Starting the Swing wth the Hips?

[Baraethon]

Does anyone have any drills to get me to start my downswing with my hips? I have a bad habit of starting with my shoulders and really lunging at the ball, which causes me to take a big chunk of the grass, or a big THUMP on a mat.

Any suggestions?

Also, will decent, well balanced irons help this at all? My current ones are really light, graphite shafted and incredibly badly balanced.

[jambalaya]

Try just simply keeping your head behind the ball when you swing (or no lateral movement forward). Maintain your spine angle, keep the head back and something has to give like your hips moving instead of your body sliding. I am not an advocate of consciously moving the hips. I'm in the camp that your hips move correctly because the result of a good backswing and the resulting first move down to the ball.

[MiniMoe]

I always try to swing "under" my body. Like skipping a rock. If you do that, the first move is not a shoulder move, but an arm move. I'm never over the top

[i-Guy]

Does anyone have any drills to get me to start my downswing with my hips? I have a bad habit of starting with my shoulders and really lunging at the ball, which causes me to take a big chunk of the grass, or a big THUMP on a mat. Any suggestions?

This is the same thing I am currently working on with my coach and I would suggest that you have someone look at your swing to determine if your grip, posture and back swing plane are all good as one of these things (or all three) being off could put you in a position at the top that can make starting your down swing with your hips not possible...or at least hard to do. One check you can make is swing only half way back where you have hinged your wrist and are in a position to say hand the club to someone standing behind you...stop (pause) and then see if you can initiate the down swing with your hips from there...if you find you can do it from this position then something is happening at the top of your full swing that is making you feel like you need to start the swing with your shoulders and this cannot probably be seen by you...but a coach could possibly help...good luck...

Also, will decent, well balanced irons help this at all? My current ones are really light, graphite shafted and incredibly badly balanced.

I do not think clubs can help you initiate the down swing with your hips but definitely the right clubs are going to improve your chances of getting into the correct set up position at address which is going to enhance your chances of making the proper golf swing...add a lot of hard work and you can get there...

[tm22721]

You can override your subconscious hitting impulse by waiting for the clubhead to drop behind you (due to gravity) at the end of the backswing.

[MPS67]

These videos may help.

[Baraethon]

Yes, I can do it just fine with a half seing, but it falls apart with a full swing.

Thanks for the link to the video though, I'm going to go try the shoulder idea now :)

[michaeljames92]

If you take back your arms instead of your hips(which is what i have been doing), it can cause shanks. And it isn't fun.

[jambalaya]

If you take back your arms instead of your hips(which is what i have been doing), it can cause shanks. And it isn't fun.

If you take back your arms without your torso or shoulder rotating with them the same thing can happen.

[JackB1]

Not using the hips enough is probably the #1 swing flaw in amateurs and one that is often overlooked. If you check the Pros...their hips are almost facing the target BEFORE impact.

One tip is to start the downswing by pushing your left foot into the ground.
This will "trigger" your hips. Then, let the club "fall" on it's own before turning on the juice. You can also think about bringing your right elbow to your right hip....skipping a rock...etc. whatever works. I think "left foot/ground, drop and extend through impact".

[ks8829]

I believe that if you start your back swing slowly it will help you coil fully to the point that you are forced to start you forward swing with your hips because of the full coil turn.

try it and take your backswing slowly you will take a full backswing and coil similar to a spring fully loaded you are actually forced naturally to begin your downswing with your hips it will be almost impossible to start with your arms and hands, make sure you have slight bend in your knees during your rotation.

So in summary start your backswing slowly or slower than your usual backswing and practice coiling like a spring.

[squaddie]

These videos may help.

Thanks for those videos. I especially liked the first one on dropping the right shoulder first. I'll give that a try at the range tomorrow.

[squaddie]

I believe that if you start your back swing

Well, I went to the range yesterday, and tried with the shoulder down, but forgot about the part of starting the swing slowly, focusing on the coil.

Fortunately there was an old pro in the stall next to me and he noticed after I hit 50 balls that I was swinging back to quickly and not starting the downswing with my hips. Will try again tomorrow (also saw your post on this subject in another thread). After he left I found I was able to swing better by getting the hips activated first in the downswing. Will try again tomorrow.

[DaveLeeNC]

The following link

http://tinyurl.com/6y7zep

is a short Ben Hogan clip demonstrating a drill that you might find helpful.

dave

[MPS67]

[squaddie]

Well, I went to the range yesterday, and tried with the shoulder down, but forgot about the part of starting the swing slowly, focusing on the coil.

As an update, I had more luck at the range this weekend, when I started my backswing slowly. I felt like I was able to turn back properly, and slowing down the swing allowed me time to remember to start the downswing with my hips. However now I'm not sure if I'm keeping my backswing on the proper plane (or if I had it on the proper plane in the first place). But I was hitting better.

When I started to get tired I hit a few worm burners, but then after I remember to slow down the backswing and keep my legs quiet I managed to hit properly again I also found a way to diminish my slice, but will cover that in another post.

[Guest]

To help you feel what it should feel like imagine your left hip bumping toward the target before you clear your left side. Laterally first than rotate

[wachesawgolfer]

Stop the Hogan video at impact when he hits the ball. His hips have not turned much at all at impact. From the back view, I am sure you will see the classic "two cheek" position but his hips are definitely not facing the target at impact. He is still well behind the ball at impact and thus able to power through. As mortals try to start the swing with their hips they risk the lower body outracing the arms and having nothing at impact but a reverse pivot. In fact what Hogan did, which he denied, was to transfer his weight to the front side and this was most likely accomplished by the lowering of his arms such that his arms and rear hip met and then swung through. Watch the video very carefully and freeze the impact point. What Hogan discusses in his book is that at the top with a powerful coil, the hips and arms are all connected, the hip turn will "pull the arms down inside" but I add simply dropping or swinging down inside also causes the coiled lower body to fire towards the target.

So what is the point of my rambling? Simply this, work on your setup, backswing and coil and you will sense the forward move more naturally, rather then having to use a conscious move. As many writers have said, you can never swing better than your backswing. Golf is a game of feel and the forward move feels different to different players, but it is automatic to the best players because they are in such good position at the top.