How to Swing Your Hips Properly When Hitting the Golf Ball
So, how big of a deal do your hips and the rotation of your hips play in how you hit the ball? Surprisingly they play a major factor and one that a lot of players don't consider when looking at how to fix their golf swing.
Many players look at their grip, their alignment and all other aspects of their game as they try and figure out why they aren't hitting the ball to where they think they are aiming.
Frustration usually follows but very rarely does someone stop and say, "what are my hips doing?" Being able to use your hips correctly and knowing how to line them up in relation to your shot is one of the easiest fixes you will come across.
First, remember that you will want to line your hips, just like your shoulders and your stance in a parallel left position to your ball alignment.
Line up your ball first to your target and then align your body, hips included, in a parallel left position to this setup.
Next, let's look at the rotation of your hips.
How much is too much? How much is too little? What is the relation to the rotation of the shoulders? All good questions and we'll start by looking at the degree of rotation.
Basically, you need to have as much rotation in your hips as is necessary to correctly move your weight distribution from center to back during your backswing.
And then smoothly forward through the hitting zone and into your follow through.
Too little rotation will cause you to hit the ball too much to the right (for a right handed player) and over rotation as you are going back will cause you to not be able to get all of your weight back to the front of your stance and therefore you will be losing distance on your shot.
You also need to consider the relation between hip rotation and shoulder rotation.
If you are the type of player who rotates their shoulders 90 degrees during your backswing, then your hips need to rotate 45 degrees.
Just think about this in terms of half your shoulder rotation.
You can diagnose this on your own by having someone watch your shot or video yourself.
If someone is watching your shot, have them pay close attention to the relation between your shoulder and hip rotation and work toward the half your shoulder rotation when it comes to your hips.
No matter how far back you rotate your hips, as you move your hips through the hitting zone and follow through, you will always want to end up square to your target.
Your hips, along with your head, chest and the rest of your body will want to be pointing directly at the place you want the ball to end up.
Take these suggestions into consideration the next time you are on the course and see if your game doesn't improve.
Many players look at their grip, their alignment and all other aspects of their game as they try and figure out why they aren't hitting the ball to where they think they are aiming.
Frustration usually follows but very rarely does someone stop and say, "what are my hips doing?" Being able to use your hips correctly and knowing how to line them up in relation to your shot is one of the easiest fixes you will come across.
First, remember that you will want to line your hips, just like your shoulders and your stance in a parallel left position to your ball alignment.
Line up your ball first to your target and then align your body, hips included, in a parallel left position to this setup.
Next, let's look at the rotation of your hips.
How much is too much? How much is too little? What is the relation to the rotation of the shoulders? All good questions and we'll start by looking at the degree of rotation.
Basically, you need to have as much rotation in your hips as is necessary to correctly move your weight distribution from center to back during your backswing.
And then smoothly forward through the hitting zone and into your follow through.
Too little rotation will cause you to hit the ball too much to the right (for a right handed player) and over rotation as you are going back will cause you to not be able to get all of your weight back to the front of your stance and therefore you will be losing distance on your shot.
You also need to consider the relation between hip rotation and shoulder rotation.
If you are the type of player who rotates their shoulders 90 degrees during your backswing, then your hips need to rotate 45 degrees.
Just think about this in terms of half your shoulder rotation.
You can diagnose this on your own by having someone watch your shot or video yourself.
If someone is watching your shot, have them pay close attention to the relation between your shoulder and hip rotation and work toward the half your shoulder rotation when it comes to your hips.
No matter how far back you rotate your hips, as you move your hips through the hitting zone and follow through, you will always want to end up square to your target.
Your hips, along with your head, chest and the rest of your body will want to be pointing directly at the place you want the ball to end up.
Take these suggestions into consideration the next time you are on the course and see if your game doesn't improve.
