March 9, 2009 -- Once again, this year's Honda Classic proved to be one of the most exciting events on Tour.

Y.E. Yang's well-balanced swing provided all the power and accuracy he needed to earn his first PGA Tour win. (Photo: Getty Images)

Y.E. Yang held on to win his first PGA Tour event by one shot over John Rollins. It was a close tournament with a lot of action and drama all four days. Yang prevailed in large part because of his ability to maintain his poise when things got tight, not always an easy thing to do on what is one of the Tour's tougher layouts. He also showed that he has a great short game and a powerful on-balance golf swing. These are critical components to have at all times, but especially when the pressure of trying to win starts to mount.

The lesson learned this week is that you can also benefit if you learn to hold your finish position like Y. E. Yang did at this past week's Honda Classic.

Maintaining your balance while swinging the golf club should be the first consideration for any student learning or playing golf. Here are two drills that will help you develop better balance in your golf swing.

Drill 1: Take a short iron and hit a few dozen balls at half speed. Pick a target half your normal distance and hold the "pose" until the golf ball stops. Pose as if your picture were to be taken. Next, take a longer golf club (7 iron or hybrid) and do the same. Make sure to swing easy. Finish with some drivers.

Drill 2: Take a 7 iron and tee up a golf ball. Start with feet together. Swing from shoulder to shoulder with the focus on keeping your head steady. This drill teaches you how to swing the hands and arms properly and promotes good balance. Hit a few buckets. Then take your normal stance and remove the golf tee.

Practice these drills whenever you go to the range and your balance will improve and thus, so will your ball striking. Remember that "practice makes permanent" but "perfect practice makes perfect".

I noticed during the final round that Brett Quigley and John Rollins also held their finish positions well. In other words, like Madonna's lyric in her hit song Vogue -- "strike a pose" like these great ball strikers do and you may find yourself in the hunt of your club championship or other big tournament. At the very least, you'll find yourself putting up better scores and winning within your weekly foursome more and more.

If you need further help with your golf game, please remember to go see your local PGA professional.

Best in golf.

Chris Czaja is regarded as one of South Florida's top PGA golf instructors and is entering his 18th year at Boca West Country Club. A PGA Professional since 1993, Czaja was the 2005 runner-up for South Florida's PGA Teacher of the Year and was nominated the past 2 years for Southeast Chapter PGA Teacher of the Year. Czaja is a graduate of East Carolina University and has also been one of the top playing PGA Professionals in the South Florida section. As a PGA Professional, Chris has won numerous chapter and section PGA events. He has played in 3 National Club Professional Championships and was a member of 3 South Florida Section PGA Cup teams. He also spends significant time involved in a number of national and community charities. Chris can be reached at onplane2@yahoo.com.