By Brian Hwang, Teaching Professional
At The Bridge Golf Learning Center, we are always focused on bringing a knowledge of physics to the game of golf.
One concept that most golfers have probably never considered is ground reaction force. Simply put, this is the force exerted by the ground on a body in contact with it. During your golf swing, you are exerting force on the ground, and the ground is exerting an equal and opposite force on you.
With this in mind, it becomes clear that your lower body is crucial to creating club speed and torque during your swing.
To get a feel for this concept, and how to properly use the hips, knees and feet in your golf swing, I have my students do a “ground explosion” drill, demonstrated by Yohance Whyte in the video below. Notice how he drives his body into the ground, which in turn allows him to use the force of the ground to push off and torque his body 360 degrees.
This exercise will help golfers of all abilities learn how to use their lower body to generate power while grooving the proper kinematic sequence.