Titleist Instruction Video Tips Our Instructors

Skateboard Drill for Powerful Rotation

From Mark Blackburn On November 03, 2021

Golf is a rotational sport. Skilled players can swing with amazing force because they're able to create energy by coiling their bodies and stretching muscles in the backswing. In the downswing, they uncoil... in a specific sequence that works like a chain reaction, accelerating the club as energy is passed from one link to the next (the lower body unwinds, then the torso, then the arms and finally the club).

Tremendous centripetal force is created through this rotation and the club releases in a blur like the tip of a bullwhip. But as Titleist staff member Mark Blackburn explains, how to turn in the golf swing is often misunderstood. The body doesn't just twist around itself. In order to coil powerfully, you need to understand a little bit about ground forces. By using your feet to push and pull and create friction, the ground pushes back against you (every force generates an equal and opposite force). It's this counter-force that causes your body to rotate without forcing you up and out of your posture - a key to consistent ball-striking.

So how do learn to activate these ground forces? As Mark shows in this video, all you need is a skateboard. The feeling of your lead foot pushing while your trail foot pulls against the ground may feel counter-intuitive at first. But using the skateboard will allow you to see how this action allows your hips to clear and your body to turn effortlessly "around the corner".

Give Mark's skateboard drill a try and you'll finally FEEL how to turn properly in your swing.

Golf is a rotational sport. Skilled players can swing with amazing force because ... they're able to create energy by coiling their bodies and stretching muscles in the backswing. In the downswing, they uncoil in a specific sequence that works like a chain reaction, accelerating the club as energy is passed from one link to the next (the lower body unwinds, then the torso, then the arms and finally the club).

Tremendous centripetal force is created through this rotation and the club releases in a blur like the tip of a bullwhip. But as Titleist staff member Mark Blackburn explains, how to turn in the golf swing is often misunderstood. The body doesn't just twist around itself. In order to coil powerfully, you need to understand a little bit about ground forces. By using your feet to push and pull and create friction, the ground pushes back against you (every force generates an equal and opposite force). It's this counter-force that causes your body to rotate without forcing you up and out of your posture - a key to consistent ball-striking.

So how do learn to activate these ground forces? As Mark shows in this video, all you need is a skateboard. The feeling of your lead foot pushing while your trail foot pulls against the ground may feel counter-intuitive at first. But using the skateboard will allow you to see how this action allows your hips to clear and your body to turn effortlessly "around the corner".

Give Mark's skateboard drill a try and you'll finally FEEL how to turn properly in your swing.