The Biggest Secret? Slide Your Hips

[tm22721]

Hip slide is an effect not a cause. Along with lag, weight transfer, secondary axis tilt, and all of the interminable positions we discuss on these golf forums.

A muscle must be STRETCHED before it can PULL. The prerequisite to turning your hips in the downswing is that YOUR MUSCLES ARE STRETCHED. 'Turn your hips as hard as you can' in Five lessons has gotten a bad reputation because everybody ignores Hogan's caution that you must first have taut muscles before you can turn the hips. Otherwise you will spin out, come over the top etc. In fact slack muscles are the cause of many ills because it promotes manipulation hence inconsistency.

First stretch your muscles in the backswing then snap rotate your hips as you feel your wrists begin to break backwards just before the top.

Your muscles will stretch as taut as a banjo string. The faster you turn your hips the more the muscles will stretch. You can't turn your hips too fast.

Then you will feel a whip like sensation as the clubhead accelerates with speed peaking at impact.

[iacas]

Hip slide is an effect not a cause. Along with lag, weight transfer, secondary axis tilt, and all of the interminable positions we discuss on these golf forums.

With all due respect, I don't think it's an effect at all. Secondary axis tilt and lag, sure, but hip slide is not. It's too far up the chain - too many people have to (or should) actively push their hips forward - for it to be an effect.

A muscle must be STRETCHED before it can PULL.

Not only does this make no physiological sense (you're wrong), it's not specifically applicable here. My hamstrings aren't stretched when my leg is straight, yet they do quite a nice job of contracting ("pulling") when I need to pull my heel towards my butt. The muscles work well that way - I don't have to bend over and try to touch my nose to my knees in order to "stretch" the hamstrings so they can pull. I don't have to bend my elbow backwards in order for my biceps to lift a weight when doing a curl.

[westcyderydin]

its totally opposite for me. i used to slide my hips back and then way forward. so now i turn back but really have to make sure that i rotate my hips in my follow through. ive found that opening my front foot helps my hips come through the right way...any thoughts on that?

[david_wedzik]

its totally opposite for me. i used to slide my hips back and then way forward. so now i turn back but really have to make sure that i rotate my hips in my follow through. ive found that opening my front foot helps my hips come through the right way...any thoughts on that?

Yes...turning the hips without sliding them on the backswing is correct and proper. The downswing includes the sliding of the hips FORWARD to effectively "move" the circle we play on slightly forward and allow the golfer to hit out at the ball more. You should be sliding and extending to ALLOW the hips to keep turning/rotating into your finish. The rotation part is correct but it is not only rotation. Forward with extension enables the PROPER rotation in the proper sequence. If you only rotate without the forward expect to hit lots of pulls and cuts/slices.

Dave Dave

[westcyderydin]

Yes...turning the hips without sliding them on the backswing is correct and proper. The downswing includes the sliding of the hips FORWARD to effectively "move" the circle we play on slightly forward and allow the golfer to hit out at the ball more. You should be sliding and extending to ALLOW the hips to keep turning/rotating into your finish. The rotation part is correct but it is not only rotation. Forward with extension enables the PROPER rotation in the proper sequence. If you only rotate without the forward expect to hit lots of pulls and cuts/slices.

I agree, i just dont have to worry about that because im obviously already sliding them. the only way i found to really turn them correctly is to open my front toe. can anyone tell me if that is alright to do?

[iacas]

I agree, i just dont have to worry about that because im obviously already sliding them. the only way i found to really turn them correctly is to open my front toe. can anyone tell me if that is alright to do?

Without video, it's tough to say - and this thread's more about the general application rather than any one person's particular swing.

[Saig55]

To me...easier said than done. I certainly know I am suppose to do this but sometimes / somehow I just forget. I haven't reached the point where natural repetitions take over. When I hit my best shots are on a slower than normal take away. It keeps my body stable and I can then slide my hips forward. Too hard a take away and I tend to sway back.

Excellent points....

[iacas]

To me...easier said than done.

Most definitely! It's probably the toughest thing to do in golf. But it's perhaps the biggest part of the reason why people slice. I'm going to post an analysis of Camilo Villegas and why he plays pulls (his miss) and deflected cuts (which can turn into slices, another of his misses) soon. YouTube's just finishing up the encoding. Even he could push his hips forward more to eliminate the misses.

[abraxas]

thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!!!

i stayed away from this thread considering how long it was and didnt want to go through the posts (pure laziness)
BUT sooo glad i did
i started practicing moving my right knee towards my left leg and such a huge difference
the hips almost snap around automatically
haha gotta love when things just *click*

[Sun City Country Club]

Excellent advice! Normally you would have to pay to get tips as comprehensive and professional as these :) Thanks again, I'll have to put this information to use ASAP.

[thenormankid]

First I wanna thank everyone for this thread it has help me with pulling the ball a issue ive been battling. But with the hip slide I've been hitting hossels and very close on the heel. Is this due to sliding too much or too close to the ball?

[Hoselrockets]

First I wanna thank everyone for this thread it has help me with pulling the ball a issue ive been battling. But with the hip slide I've been hitting hossels and very close on the heel. Is this due to sliding too much or too close to the ball?

I too battle the hoselrockets and for me it was the "turning of the hips" that causes me to hossel some shots. When I really concentrate on moving the hips towards the target better things happen. I like to refer it to "bumping" the hips. It does take some time to get the feeling but it's truely the correct motion to start the downswing. Scoll back a few pages of this topic to find the video that too is great information. Good luck.

[Scott_K]

Killer thread. I haven't read through the entire thread, so I apologize if this was already covered.

While doing the right knee kick at address, am I suppose to feel my lower body start to "torque" up by the time the club head is about belt level on the takeaway ?
Also, by the time I get to the top my upper left lat is really wound up. Is this what it's suppose to feel like ?

When I did this, I felt restricted, but I can definitely feel the weight on the inside of my right foot instead of over my right foot at the top. I'm still able to make my 90 degree shoulder turn, but the top did not feel loose. The start of the downswing through finish feels fine. I feel like I have a smaller/compact overall arc. The dispersion was desirable aside from a few ugly swings.

This was my first bucket of balls for the season, but I'd like to know if those tight feelings in the takeaway and the top are correct.

Thanks,
Scott

[KimboSlice]

I'm still having a hard time envisioning this. I looked at the initial pics in the original post, so I think I get the idea but I think I need some clarification.

I tried to duplicate this by looking at myself in the mirror with no club.

So when I start the downswing, do I start it with pushing down on the balls of my back foot (thereby lifting my back foot heel) and therefore shifts my hips forward? Is that the sensation I'm looking for? And when I shift my hips forward, do I try to keep my head back so that I tilt away from the target like the pros do? Am I completely off?

[david_wedzik]

I'm still having a hard time envisioning this.

NO - you definitely DO NOT lift your back foot heel of the ground to start. You slide the hips straight forward (if you have never done this correctly you many need them to "feel" closed) and the right foot "banks" inward (see this youtube video for the proper foot action:

From there you are correct - when you slide your hips (lower Center of Gravity) forward your head and upper center (call it the sternum) stays fixed so your upper axis can stay stable putting in the tilt away from the target that you are talking about (through impact). Dave

[iacas]

This thread, and others like it, lead Andrew Rice to write a blog post about the hip slide: http://www.andrewricegolf.com/2010/0...e-good-or-bad/ .

A good read, and one with which I 99.8% agree (I just don't like the "sequence" idea but rather think of them as two continual motions with overlapping but different periods). (Hi Andrew! Looking forward to the school if we can get some more people to come.)

[lionking]

some great info here.

quick question- i find that my ankles roll a bit (mostly right but also a little bit of left, i'm RH) with the slide. it feels a bit unstable and i'm sure my ankles won't feel good in the long term. i also saw on david's video above that his left foot moves a bit. am i doing something wrong or do you have any tips on how to be more stable?

thanks in advance.

[RIduffer]

I have been working on the hip slide recently with some positive results. I have always struggled with thin iron shots, and the hip slide seems to help me get more weight forward, and the low point of my swing more forward. No question my contact has improved as a result.

I do feel like I'm fighting to keep the ball from going right though. As much as I try to slide the hips forward without spinning them open, the clubface feels like it is getting laid off on the downswing. The ballflight is not terrible...but I feel like I'm flipping a bit to avoid the big fade. Any suggestions?