Golf Swing Mechanics

[Dewdew7]

Hi ! My name is Andrew and I am new here. I play at about a 6 handicap but im certainly better I just need to play more. My question is something thats been bugging me all day. But I feel like core rotation in golf is super important. I feel like the hips shouldn't open that much in the backswing because you're releasing the built up energy. The rubber band is losing its elasticity when the hips open too much. Because then you have to fire the hips too hard to get it all back on plane. Why not use hard core rotation and resist the hips as much as you can? The hips certainly move back to a degree obviously, but that's after you've had big core rotation while torqueing your hips and right side of the right leg with core rotation. Does this sound good? Thanks for the help!

[billchao]

1 minute ago, Dewdew7 said:

Hi ! My name is Andrew and I am new here. I play at about a 6 handicap but im certainly better I just need to play more. My question is something thats been bugging me all day. But I feel like core rotation in golf is super important. I feel like the hips shouldn't open that much in the backswing because you're releasing the built up energy. The rubber band is losing its elasticity when the hips open too much. Because then you have to fire the hips too hard to get it all back on plane. Why not use hard core rotation and resist the hips as much as you can? The hips certainly move back to a degree obviously, but that's after you've had big core rotation while torqueing your hips and right side of the right leg with core rotation. Does this sound good? Thanks for the help!

Muscles aren’t made of rubber. Yes there is a stretch reflex that comes from them being extended but that’s activated from the hips starting to unwind while the club is still going back slightly, not by restricting the hip turn in the backswing.

[Double Mocha Man]

43 minutes ago, Dewdew7 said:

Hi ! My name is Andrew and I am new here. I play at about a 6 handicap but im certainly better I just need to play more. My question is something thats been bugging me all day. But I feel like core rotation in golf is super important. I feel like the hips shouldn't open that much in the backswing because you're releasing the built up energy. The rubber band is losing its elasticity when the hips open too much. Because then you have to fire the hips too hard to get it all back on plane. Why not use hard core rotation and resist the hips as much as you can? The hips certainly move back to a degree obviously, but that's after you've had big core rotation while torqueing your hips and right side of the right leg with core rotation. Does this sound good? Thanks for the help!

Welcome Andrew!  I think you are referring to the X swing which was in vogue 7-10 years ago.  Where you restrict the hip turn but turn the shoulders as much as you can building up resistance and a certain tautness.  It seems to no longer be the flavor of the week... it has fallen out of favor, even with the pros.  One reason:  It's very tough on the back.  Show me a 50 year old who uses it and I'll show you a 50 year old with a bad back.

[dennyjones]

Welcome to TST Andrew.

 

[iacas]

4 hours ago, Dewdew7 said:

I feel like the hips shouldn't open that much in the backswing because you're releasing the built up energy.

There's no such thing, as others have noted. Your body is not rubber, nor is it a spring.

4 hours ago, Dewdew7 said:

Does this sound good? Thanks for the help!

Look at the images in this topic:

You're going to see a lot of hips that rotated during the backswing.

[Dewdew7]

Yes I mean certainly the hips do turn back. And by the elastic band analogy I meant that you're really just trying to coil up and torque and get potential energy stored up. Maybe its not the greatest analogy. But anyway I've worked so hard throughout my entire golf career thus far on so much. Particularly lower body movement through the swing. I have loaded up and fired my hips SO hard in the past. Recently have made a changed. I have relied so much on hip turn and lifting the arms up (not as much CORE rotation as I do now) that it completely gave me so much loss of power. Currently now, after all my experience, I am extremely convinced that the swing is produced with the core and arms. The hips and lower body only provide stability, torque, and power from the ground, and initiates the swing, and clears out of the way so that your swing can accelerate through. I had the initiating the swing part down really well, but none of the others. No stability, no power from the ground due to lack of stability, and etc. My father always taught me to torque the right knee towards the ball to have the sense of torqueing against your right side so that you're stable. I played great golf like that, but I have a new coach who's a players pro himself. He's 47 years old. When I watch him swing (he CRUSHES the ball dead straight effortless or with effort if he's going to bomb it), he does open his hips quite a bit. But his hips do not open to start his swing. No. The core rotates back and as a RESULT of the core rotating, the lower body has to open up to allow for more CORE rotation. But I absolutely do not agree that the hips should just open up randomly and try to calculate how much core backswing you need. The core rotation dictates the hips opening. And that is exactly why I am resisting the hips so much. My natural tendency is to open wide with the hips which throws me way out of balance and loses torque because I moved my axis and destroyed what core power I had. He had me do an exercise where I sit down in a chair and swing a club (or just rotate the core) so that I can develop and find my core muscles. It was so hard at first, but without moving knees or anything I could turn my core and I never even knew my core could turn like that. It takes lots of practice and serious dedication. The hips and knees were screaming at me telling me to rotate almost forcing me to rotation my hips and knees. I just kept trying to turn my core as much as I possibly could. Now when I take to the golf course, I'm an upper body torquer who's stable and let's the core dictate the hips opening. I shot 74 today which I was happy about even though I got assessed a 2 stroke penalty and had a lame 3 putt on a par 3. Using this newfound knowledge and training i could do that today and I am very happy. Believe it or NOT, but my new swing is incredibly WAYYYY less painful and soooo easy on my back and it feels effortless. I'm slotting it so good now too. I've marked my back so bad even though I'm young my swing dynamics were just wild. My swing is so much athletic now. I have so much talent through the years but now I'm beginning to develop something very special, athletic, and professional. And also thank you so much !!! I typed on golf forum to find a golf forum and I found this one and I freaking love it so far !!!! Needed to talk about this and receive feedback xD thank you 

[boogielicious]

7 hours ago, Dewdew7 said:

Yes I mean certainly the hips do turn back. And by the elastic band analogy I meant that you're really just trying to coil up and torque and get potential energy stored up. Maybe its not the greatest analogy. But anyway I've worked so hard throughout my entire golf career thus far on so much. Particularly lower body movement through the swing. I have loaded up and fired my hips SO hard in the past. Recently have made a changed. I have relied so much on hip turn and lifting the arms up (not as much CORE rotation as I do now) that it completely gave me so much loss of power. Currently now, after all my experience, I am extremely convinced that the swing is produced with the core and arms. The hips and lower body only provide stability, torque, and power from the ground, and initiates the swing, and clears out of the way so that your swing can accelerate through. I had the initiating the swing part down really well, but none of the others. No stability, no power from the ground due to lack of stability, and etc. My father always taught me to torque the right knee towards the ball to have the sense of torqueing against your right side so that you're stable. I played great golf like that, but I have a new coach who's a players pro himself. He's 47 years old. When I watch him swing (he CRUSHES the ball dead straight effortless or with effort if he's going to bomb it), he does open his hips quite a bit. But his hips do not open to start his swing. No. The core rotates back and as a RESULT of the core rotating, the lower body has to open up to allow for more CORE rotation. But I absolutely do not agree that the hips should just open up randomly and try to calculate how much core backswing you need. The core rotation dictates the hips opening. And that is exactly why I am resisting the hips so much. My natural tendency is to open wide with the hips which throws me way out of balance and loses torque because I moved my axis and destroyed what core power I had. He had me do an exercise where I sit down in a chair and swing a club (or just rotate the core) so that I can develop and find my core muscles. It was so hard at first, but without moving knees or anything I could turn my core and I never even knew my core could turn like that. It takes lots of practice and serious dedication. The hips and knees were screaming at me telling me to rotate almost forcing me to rotation my hips and knees. I just kept trying to turn my core as much as I possibly could. Now when I take to the golf course, I'm an upper body torquer who's stable and let's the core dictate the hips opening. I shot 74 today which I was happy about even though I got assessed a 2 stroke penalty and had a lame 3 putt on a par 3. Using this newfound knowledge and training i could do that today and I am very happy. Believe it or NOT, but my new swing is incredibly WAYYYY less painful and soooo easy on my back and it feels effortless. I'm slotting it so good now too. I've marked my back so bad even though I'm young my swing dynamics were just wild. My swing is so much athletic now. I have so much talent through the years but now I'm beginning to develop something very special, athletic, and professional. And also thank you so much !!! I typed on golf forum to find a golf forum and I found this one and I freaking love it so far !!!! Needed to talk about this and receive feedback xD thank you 

Please use paragraphs.

[Vinsk]

7 hours ago, Dewdew7 said:

My natural tendency is to open wide with the hips which throws me way out of balance and loses torque because I moved my axis and destroyed what core power I had.

Not sure I agree with this. Unless there’s a neurological defect the body doesn’t naturally put itself out of balance. Turning the hips is creating torque. Your timing may have been off with regards to your rotation but I don’t think your hips opening loses torque.

[iacas]

19 hours ago, Dewdew7 said:

Yes I mean certainly the hips do turn back. And by the elastic band analogy I meant that you're really just trying to coil up and torque and get potential energy stored up.

Nothing really gets "stored up" though. I mean, I kinda get what you're saying… but hear what others are saying in this, too.

19 hours ago, Dewdew7 said:

Currently now, after all my experience, I am extremely convinced that the swing is produced with the core and arms. The hips and lower body only provide stability, torque, and power from the ground, and initiates the swing, and clears out of the way so that your swing can accelerate through.

This sounds like "feels" rather than what's actually happening. Also, in one sentence you say "the swing is produced with the core and the arms," and then you go on to say that the hips and lower body "only":

• provide stability
• provide torque
• provide power
• initiates the swing
• clears out of the way

So…

19 hours ago, Dewdew7 said:

But I absolutely do not agree that the hips should just open up randomly and try to calculate how much core backswing you need.

Who would agree that the hips rotate on the backswing "randomly"?

Start a Member Swing topic, my man.

[easyjay39402]

On 10/11/2020 at 12:54 PM, Dewdew7 said:

“Because then you have to fire the hips too hard to get it all back on plane“

This sentence in the original post caught my eye. My instructor has encouraged me to allow a very substantial hip turn in order to get my shoulders to 90 degrees. I’m 76 and, despite decades of yoga, I’m just not very flexible anymore. This appears to be common advice that instructors give elderly golfers to claw back some lost distance. The challenge is getting those hips back to an open position at impact, while keeping the club on plane. The usual outcome is squared up hips with early extension (a common sight on the senior tees). When I was much younger, I didn’t rotate my hips much on the backswing, which made it easy to get them open at impact.