Can Jean-Jacques Rivet prove Under Armour clothing improves your game?
The French genius tells Golfmagic just how compression gear can make you hit the ball further
When loading this feature about Under Armour into the Golfmagic system, I wasn’t really sure whether to file it under ‘Apparel’ or ‘Equipment’.
Glance two inches north of this paragraph and you’ll see I opted for the latter.
Here’s why...
You haven’t met anyone quite like Jean-Jacques Rivet – a fascinating Frenchman who turned to our beloved game when injury ended his extreme sport interests.
With a captivating enthusiasm for how the human body and golf swing work together, the man they call JJ developed the Biomecaswing – a concept integrated by the renowned David Leadbetter Academy and led to an invitation to be the biomechanics consultant for Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
Using his own methods, the retired windsurfer became a scratch-standard golfer in almost no time. And it was at Terre Blanche in southern France, where JJ is now head of the European Tour Performance Institute, that I met the genius himself.
JJ has been tasked with his latest challenge by performance clothing specialist Under Armour, who asked if, when a player hits a golf ball, can his or her clothing make the ball go further?
“It was a new and fresh challenge for me,” JJ tells me, before adding with a smile: “And I quite like challenges.”
Clearly.
The key to JJ’s theory lies in the player’s abdominal area and how strengthening this part of the body can improve the swing and stave off the risk of injury.
During an in-depth presentation, breaking down the swings of Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Matteo Manassero and Alvaro Quiros, JJ says Under Armour’s compression gear can offer resistance to certain muscles – helping the golfer maintain a good posture during the swing.
“Wearing a compression shirt can increase club-head speed by up to 11%,” he explains. “It will help produce a more efficient swing by reducing lateral movement which in turn reduces the risk of injury.”
And there we have it. Golf clothing isn’t just apparel; it’s equipment too.
So next time you’re eying up a shiny new driver, be sure to save some cash for your wardrobe…
Golfmagic says…
Having been up since the early hours to catch my flight to Nice, it was a struggle to keep up with JJ’s theories, facts, and figures. But once I’d got my head around it all, I was fascinated.
Am I convinced? Well, a quick wander round the Institute suggests I have little choice. Barely any wall space is left as hordes of signed pictures and “thank yous” adorn his office.
And when I sat down and thought about it, I realised my own golf swing is far more controlled when I’m wearing my Under Armour base layer than when I’m just wearing a polo – and this can only be down to the added support the gear offers.
This was certainly one of my most memorable trips as a golf journalist and I strongly urge you to Google JJ’s work and videos because there is plenty of method to his golf madness.
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