Build Lower Body Power with Single Leg Squat and Jump Drill

The single leg squat and jump drill teaches you how to use the ground for more speed in the golf swing. Specifically, it trains the lower-body action from the top of the backswing into transition and through release. Many golfers have seen elite players appear to “sit down” in transition, then drive upward through impact. That look is not a random move. It comes from loading the lead leg, increasing pressure into the ground, and then pushing off that pressure at the right time. When you learn this pattern, your lower body can become a major power source instead of leaving the arms to do all the work.

How the Drill Works

The basic idea is simple: load the lead leg, then push off it. In a right-handed swing, that means your left leg becomes the key support point in transition.

As you start down from the top, your pelvis shifts toward the target so that pressure moves into your lead side. As that happens, the lead knee gains a bit more flex. This is what creates the appearance of the “squat” move you often see in powerful players. It is not just dropping straight down. It is a blend of lateral shift and lead-knee flex that loads the leg.

Once that leg is loaded, you can use it as a platform. From there, the lead leg begins to straighten through the release, helping you brace, rotate, and deliver speed into the club. That is the “jump” part of the drill. It is not a vertical leap where your whole body rises away from the ball. Instead, the force is driven into the ground and then absorbed upward through your body in a way that supports the swing rather than disrupting it.

A helpful way to understand this is to imagine standing only on your lead leg and doing a small hop. Before you jump, you naturally squat slightly into that leg. Then you push off it. The golf swing uses a very similar pattern, just blended into rotation and weight shift.

In the swing, you begin more centered, often with a bit more pressure in the trail foot at the top. Then in transition, you move into the lead foot while the lead knee flexes. That loads the lead side. From there, you extend the lead leg through the release and into the follow-through.

The drill gives you a clear athletic picture of how the lower body should contribute power:

• Shift into the lead side
• Flex the lead leg to load it
• Push off the ground through release

If you have ever struggled to feel where speed should come from, this is one of the best ways to train it.

Step-by-Step

1. Set up in your golf posture. You do not need a ball at first. Stand as if you are addressing a shot and make a backswing to the top.

2. Feel pressure move into your lead foot. From the top, begin shifting your pelvis toward the target. Think about moving pressure into your lead heel.

3. Add flex to the lead knee. As pressure moves left, let your lead leg bend a little more. This is the “squat” portion. It should feel athletic and loaded, not collapsed.

4. Keep the arms quiet while you load. During this squat phase, avoid throwing the arms down from the top. A good checkpoint is that your lead arm still feels connected to your chest. That tells you the body is starting the downswing, not the hands and shoulders.

5. Push through the ground. Once you feel loaded into the lead leg, begin straightening that leg through the release. This is the “jump” sensation. You are pushing off the ground, not standing straight up away from the ball.

6. Let the force move through your body. The push should help rotate and release the swing. Your torso may rise some naturally, but the motion should not throw your chest upward early or pull you out of posture.

7. Finish balanced. End with pressure fully into your lead side and your body supported over that leg. You should feel stable, not like you jumped backward or lost your balance.

8. Practice the single-leg version. To sharpen the feeling, stand on your lead leg only and make a small squat-and-hop motion. This gives you a direct athletic reference for what the golf swing is asking your lower body to do.

9. Blend it into rehearsal swings. Make slow-to-medium practice swings where you feel the load into the lead leg, then the push through release. Do not worry if it feels awkward at first.

10. Gradually add speed. This movement is difficult to perform convincingly in exaggerated slow motion. Once you understand the pattern, increase the pace and begin blending it into fuller swings.

What You Should Feel

When you do this drill correctly, the sensations are very specific. You should not feel like you are just dropping your body or jumping up randomly. You should feel a sequence of load, pressure, and push.

Pressure into the lead foot

One of the clearest sensations is that the lead foot becomes heavy in transition. If you imagined a scale under each foot, the reading under the lead foot would spike as you start down. That is a great image for many golfers.

Lead leg loading like a spring

Your lead knee should feel as if it is flexing enough to store energy. Think of it as compressing a spring. The purpose of the squat is not to lower your center of mass for its own sake. The purpose is to load the leg so it can push.

Arms staying patient

During the loading phase, your arms should not feel like they are racing toward the ball. If they do, your sequence is off. A useful checkpoint is that the lead arm still feels connected to your torso as the lower body begins working.

Push without popping up

As you extend the lead leg, you should feel force going into the ground and then up through your body, but not in a way that makes your upper body lurch upward. The motion is powerful, yet contained. The lower body drives the release while the upper body stays organized.

Balanced extension through impact

Through impact and into the follow-through, you should feel that the lead leg is bracing and straightening. This helps support rotation and gives your swing a more dynamic, athletic finish.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Turning the drill into a vertical jump. If you feel like you are jumping straight up, you are likely losing posture and pulling the swing off plane.
• Jumping backward. The push should come from a loaded lead side, not from rocking away from the target.
• Squatting without shifting. The “squat” look comes from both moving into the lead side and increasing lead-knee flex. If you only bend your knees in place, you miss the real source of pressure.
• Dumping the arms early. If the arms fall too soon, they will get too close to the ball before the lower body pushes. Then when you extend the lead leg, you may bottom out the club too far behind the ball.
• Using the shoulders too early. If the downswing starts with an aggressive upper-body pull, the lower body cannot sequence the release correctly.
• Collapsing into the lead knee. The lead leg should flex to load, not buckle or lose structure.
• Trying to exaggerate it in super slow motion. This drill often feels more natural at a moderate pace. Overdoing it slowly can make the movement feel artificial.
• Forcing a cosmetic “Tiger squat.” The goal is not to copy a look. The goal is to create pressure and then use it for speed.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill matters because it teaches a foundational truth of powerful ball striking: the body helps swing the club by using the ground correctly. The lower body is not just along for the ride. In transition, it sets up the release by creating pressure into the lead side. Through impact, it helps convert that pressure into speed.

For many golfers, the biggest benefit is not just more power, but better sequencing. If you normally try to create speed by yanking the club down with your arms, this drill can show you what it feels like for the downswing to start from the ground up. That does not mean the arms do nothing. It means they respond at the right time instead of dominating the motion too early.

This is especially important in transition. The lower body begins to shift and load while the arms remain relatively patient. Then, as the lead leg pushes and the body unwinds, the club can release with much better timing. That sequence is what allows speed to build efficiently.

It also helps explain the look of great players. The “squat” in transition is really a loading pattern. The knees appear to separate because the pelvis is moving toward the target while the lead leg gains flex. Then, as the lead leg extends, the player can rotate and post up through impact. The appearance may look dramatic on television, but the underlying mechanics are grounded in athletic movement.

If you are working on speed, this drill can be a major breakthrough. It gives you a simple image:

• Press into the lead side
• Load the lead leg
• Push through the release

Just remember that the movement only works when the timing is correct. If your arms are already spent before the lower body pushes, the pattern falls apart. So use the drill not just to train motion, but to train sequence. When those two come together, your lower body becomes a real engine for speed instead of an afterthought in the swing.