I've been working on opening the hips more to take some pressure off my lumbar spine and try to gain some distance in the process. One thing I have noticed is it's somewhat difficult for me because I preset the hip bump, so I've abandoned the preset hip bump for now...
So far, the feeling I have (which may be completely wrong) is I need to squat early in the downswing and then spring off the front leg to clear the left side and return to proper level with my hips. This is because the hip turn literally elevates the hips. Curious if anyone has a good feel for this movement? Should I not be "squatting"? I'm struggling with a tight lower back right now as well, so that is probably not helping.
Tom's swing makes this movement seem very fluid. The squat is not very noticeable.
It depends on what that squatting "feel" accomplishes for you, @Nocona Colt Abernathy. Both knees should be flexed as you get into the downswing - and you don't want that lead leg straightening prematurely - so if the squat does this without lowering your head or otherwise throwing your swing center out of kilter, then it can be workable. You should find yourself in position to thrust the lower body upward (straightening the legs) as the club gets to parallel and then tuck the butt through impact. A lot of micromanaging if you allow it to be, so the key things to check for as you are working on this are head movement and keeping the low point intact.