Ground force reaction in golf
A hot topic in golf right now is Ground Reactive Force/Ground Force Reaction. This concept is based on Newton’s Third Law: for every action there is an EQUAL and opposite reaction. See, you should have paid better attention in high school physics. The more the golfer can push into the ground the more spring he/she can get out of it. But, this does not mean you should actively push into the ground. Doing this would make it very hard to turn on your feet in the correct manner needed to hit a golf ball.
If you cannot push actively into the ground where does this spring come from? Squatting! Yes, good ol’ fashioned squatting. An exercise you will do the rest of your life whether you realize it or not. No, we don’t torture you with squats just for the fun of it. Most PGA players squat 1-2 inches in their backswing. Some long drive competitors go down as much as four inches. Then on their downswing they come up out of their squat and go past where they set up. PGA players come out of their squat an average of two inches past their set up angle. That means they are coming up four inches from the bottom of their squat.
And, as most of you know, some PGA players are actually jumping in the air to get even more power out of their squat. Watch how far Rory squats at the end of his backswing/beginning of his downswing and then notice how far out of the squat he comes during his downswing.
Rory McIlroy's Powerful Driver Swing | TaylorMade Golf
The vertical jump is a great exercise to increase our ground reactive force. There is actually a correlation between vertical jump and driving distance. Which means the higher you can jump the farther you can hit the ball. Lastly, squatting in your backswing can also give you a positive attack angle on the ball. But, we’ll leave you that little nugget to take up with you swing coach. Watch Titelist’s Dr. Greg Rose explain more about this topic below.
Tips From TPI: Vertical Jump and Power in Golf
Author: Brian Maginn, TPI Certified Fitness Trainer