DownUnder Board Review – Improve Power & Accuracy 1st Session

Looking to build a better golf swing? One trick is to find a training aid that works fast and without complicated swing thoughts.

I explain why the DUB has been so effective for me and how to get the most out of yours in this DownUnder Board review. 

I’m an avid golfer, 8ish handicap on my way to a 2 (been a 5.6) and frequent tester of golf clubs and equipment since 2015.

Summary: I hit the ball more solid, higher, farther, straighter, & with less effort when I train with the DownUnder board. It goes to the range when I go to the range.

In this review of the DownUnder board, I discuss my experience with the board, assembly, how I use it, and my results. 

What is the DownUnder Board 2.0

It’s a golf swing training aid (version 2.0) created by Bradley Hughes to teach his students – Pros & Amateurs alike – to use their lower body correctly for:

• Greater consistency
• More power
• Better accuracy
• Proper use of ground forces

Who is Bradley Hughes?

Bradley was an accomplished player on the Australian tour with several victories, including the Australian Masters, and has played on every major tour in the world, including all 4 majors. 

Bradley now spends his time as a teaching pro to tour pros as well as average golfers like us. (Turns out, he also invents very helpful training aids)

How Does it Work?

The muscles of your pelvis and legs want to lift and straighten your body during your golf swing.

No Bueno – This means early extension, which throws your hand path off and slows your swing down.

You instinctively “throw” your hands at the ball to recover lost speed. This ALL means a wildly inconsistent swing.

The DUB – used properly – helps you resist the lifting and the straightening and the rest of the “bad stuff” that follows. You’ll stay in a more athletic and stronger setup for effortless power and control.

The simple act of squeezing the board with your leg muscles helps you deliver the club face squarer and faster into the back of the ball for tour-level compression, distance, and accuracy. 

You will swing more efficiently and powerfully more often.  

A couple pros you know using the DUB

Getting Started

DownUnder Board Assembly

Could not be easier.

• 2 screws
• 2 wingnuts
• 2 pieces of acrylic (one white and one black)
• Markings underneath at 14 – 18 inches for easy adjustment.

The DownUnder Board 2.0 will come with black and white boards fastened together in perfect alignment.

You’re going to:

1. Remove the two wing nuts from the two thumbscrews holding the two pieces together
2. Flip the black board around to where its narrow end faces the narrow end of the white board
3. Slide the black board under the white board to your desired length. From 14 to 18 inches

The older instructions encouraged you to use the DUB at its widest setting (18 inches) when starting. 

• This has sense been changed to starting where you are comfortable.
• Bradley tells us to adjust the length of the board according to the club in your hand: short iron through driver- in the latest instructional video

I tell you exactly what I did and am doing below…

How to use the DownUnder Board

Squeeze the outsides of the board with the inside of our feet throughout the swing. It’s important not to let our legs collapse inward while doing this. 

My first experience…I went off older instructions and I assembled my DownUnder Board and set it to 18 inches. 

I then went to my chipping and pitching mat in my back patio to take a couple slow rehearsal swings doing my best to follow the instructions from the videos. No bueno.

I couldn’t make anything resembling a golf swing. My hips and lower body felt locked and I could not rotate into my follow through. 

Keep in mind that I’m 5’7″ with not long legs. Probably no surprise I wouldn’t be comfortable with the board at 18 inches to start. Not sure. All I know is that I couldn’t easily do it. So…

• I went down to 17 inches…No good
• I went down to 16 inches…No good
• 15 inches…Same, pretty much
• 14 inches (narrowest setting)…Bingo. Not great, but I could awkwardly rotate into my follow through and I had something to work with.

Understand, it will feel weird at first. And it should because we are making changes.

You’ll learn how to turn through the ball aggressively but in control, stop swaying or sway less, and improve ball contact immensely. All intuitively.

There is nothing like ripping crisp iron shots one after another and watching them take off with a nice tight draw. 

Using it with the Short Game

Yes, a quiet lower body is crucial in short game too…even putting.

I turned the DownUnder Board 90 degrees for short game practice and squeezed the board with the inside of my shoes. The board is 10.5 inches wide when used like this

I focused on going back and through smoothly and not changing my swing radius so I could (hopefully) clip my pitches and chips… or at least only lightly brush the bounce of my wedge off the turf before hitting the ball.

This worked like magic, leading to consistently good contact for much better control. 

Don’t sleep on the Down Under Board for short game work. 

DownUnder Board at the Range

The first range session. By this point, I had rewatched the training videos one or two more times, and I was determined to get used to swinging with the Down Under Board between my feet.

I kept the DUB at 14 inches with every club that session. (and the next 3). I have not started setting the board to let my left foot flare out as I do in my normal swing. 

I did not disturb the turf with my first 10 swings…I topped nearly every one. My good shots were thinned.

But I felt my pivot and rotation were a little better and my swing was “quieter.” So, I was not discouraged. 

Pretty soon, I started flushing shots dead at my target. My ball striking was much improved…First with wedges, then on up to mid irons.

The next 3 sessions were much of the same. (I figure I’ve got to get around 1000-3000 reps in to truly ingrain what the DownUnder Board is trying to teach me.)

2 Things I keyed on for better results:

1. I maintained the squeeze on the Down Under Board with my feet throughout my entire backswing and as I began my downswing. Losing this focus, especially in the backswing, quickly brought sloppy swings back into play.    
2. Go slow in my takeaway and take a three-quarter backswing. Once I did that, I could use ground pressure correctly and fire into the back of the ball and into my follow-through.

Who is the DownUnder Board for?

Golfers…

I’ve seen everyday hackers like you and me to elite tour pros use the DUB. Bradley Hughes created this tool for his teaching business and uses it with amateurs and pros alike. 

I’ve been playing golf for over 25 years and have a good swing and plenty of distance. But, I have the common faults of average golfers.

The DUB helps me “tighten” up my motion and plug power leaks. My energy gets used more efficiently and the results are obvious at impact through launch and carry. 

So what if I’m new to the game?

Great, you start off ahead of the rest of us.

• You won’t create power leaks you have to plug. 
• You will learn to make consistent contact from the jump.
• You will learn to swing efficiently and powerfully and repeatably. 

Here’s what I’ve found the Down Under Board has helped me with.

1. Improved footwork
2. Improved use of the ground forces for power
3. “Quiet” lower body and “plug” power leaks
4. Improved golf swing sequence
5. Improved pivot and rotation
6. Improved your ball contact (This one is the name of the game and my scores dropped instantly)
7. Improved consistency

I could go on. It goes to the range with me every time I practice. Every Time. 

Customer Reviews

Seems my opinion of the DUB isn’t shared by all. Some people on Amazon were…underwhelmed. 

• Most of the poor ratings are price vs. cost of material based. 

And I get it. It’s well made, but it ain’t that much to look at. Maybe you can make your own for cheaper. Up to you.

I can only tell you what it has done for my game and that it’s one of about 3-4 training aids that stand above the rest I’ve tried. 

As I’ve said elsewhere in this review – It goes with me to the driving range every time I go. 

Oh, some reviewers on Amazon say it doesn’t work. They’re wrong. 

Our Verdict

I don’t think there’s a golfer out there that wouldn’t benefit from what the Down Under Board offers. Not many golf training aids I can say that for. 

It does what it says it does and is one of the few golf training aids you will end up using a lot.

It has my full recommendation. 

Where to get your DownUnder Board

I recommend buying directly from downunderboard.com

• You are supporting a small business
• They frequently run specials
• Free shipping

Thanks for checking out Golfer Geeks’ DownUnder Board Review.

I think we’ve got the real deal on our hands here. I’d love if you emailed me or commented below on how it is working for you.