Squat
Also known as: pressure drop, sit-down move
The squat is a slight downward drop of the body at the start of the downswing, where the golfer loads into the ground before exploding upward through impact.
The squat in the golf swing is the brief lowering of the body's center of mass that occurs in the transition between backswing and downswing. Rather than staying at a constant height or rising immediately on the downswing, elite ball-strikers characteristically drop slightly. This means sometimes as little as 1–2 inches. This means as they initiate the change of direction. This squat represents the body "loading" into the ground before the powerful vertical push that accelerates the hips and the rest of the kinematic chain.
The mechanics of the squat connect to ground force production. As the lower body prepares to push against the ground, the knees flex slightly and the hips lower. This motion stores elastic energy in the leg muscles (especially the quads and glutes) and increases the available range of motion for the subsequent vertical push. The reactive force from pushing up out of the squat is transmitted through the hips into rotational speed. This means the same principle that makes squat-jumps more powerful than standing jumps. Long hitters almost universally show this pattern on force-plate analysis. This means a downward force loading phase in the trail leg immediately followed by a massive upward push.
The squat should be small and natural — a deliberate exaggeration tends to create a dip that then requires compensation later in the downswing. Players who over-squat often struggle to "clear" and can hit behind the ball. The ideal squat is described by many coaches as something you feel more than consciously execute. Drills that encourage a small "bump and drop" at transition. This means moving the lead hip toward the target. At the same time, slightly lowering the center of mass. This means help golfers find the pattern without over-thinking it.
To feel the squat, try a "bump and drop" drill. This means at the top of your backswing, move your lead hip slightly toward the target AND slightly downward before rotating. This means this initiates the ground-loading pattern that triggers the squat.
Film your swing from face-on and draw a horizontal reference line at your address hip height. In your downswing transition, your hips should briefly drop below that line before rising through impact. This means if you never drop below the line, you are missing the squat loading phase that elite players use to engage ground force.
Example — Force plate + 3D motion capture
A tour player's hips briefly drop a few inches at the start of the downswing before they push up and through the ball.
How it shows up on video
From a face-on camera angle, the squat is visible as a small but perceptible lowering of the overall body height at the very beginning of the downswing, before the body rises through impact. Watch the top of the golfer's head or the belt buckle level. This means elite players show a slight drop in the transition that then rises smoothly through and past impact. From a down-the-line angle, the squat shows as a slight deepening of the knee flex and hip descent at the start of the downswing rather than the body immediately rising from its backswing height.
Common mistakes
- Over-squatting or dipping. This means exaggerating the squat creates a low point problem where the club bottoms out too far behind the ball. This produces fat or chunked shots. The squat should be subtle, not dramatic.
- Confusing the squat with a sway — the squat is a vertical drop of the center of mass, not a lateral slide. A sway moves the hips sideways; a squat loads them downward. Many golfers who try to squat end up swaying instead.
- Rising too early (early extension) — the opposite of squatting. A golfer who stands up through impact loses all the stored energy of the loading phase and typically jams the club into the ball with no room to release.
- Trying to consciously time the squat during a full-speed swing — the squat happens reflexively in response to lower-body-led sequencing. Chasing the feeling during a swing produces tension; instead, train it through step drills and transition timing practice.
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
SwingVantage tracks vertical hip height changes from face-on video using pose estimation to identify the squat pattern in the transition. Because the squat involves small vertical movements. This means sometimes just 1–2 inches. This means the system notes that confidence in detecting this pattern depends by a lot on video resolution and the clarity of the golfer's hip landmarks throughout the swing.
Related terms
- Ground ForceGround force in golf is the vertical and horizontal force a golfer pushes into the ground during the swing. More effective ground use translates directly into club speed and power.
- Kinematic SequenceThe kinematic sequence is the order in which body segments accelerate and decelerate during the downswing: pelvis → torso → lead arm → clubhead. Each segment slingshots the next for maximum speed.
- Pressure ShiftPressure shift is the movement of the center of pressure under the feet — measured by force plates — from trail to lead during the swing. Elite players shift pressure earlier and more decisively than amateurs.
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