Hey, guys and gals, Matt Walter here with Performance Golf Zone.
We're at the wonderful Vanderbilt Legends Club today, and what we're going to show you
is how to use a Tiger squat to maximize your distance with the long stick and hit some
big drives down-range.
So, today's video, I'm going to show you how to set up a drill so that you can work through
this and learn how to use your lower body to maximize power and increase club head speed
in the transition and into your downswing.
So, one of the main things that everybody talked about when Tiger was in his heyday
in the early 2000s was how much his head dropped when he started his transition into the hit
and into the delivery of the golf club into the ball.
So, the main thing about that move was, that's how Tiger was creating power in his downswing
and how he was creating that massive amount of club head speed that he was able to generate
and hit it by everybody in the field about 40 yards.
So, the move I'm going to help you do today may not hit it as far as Tiger, but I'm going
to help you maximize some more distance into your game.
So, what did Tiger do so effectively different, and how was he able to use the ground to create
that pressure so that he could create that club head speed?
So, the best way I would think about it is, when you're making your golf swing and you're
in that transitional move, Tiger is basically shooting a jump shot.
So, it would be, the effective way of thinking about it would be, if you were going to shoot
a little jumper, you have to squat and explode up.
Well, what Tiger was doing was effectively that, and what I see a lot of golfers doing
right now in their golf swing is that they take the basketball, shoot, and then try and
jump, or they jump and then try and shoot.
So, they're not timing up the sequence of when that explosion has to happen, and so
because of that, you can create a flip, you hit the high flare-out to right field.
And so, you have to be able to sequence the motion to match up with what you're trying
to do.
So, let's talk about how that works.
So, first of all, we have our alignment stick.
That's lined up towards our target.
And then, I want you to take a second stick, and what's going to happen here is, we're
going to set up roughly where we feel like we would set up to the ball, and we're going
to put that alignment stick down right between our cheeks, straight up behind us.
The reason for this is, when we work through this drill, what we don't want, is our butt
to move into the golf ball because that would be a weird way to jump, one, but two, it would
push our pelvis into the golf ball and tilt our plane, and really mess up impact, and
it could result in a lot of heels/shanks, which we definitely don't want.
So, when we're set up, we should barely be able to feel that stick touching your rear
end, and it should feel pretty much right between your two cheeks.
Now, the reason why it's there is that, when you're at the top, your right cheek should
be kind of moving around it, and then, when you're at that top position, you want to try
and push both cheeks back against that stick.
And the reason for that is, if you can get your butt to move away from the ball, you
can start to get that feeling of loading your lower body and it going back into a more forward
bend, and getting a little bit more pressure down so that you can start to explode up.
So, the feeling has to become that you're kind of squatting, or I'll tell people to
sit in the chair, but the feeling is such that when you're at the top of your backswing,
what I will look for players to do is to try and push from their lead toe of their front
foot, so their left toe if you're a right-handed golfer, push their pelvis back so that their
hips get back to square to the target line, parallel to the target line.
They're putting pressure back against that stick, and they do all that before their left
arm gets parallel to the ground.
So, that little bit of a move is, you have a full turn, you sit that butt back to that
stick, left arm's roughly parallel to the ground, and then you start to push up as you
go into the hit and go around to your follow-through.
So, the main achievement here is that you're trying to increase that bend forward.
Now, if I were to go to the top and I start to try and get that feeling of squatting down,
but the problem is, I go and push my pelvis up, you'll feel yourself rise, and we definitely
don't want to do that.
If anything, you should feel like your head gets a little bit lower as you turn that hip
back to the alignment stick.
Now, there is one thing that might affect your ability to do this.
You have to have the ability to move your pelvis independently of your spine, and not
necessarily that you have to detach your spine, but in the sense that, when I've worked with
some players, you have to do what TBI calls a 'shake and bake', where you can push your
butt out and tuck your butt underneath without a lot of movement in your spine.
And I see a lot of players who, when they get in their posture and I tell them to tuck
their butt underneath them or tuck their pelvis in this way, they'll go like this, and they
lift their whole spine angle up, and they can't move their hip the way they need to.
So, what happens is, that's going to affect their ability to go from here and sit back
if they can't work your hips underneath.
So, a good drill to implement into your daily program would be to set up here, get your
arms across your chest, tuck your hips under, push your butt back, and try and learn how
to create that range of motion.
You can do what I was taught.
It's called the 'cat and dog', where you get on your hands and knees and try and do that
same thing, where you arch your back and round your shoulder.
It's a good yoga kind of drill, or yoga position to move through, but that will help a lot
with learning how to create a little bit of pelvis mobility and strengthen your core.
Now, back to trying to put your butt back on the line and create that squat.
If having your hands in the swing is throwing off your ability to work on your body, what
I would tell you to do is, get set up with the club across your chest, make a turn, try
and keep the golf club pointed at the golf ball as you sit your pelvis back.
Now, the club may move a little bit ahead, but we don't want to see this, and we definitely
don't want to see that, where the club gets parallel to the ground.
So, it's back here, sit butt back, stand up, and finish like you're trying to squeeze your
cheeks.
Everybody made fun of Tiger for that glute squeeze, but that's exactly what you've got
to feel.
So, if the plan comes together as we hoped, then it'll look a little something like this.
So, if you liked this tip and drill, please subscribe to our channel, leave a comment
below.
I'll be sure to give you an answer, to answer any questions you may have.
I hope you enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see you next time.