Boost your driving chops with this simple exercise

Golfers tend to focus so much on swing speed and distance that they forget the biggest key to becoming a great driver: consistent ball-striking. This rotational squat from Golf Digest 50 Best Fitness Trainer Trevor Anderson will help you increase your dynamic stability and body rotation so you can create more power but also deliver it to the ball.

Get into your normal driver stance with your heels shoulder-width apart and your feet slightly flared. Take a golf club, towel or fitness bar, like Anderson uses here, and place it behind your shoulders. Then, squat down, rotating your upper body toward what would be your trail side in a normal backswing.

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Anderson says to keep your head straight and knees wide at the bottom of the squat position. As you sit into the squat, maintain your stability and pay close attention to the knee you’re turning away from. Many golfers have a tendency to let that front knee collapse inward as they squat, Anderson says. Keep the knee wide and stable.

From there, push off the ground and drive your whole body upward. Notice the natural sequence of motion as you explode and rotate over your front leg. This movement, which occurs from the ground up, is similar to the rotation you make as you swing through the ball.

To finish the movement, rotate fully to your front side with internal rotation in your front hip, and then finish in a tall, balanced position. Your trail shoulder should be lower than your front shoulder. Anderson says if you're doing it right, the end position should feel similar to holding the finish in your golf swing.

Try it at half-speed before doing controlled reps for 30 seconds. Focus on form over rep count, and speed up as you go. When time is up on your dominant side, squat and turn to the other side. Anderson explains that when one side is weaker, it acts like a braking system that reduces your ability to generate speed. Do 30 seconds on the other side.

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If you like this exercise and want to try Trevor Anderson’s complete program, check out “20-Minute Golf Workouts,” now available in Golf Digest Schools. Train your body to perform on the course with his full-body workouts that focus on form, function and creating a more naturally athletic swing.

Join Golf Digest Schools for expert swing instruction, fitness programs, inside-the-ropes lessons from tour players, and more.