Not sure where to start? Ask Mulligan
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Your Swing Tempo with the Clap Drill

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Develop a better sense of timing and rhythm in your swing
  • Feel how to engage your core and lower body for improved power
  • Recognize the importance of muscle activation to maintain a shallow swing path

In this video, you'll learn the Clap Drill designed to enhance your body-centered tempo for a more fluid golf swing. This drill addresses common issues with hip and core engagement during your transition for better performance on the course.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060
This drill is the clap drill.

2
00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:08.700
So this is designed to work on a body-centered tempo.

3
00:00:08.700 --> 00:00:13.250
So many golfers who struggle with getting the hips in the core to lead the

4
00:00:13.250 --> 00:00:14.120
swing, who struggle

5
00:00:14.120 --> 00:00:19.940
with getting more of shallowness tend to do so because of how they power the

6
00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:20.760
swing, especially

7
00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:22.060
in transition.

8
00:00:22.060 --> 00:00:26.660
So if you find that you can do slow motion drills and you have no problem,

9
00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:27.740
shallow things

10
00:00:27.740 --> 00:00:31.610
out and then you go to try to hit the ball and boom, you look on video and

11
00:00:31.610 --> 00:00:32.480
everything

12
00:00:32.480 --> 00:00:37.040
gets steep, then there's a good chance that you're applying too much force to

13
00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:37.640
the club

14
00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:38.640
too soon.

15
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:43.050
Or I should say too much muscle activity too soon because most of the muscles

16
00:00:43.050 --> 00:00:43.580
when the

17
00:00:43.580 --> 00:00:47.930
upper body really tries to apply force to the club, most of the muscles are

18
00:00:47.930 --> 00:00:48.560
going to

19
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.920
steepen the path of the club.

20
00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:54.960
If you activate them, it's very hard to have a natural showering.

21
00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:01.080
So this is a clap drill that I got from Stu McGill in his back pain program.

22
00:01:01.080 --> 00:01:06.220
He focuses a lot on throwing and striking sports and creating more of a feeling

23
00:01:06.220 --> 00:01:06.840
of a

24
00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.200
pulse of speed down at the bottom.

25
00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:14.360
I have referred to this as bracing, but I like his idea of creating a pulse.

26
00:01:14.360 --> 00:01:18.410
So what we're going to do is we're going to do this clap drill where you're

27
00:01:18.410 --> 00:01:18.960
going to

28
00:01:18.960 --> 00:01:25.060
feel hopefully you've done some muscle activation, some core exercises at some

29
00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:26.080
point in your

30
00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:27.080
career.

31
00:01:27.080 --> 00:01:31.630
And now you're going to try to use that to create speed all at once down at the

32
00:01:31.630 --> 00:01:32.200
bottom.

33
00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:39.960
So I'm going to try and tighten my quads, my glutes, my abs, and my lats.

34
00:01:39.960 --> 00:01:45.680
So there's a little, just a pulse of tightening, just like that.

35
00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:50.790
Now I'm going to put my hands about six inches apart like so, and I'm going to

36
00:01:50.790 --> 00:01:51.560
pulse and

37
00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:55.360
create a little clap, just like so.

38
00:01:55.360 --> 00:02:00.360
Now if I'm applying too much muscle effort, then I'll push my hand like so, as

39
00:02:00.360 --> 00:02:01.040
opposed

40
00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:06.800
to having a rapid contraction and a rapid relaxation.

41
00:02:06.800 --> 00:02:10.930
So spine is fairly neutral on this, I'm clap, and then I'm going to clap back

42
00:02:10.930 --> 00:02:11.520
the other

43
00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:12.520
way.

44
00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:13.520
Okay.

45
00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.120
So that's the warm up version.

46
00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:20.220
The actual drill, we're now going to add a fluid motion and then try to apply

47
00:02:20.220 --> 00:02:21.440
that clap

48
00:02:21.440 --> 00:02:23.040
as late as possible.

49
00:02:23.040 --> 00:02:24.720
So now I'm going to get in my golf posture.

50
00:02:24.720 --> 00:02:29.840
I'm going to make a slow, slow, slow, quick, slow, slow, slow pop, and I'm

51
00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:30.880
going to have

52
00:02:30.880 --> 00:02:38.480
this slow little pop and this slow rapid acceleration through my hips, my core,

53
00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:41.120
and my lats, all

54
00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:42.360
at once.

55
00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:46.410
Once I have this feeling of kind of this slow, slow, slow pop, now I'm going to

56
00:02:46.410 --> 00:02:47.080
add a little

57
00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:48.080
bit more speed.

58
00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.910
And I do recommend wearing a golf glove when I do this demonstrating for

59
00:02:51.910 --> 00:02:52.720
students, two or

60
00:02:52.720 --> 00:02:56.040
three of these, and my hands don't like it.

61
00:02:56.040 --> 00:03:03.050
So now I'm going to apply a little bit more of a swinging, but I'm not overly

62
00:03:03.050 --> 00:03:04.540
accelerating

63
00:03:04.540 --> 00:03:09.720
it until down at the bottom.

64
00:03:09.720 --> 00:03:14.730
Once you have this feeling of applying this pulse of speed down at the bottom,

65
00:03:14.730 --> 00:03:15.480
you're then

66
00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:21.300
going to do a nine to three version, trying to feel a little bit of a bracing

67
00:03:21.300 --> 00:03:22.960
at the bottom.

68
00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:24.680
So now I'm going to bring it back to here.

69
00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:29.000
It's going to be slow, slow.

70
00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:34.130
You won't see a dramatic acceleration on video when you're swinging the club,

71
00:03:34.130 --> 00:03:34.600
but you'll

72
00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:37.240
probably feel one.

73
00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:43.120
And when you do that pulse in the clap drill, everything was stopping.

74
00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:49.280
The relaxation happens so quickly that the club should pull you back into or

75
00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:50.080
pull you

76
00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:54.080
and bring the club helping into the follow through position.

77
00:03:54.080 --> 00:04:01.430
But it's this pulse that you can sometimes see in half or in slow motion videos

78
00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:02.920
in especially

79
00:04:02.920 --> 00:04:03.920
lean golfers.

80
00:04:03.920 --> 00:04:07.210
For example, when you look at Rory McElroy and down near the bottom of the

81
00:04:07.210 --> 00:04:08.460
swing, you see

82
00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:12.680
that right leg really start to extend because he's using that right glute.

83
00:04:12.680 --> 00:04:16.400
And then through the ball, his hips actually rotate the opposite direction.

84
00:04:16.400 --> 00:04:21.360
That's a golfer really channeling this pulse to help create a little bit of

85
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:22.380
stiffness last

86
00:04:22.380 --> 00:04:26.280
minute to get most of the speed into the club head.

87
00:04:26.280 --> 00:04:30.690
So then once I've done a few of these nine to three, then I can do either three

88
00:04:30.690 --> 00:04:31.200
quarter

89
00:04:31.200 --> 00:04:36.000
swings, tend to twos, or I can go straight to full swings, trying to feel a

90
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.060
really slow

91
00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:45.760
transition followed by rapid acceleration down at impact.

92
00:04:45.760 --> 00:04:50.540
So if you struggle with getting really quick and active in transition, then

93
00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:51.360
work on this

94
00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:57.180
clap drill in order to get a feeling of more of a late acceleration, that'll

95
00:04:57.180 --> 00:04:57.760
ultimately

96
00:04:57.760 --> 00:05:01.810
help you with the shallowing of your path, the arm extension in the follow

97
00:05:01.810 --> 00:05:02.440
through, and

98
00:05:02.440 --> 00:05:07.030
overall your tempo, which helps control low point and allows you to do the

99
00:05:07.030 --> 00:05:07.920
better wrist

100
00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:09.680
mechanics to help control clubface.

101
00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:16.980
So now quick demo, if I don't pulse, if I go really early, you'll see I tend to

102
00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:17.440
get

103
00:05:17.440 --> 00:05:18.440
more vertical.

104
00:05:18.440 --> 00:05:23.400
I even shank that one because that's what happens if I get too vertical in my

105
00:05:23.400 --> 00:05:24.520
transition.

106
00:05:24.520 --> 00:05:29.660
So then on the next one, I'm going to let that really shallow out and I feel

107
00:05:29.660 --> 00:05:30.600
personally

108
00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:34.000
like my swing starts right about there.

109
00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:38.640
It's very similar to if I was throwing a ball, the feeling of throwing the ball

110
00:05:38.640 --> 00:05:39.600
really happens

111
00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:45.650
between there and there, all this extra motion feels very slow and doesn't feel

112
00:05:45.650 --> 00:05:46.400
like I'm

113
00:05:46.400 --> 00:05:50.360
accelerating the ball or accelerating my hand rapidly yet.

114
00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:54.910
So I'm going to try to apply that same principle, getting a good clap feeling

115
00:05:54.910 --> 00:05:59.760
down at the bottom.

116
00:05:59.760 --> 00:06:05.980
That clap involves a rapid acceleration, followed by a rapid relaxation through

117
00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:06.400
that

118
00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:07.360
follow through position.

Have questions?

Ask Mulligan for help

Unlock everything. Start improving today.

Subscribe to get full access to all videos, courses, and progress tracking.

Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Your Swing Tempo with the Clap Drill

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Develop a better sense of timing and rhythm in your swing
  • Feel how to engage your core and lower body for improved power
  • Recognize the importance of muscle activation to maintain a shallow swing path

In this video, you'll learn the Clap Drill designed to enhance your body-centered tempo for a more fluid golf swing. This drill addresses common issues with hip and core engagement during your transition for better performance on the course.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060
This drill is the clap drill.

2
00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:08.700
So this is designed to work on a body-centered tempo.

3
00:00:08.700 --> 00:00:13.250
So many golfers who struggle with getting the hips in the core to lead the

4
00:00:13.250 --> 00:00:14.120
swing, who struggle

5
00:00:14.120 --> 00:00:19.940
with getting more of shallowness tend to do so because of how they power the

6
00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:20.760
swing, especially

7
00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:22.060
in transition.

8
00:00:22.060 --> 00:00:26.660
So if you find that you can do slow motion drills and you have no problem,

9
00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:27.740
shallow things

10
00:00:27.740 --> 00:00:31.610
out and then you go to try to hit the ball and boom, you look on video and

11
00:00:31.610 --> 00:00:32.480
everything

12
00:00:32.480 --> 00:00:37.040
gets steep, then there's a good chance that you're applying too much force to

13
00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:37.640
the club

14
00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:38.640
too soon.

15
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:43.050
Or I should say too much muscle activity too soon because most of the muscles

16
00:00:43.050 --> 00:00:43.580
when the

17
00:00:43.580 --> 00:00:47.930
upper body really tries to apply force to the club, most of the muscles are

18
00:00:47.930 --> 00:00:48.560
going to

19
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.920
steepen the path of the club.

20
00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:54.960
If you activate them, it's very hard to have a natural showering.

21
00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:01.080
So this is a clap drill that I got from Stu McGill in his back pain program.

22
00:01:01.080 --> 00:01:06.220
He focuses a lot on throwing and striking sports and creating more of a feeling

23
00:01:06.220 --> 00:01:06.840
of a

24
00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.200
pulse of speed down at the bottom.

25
00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:14.360
I have referred to this as bracing, but I like his idea of creating a pulse.

26
00:01:14.360 --> 00:01:18.410
So what we're going to do is we're going to do this clap drill where you're

27
00:01:18.410 --> 00:01:18.960
going to

28
00:01:18.960 --> 00:01:25.060
feel hopefully you've done some muscle activation, some core exercises at some

29
00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:26.080
point in your

30
00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:27.080
career.

31
00:01:27.080 --> 00:01:31.630
And now you're going to try to use that to create speed all at once down at the

32
00:01:31.630 --> 00:01:32.200
bottom.

33
00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:39.960
So I'm going to try and tighten my quads, my glutes, my abs, and my lats.

34
00:01:39.960 --> 00:01:45.680
So there's a little, just a pulse of tightening, just like that.

35
00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:50.790
Now I'm going to put my hands about six inches apart like so, and I'm going to

36
00:01:50.790 --> 00:01:51.560
pulse and

37
00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:55.360
create a little clap, just like so.

38
00:01:55.360 --> 00:02:00.360
Now if I'm applying too much muscle effort, then I'll push my hand like so, as

39
00:02:00.360 --> 00:02:01.040
opposed

40
00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:06.800
to having a rapid contraction and a rapid relaxation.

41
00:02:06.800 --> 00:02:10.930
So spine is fairly neutral on this, I'm clap, and then I'm going to clap back

42
00:02:10.930 --> 00:02:11.520
the other

43
00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:12.520
way.

44
00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:13.520
Okay.

45
00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.120
So that's the warm up version.

46
00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:20.220
The actual drill, we're now going to add a fluid motion and then try to apply

47
00:02:20.220 --> 00:02:21.440
that clap

48
00:02:21.440 --> 00:02:23.040
as late as possible.

49
00:02:23.040 --> 00:02:24.720
So now I'm going to get in my golf posture.

50
00:02:24.720 --> 00:02:29.840
I'm going to make a slow, slow, slow, quick, slow, slow, slow pop, and I'm

51
00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:30.880
going to have

52
00:02:30.880 --> 00:02:38.480
this slow little pop and this slow rapid acceleration through my hips, my core,

53
00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:41.120
and my lats, all

54
00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:42.360
at once.

55
00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:46.410
Once I have this feeling of kind of this slow, slow, slow pop, now I'm going to

56
00:02:46.410 --> 00:02:47.080
add a little

57
00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:48.080
bit more speed.

58
00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.910
And I do recommend wearing a golf glove when I do this demonstrating for

59
00:02:51.910 --> 00:02:52.720
students, two or

60
00:02:52.720 --> 00:02:56.040
three of these, and my hands don't like it.

61
00:02:56.040 --> 00:03:03.050
So now I'm going to apply a little bit more of a swinging, but I'm not overly

62
00:03:03.050 --> 00:03:04.540
accelerating

63
00:03:04.540 --> 00:03:09.720
it until down at the bottom.

64
00:03:09.720 --> 00:03:14.730
Once you have this feeling of applying this pulse of speed down at the bottom,

65
00:03:14.730 --> 00:03:15.480
you're then

66
00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:21.300
going to do a nine to three version, trying to feel a little bit of a bracing

67
00:03:21.300 --> 00:03:22.960
at the bottom.

68
00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:24.680
So now I'm going to bring it back to here.

69
00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:29.000
It's going to be slow, slow.

70
00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:34.130
You won't see a dramatic acceleration on video when you're swinging the club,

71
00:03:34.130 --> 00:03:34.600
but you'll

72
00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:37.240
probably feel one.

73
00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:43.120
And when you do that pulse in the clap drill, everything was stopping.

74
00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:49.280
The relaxation happens so quickly that the club should pull you back into or

75
00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:50.080
pull you

76
00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:54.080
and bring the club helping into the follow through position.

77
00:03:54.080 --> 00:04:01.430
But it's this pulse that you can sometimes see in half or in slow motion videos

78
00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:02.920
in especially

79
00:04:02.920 --> 00:04:03.920
lean golfers.

80
00:04:03.920 --> 00:04:07.210
For example, when you look at Rory McElroy and down near the bottom of the

81
00:04:07.210 --> 00:04:08.460
swing, you see

82
00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:12.680
that right leg really start to extend because he's using that right glute.

83
00:04:12.680 --> 00:04:16.400
And then through the ball, his hips actually rotate the opposite direction.

84
00:04:16.400 --> 00:04:21.360
That's a golfer really channeling this pulse to help create a little bit of

85
00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:22.380
stiffness last

86
00:04:22.380 --> 00:04:26.280
minute to get most of the speed into the club head.

87
00:04:26.280 --> 00:04:30.690
So then once I've done a few of these nine to three, then I can do either three

88
00:04:30.690 --> 00:04:31.200
quarter

89
00:04:31.200 --> 00:04:36.000
swings, tend to twos, or I can go straight to full swings, trying to feel a

90
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.060
really slow

91
00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:45.760
transition followed by rapid acceleration down at impact.

92
00:04:45.760 --> 00:04:50.540
So if you struggle with getting really quick and active in transition, then

93
00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:51.360
work on this

94
00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:57.180
clap drill in order to get a feeling of more of a late acceleration, that'll

95
00:04:57.180 --> 00:04:57.760
ultimately

96
00:04:57.760 --> 00:05:01.810
help you with the shallowing of your path, the arm extension in the follow

97
00:05:01.810 --> 00:05:02.440
through, and

98
00:05:02.440 --> 00:05:07.030
overall your tempo, which helps control low point and allows you to do the

99
00:05:07.030 --> 00:05:07.920
better wrist

100
00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:09.680
mechanics to help control clubface.

101
00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:16.980
So now quick demo, if I don't pulse, if I go really early, you'll see I tend to

102
00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:17.440
get

103
00:05:17.440 --> 00:05:18.440
more vertical.

104
00:05:18.440 --> 00:05:23.400
I even shank that one because that's what happens if I get too vertical in my

105
00:05:23.400 --> 00:05:24.520
transition.

106
00:05:24.520 --> 00:05:29.660
So then on the next one, I'm going to let that really shallow out and I feel

107
00:05:29.660 --> 00:05:30.600
personally

108
00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:34.000
like my swing starts right about there.

109
00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:38.640
It's very similar to if I was throwing a ball, the feeling of throwing the ball

110
00:05:38.640 --> 00:05:39.600
really happens

111
00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:45.650
between there and there, all this extra motion feels very slow and doesn't feel

112
00:05:45.650 --> 00:05:46.400
like I'm

113
00:05:46.400 --> 00:05:50.360
accelerating the ball or accelerating my hand rapidly yet.

114
00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:54.910
So I'm going to try to apply that same principle, getting a good clap feeling

115
00:05:54.910 --> 00:05:59.760
down at the bottom.

116
00:05:59.760 --> 00:06:05.980
That clap involves a rapid acceleration, followed by a rapid relaxation through

117
00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:06.400
that

118
00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:07.360
follow through position.

Have questions about this video?

Ask Mulligan for personalized guidance on technique, drills, or how to apply what you've learned.

Ask Mulligan
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
Subscribe now for full access to our video library. Subscribe now