What is all of the talk round a hip rotation? How much is right, how much is too much? When do you know if you are getting it right?
The hip turn in a golfing swing permits the rest of the body to move. It might be the trigger for part of the swing and the downfall of a bad swing. Concentrate on getting it right, whilst not thinking round it too much! Golfing really is a game of total opposites and it is easy to understand why there is loads of confusion in the sport.
The first pointer when talking around the hip turn is that it is only that. It is a trivial movement of the hips, combined with the legs and upper torso. But, it is not the full body moving. The aim is that the legs, hips, upper body and shoulders rotate to give the swing a wide arc, whilst the head stays completely steady. Picture that your head and feet are clamped whilst the rest of the body rotates 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, check that the club is pointing where you want the ball to go and then peep at how your hips have turned. They should be halfway between the starting point of pointing to the ball and the facing away from the ball. A 45 degree rotation, or an eighth of a full body rotation.
If you have rotated over this the your legs have yielded too much, less than this and you are too stiff and not storing the power desired to send the ball towards the flag.
Now the fun bit! I pause every so briefly at the top of the back swing. Merely long enough for me to think 'hips'. At this point my reaction is to start the hip movement to commence the down swing action. This is a slight left shift of the hips, which drops the shoulders practically vertically, bringing the arms down. There is also a small movement of the arms to bring your right elbow towards your right hip.
The last part of the hip swing is to open them towards the target somewhat. 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 bear in mind - the head stays still! You are rotating the body, not stirring 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, nigh on being dragged by the upper half of the body, then start the downswing with a slight left shift of the hips and a turn towards the target, finishing as even if you are skimming a stone.
Oh, and did I mention - keep your head still! It is a rotation, not stirring the whole body!
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Written by Keith Lunt. If you want to read more around golf training , call into the website. Or pop over to read more around golf equipment
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