The Crucial Role Of The Hip Turn In A Golfing Swing

The hip turn in a golf swing permits the rest of the body to move. It can be the trigger for part of the swing and the downfall of a bad swing. Concentrate on getting it right, whilst not thinking around it too much! Golfing really is a game of complete opposites and it is easy to understand why there is a load of confusion in the sport.

The first pointer when talking about the hip rotation is that it is just that. It is a trivial movement of the hips, combined with the legs and upper torso. But, it is not the whole body travelling. The aim is that the legs, hips, upper body and shoulders turn to give the swing a wide arc, whilst the head stays entirely level. Imagine that your head and feet are clamped whilst the rest of the body turns and you are getting there.

Stage one of the hip rotation is the back swing of the stroke. Feel your upper body and arms leading the rotation and merely let your hips go with the flow. At the top of the back swing, make sure that the club is pointing where you want the ball to go and then look at how your hips have turned. They should be halfway between the opening point of pointing to the ball and the facing away from the ball. A 45 degree turn, or an eighth of a full body rotation.

If you have turned in excess of this the your legs have yielded too much, less than this and you are too stiff and not storing the energy wanted to send the ball towards the flag.

Now the fun bit! I pause every so momentarily at the top of the back swing. Merely long enough for me to think ‘hips’. At this position my reaction is to start the hip movement to begin the down swing action. This is a small left shift of the hips, which drops the shoulders almost vertically, bringing the arms down. There is also a slight movement of the arms to bring your right elbow towards your right hip.

The final part of the hip swing is to open them towards the target slightly. This is the end part of the left shift and will permit the club and arms to pass cleanly in front of the body.

But take into account – the head stays still! You are rotating the body, not moving the head.

If you have ever skimmed stones across water then you will know the final hip position feeling from that, although you don’t yet realise that. Pretend to skim a stone and look at where your hips finish off. That is the position you are trying pull off!

To recap, starting square to the ball the hips should rotation 45 degrees away from the ball, almost being dragged by the upper half of the body, then start the downswing with a slight left shift of the hips and a rotation towards the target, finishing as although you are skimming a stone.

Oh, and did I mention – keep your head still! It is a turn, not moving the whole body!

Written by Keith Lunt. If you want to read more about golf training, call into the weblog. Or pop over to read more round golfing equipment.

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