or lead foot, but staying fairly centered. Something I found myself struggling with earlier on in the season, but having a tool now to check this wherever I am is an absolute game changer and helped me getting back on track very quickly. In driving however, my coach Mark Blackburn and myself want to see a good separation between center of pressure moving forward and center of mass staying behind the ball. Again, something I wouldn’t be able to work on in my normal schedule without the BAL.ON Smart Kit. It really is an everyday tool for me now – easy to understand and work with.”
Having gotten in touch with BAL.ON for the first-time end of 2023, Henseleit immediately took to the concept of a mobile pressure measurement system to use at home, on the range, in short game practice and on-course training. “I really like BAL.ON for so many reasons. It is great for showing me how I’m using the ground and how I can be more efficient, helping me gain speed and consistency, especially off the tee. It’s also been a great addition to my short game practice, understanding how my pressure points influence trajectory, spin, and feel”, said Henseleit after having worked with BAL.ON for a couple of months. “I am extremely happy to now join the team at BAL.ON as global brand ambassador and hopefully help many golfers out there improving their game.”
“Golfers are true athletes nowadays and working on ground interaction has been trending massively with top coaches around the world. It is imperative to get the fundament of your swing right, optimize timings and maximize power to gain a competitive edge”, explains Schmid, who has been working with pressure measurement systems in the past. “For me personally, it is key to record benchmark data on how I move. Thus, I have something to compare against when the swing feels a bit off. Now, with the BAL.ON Smart Kit, being able to do this on the go, on tournament practice days or even during warm-up, is a complete game changer! In the few months since I started using the BAL.ON Smart Kit, I have been amazed by its accuracy and usability and I am confident it will help me to become more successful than ever. I am proud to represent BAL.ON as their first brand ambassador on the PGA Tour and am very excited on the things to come!”
Elite athletes and great personalities
“Alex, Esther and Matti represent the present and future of global golf and we couldn’t be prouder to welcome them into our team at BAL.ON. They are elite athletes and great personalities, carrying our values of high-level performance and relatability to all golfers regardless of playing level. Hard work, dedication, and talent have brought them towards the pinnacle of professional golf and their undisputed hunger for more will get them places. We are thrilled they have chosen BAL.ON as their go-to training tool and swing analysis system.” – Felix Lindner, Head of BAL.ON
“We are very fortunate to have won Alex, Esther and Matti as global brand ambassadors for BAL.ON. Not many young sports brands get the chance to work with professional athletes this early on, yet this step is a testament to our commitment for excellence. We are trusted by the best players in the game and provide value to their training and development, so we are confident to provide equally as much value to the everyday golfer. Alex, Esther and Matti will help us getting our message out to PGA professionals, retailers, and golfers.” – Martin Bock, Head of Marketing at BAL.ON
Specifications, Availability and Pricing
The BAL.ON Smart Kit, the first affordable and fully mobile high-class solution in the category of pressure measurement systems, is giving a wide array of players and coaches access to crucial data on golf biomechanics. Precise pressure data, captured with smart insoles featuring nine force sensing resistors each, gets combined with high resolution video material within the BAL.ON smartphone app: completely wireless and synchronized to the millisecond.
The BAL.ON Smart Kit consists of a pair of 2mm thin, pressure-sensitive insoles to be placed underneath or on top of a golfer’s original shoe insole, Smart Pods, and a smartphone app, all packaged in a slick training case. The Smart Kit is available in four different sizes, from S (EU 36–38) to XL (EU 45–47) at an RRP of £549 on www.bal-on.golf and at selected retail partners. A UK web shop is set to launch in May this year.
