WEBVTT

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(upbeat music)

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This video we're gonna do a review of the Down Underboard.

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So one of our members was asking about the Down Underboard.

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And so we got one here at the Academy.

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I thought I'd talk through where I find it helpful

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and what you wanna be careful with if you get one

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and start using it when you practice.

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So the Down Underboard is really simple.

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It's a piece of plastic that's a standard width.

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And basically the whole concept here

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is you're going to squeeze to try to help engage

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some of your inner thigh muscles.

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So by squeezing the board,

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you're going to engage your adductors.

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Your adductors are on a similar neurological loop

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with your deep ab muscles.

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So by squeezing your adductors together,

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you can get your abs on.

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That combination helps create a little bit better

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rotational pivot.

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So if you're prone to a lot of sway-slide,

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if you're prone to kind of moving into your toes,

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the board can be really helpful.

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Now when you're using it and when you're getting set up,

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you'll notice when I set up here,

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I'm squeezing my heels into the board.

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One common issue that I see is golfers will get set up

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and try to get their feet totally square to the board,

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which would be perpendicular to the target line.

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Now, very few golfers have enough hip flexibility

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that they could have their foot perpendicular

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to the target line and still get into a full finish.

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So you'll see when I get set up,

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there's a little bit of space between the toe

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of my right foot, but there's a lot of space

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between the toe of my left foot.

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My left foot has turned out some 20 to 30 degrees.

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So I'm going to be squeezing between my heels.

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Now that's kind of doubly important

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because the adductors actually connect closer to the,

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some of the adductors run deep and posterior

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close to the hamstring muscles.

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So a lot of golfers are too toe dominant,

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which puts their activation in their quads.

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By squeezing the heels, that actually helps take away

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some of that quad dependent.

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So that's one main reason that I like this board.

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I think it's a pretty cool tool for getting more

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of the backside muscles and the inner thigh muscles

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activated, which helps shut off the quads.

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One of the other things you have to be careful of

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is how hard you squeeze.

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So if I squeeze my heels a little bit,

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that's all I need in order to activate the inner thigh muscles.

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If I squeeze them a ton and if I keep them squeezed

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during the whole backswing, unfortunately,

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that's going to shut off my glute muscle on this right side.

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So similar to like when you contract your bicep,

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it sends a signal to relax your tricep.

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When you contract your inner thigh,

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it sends a signal to relax your glute medius,

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one of the glute muscles on the side of your body.

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And so that could limit what I'm going to feel

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at the top of the swing and how well I'm going to be able

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to push off during transition.

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If I run through how I'm actually using the board,

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I want a low level of activation,

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like on a scale of one to 10, maybe 10 or 20%,

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just enough to kind of squeeze the boarding and get it there.

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Now I'm going to use that right up until about here,

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in which case, I don't actually have to think

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of shutting it off.

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I just have to think of not increasing or not squeezing,

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because as I turn into the glute,

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I'm naturally going to lose some of that activation,

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unless I were to like forcefully try to keep it.

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So I've got it a little active here at setup,

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and then I'm going to let it wane a little bit

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during the backswing, especially at the top of the swing.

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Now the other thing I like about the board

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is just having something to help standardize

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your setup position is a good thing.

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And so this can help with getting a consistent stance with.

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Now, the stance with this board is typically

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a little bit wider than I personally would set up

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with most of my irons.

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So it does take a little bit of adjustment that way.

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But I can also use the sticker,

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or I'll put a piece of tape to indicate

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where the ball position is going to be.

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So I'm going to be just off the logo,

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just forward of center, something like that.

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I can also use this line on the board

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to help with my alignment,

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and getting used to seeing what my feet look like

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when they're square with the amount

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of my natural kind of foot flare turnout.

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So that's kind of some of the nuts and bolts.

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Now, a couple of the situations

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where I like to use the board.

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I like to use the board for golfers

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who tend to have a sway more from the ankle,

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where they really tend to roll into the outside of the heel.

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By squeezing, it will make them feel very stuck at first.

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But if you're used to kind of going out here,

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it gives you a new awareness

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of feeling the inside of the foot.

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So sway from the ankle.

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I like it for helping with sway from the hip.

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And I also like it for golfers.

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You tend to kind of thrust that foot

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in towards the golf ball.

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When I'm squeezing my inner thigh,

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it's going to tend to keep me a little bit more centered,

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and it will require a lot less of this quad or ankle push.

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And I'll have to get more

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of this downswing release movement happening from my hips.

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But because my adductors are on and my deep core is on,

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it's actually easier to get my hip muscles involved.

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So I do like it.

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As with any training aid,

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I would alternate between, let's say I do five balls with it.

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And then I'm just going to step back

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and I'm going to try and recreate that same feel

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with or without the board.

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So going back and forth between a little squeeze of the heel,

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and then just kind of feeling my adductor squeeze

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with my deep abs.

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So make sure you don't squeeze too hard.

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Make sure you let the squeeze relax

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at the top of the swing,

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and make sure you don't have your toes

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totally flush along the sides.

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If you do that, I think this can be a really good tool

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for helping develop a little bit more consistent

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or stable lower body pivot.

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So a little squeeze.

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(upbeat music)