Help Sliding the Hips Fast Enough

[tm22721]

Before when I was sliding my hips in the downswing I could not do it fast enough and would always hit it fat. I can only do it without a ball.

How do I fix that ?

[iacas]

Before when I was sliding my hips in the downswing I could not do it fast enough and would always hit it fat. I can only do it without a ball.

A) Feel isn't real.

B) Video is. C) Your question is unanswerable without video. In other words, who knows why you were hitting the ball fat. You could have been dropping your right shoulder, too. Or several other things. I'm not down with pinning it on the hips without seeing a good video.

[tm22721]

Thank you for responding.

Stalling, deceleration…it is EVIL. There is a natural tendency to lead with the upper body and overaccelerate from the top.

Needs to be a gradual building of speed into impact…smooth acceleration. I listen to the pitch of the clubhead to tell me where peak speed occurs…it needs to be close to impact to prevent flipping.

Sequence is everything…lower body followed by upper…the trick is to retard the upper body…separate it from the lower…two ways to do it.

Many do it by sliding the hips to the target. Too difficult for me.

I do it by adding a little stretch at the end of the backswing.

Same result. Fruitless to argue which method is best.

IMO using the hands to generate lag is manipulative…inconsistent. Lag is a byproduct of proper pivot sequence…lower then upper…continuous acceleration.

Learned this the hard way through reading and experimentation…problem is closed minds…we all stand on the shoulders of others.

[iacas]

Many do it by sliding the hips to the target. Too difficult for me.

I know you're older, but I've seen 75 year old guys make good motions with their hips.

I do it by adding a little stretch at the end of the backswing.

So you say... but again, without video as evidence, nobody can agree (or disagree) with you.

Same result. Fruitless to argue which method is best.

Well, you are a 10, and PGA Tour pros push with their hips to the ball, and nobody has a clue what you mean by "adding a little stretch." Nobody's saying they don't - we don't know what you mean.

IMO using the hands to generate lag is manipulative…inconsistent. Lag is a byproduct of proper pivot sequence…lower then upper…continuous acceleration.

What does that have to do with anything?

[tm22721]

nobody has a clue what you mean by "adding a little stretch."

I perform practice swings feeling the entire body stretch at the top of the swing by reaching for the sky. The stretch is from my planted left heel to my left hand. Then turn the hips and feel the quiet and gradual building of speed in the downswing as the upper body is left behind. The hip rotation pulls the stretched upper body through in the correct downswing sequence. Hogan describes this feeling in Five Lessons pages 71 and 74 of the paperback version.

[iacas]

I perform practice swings

a) You can stretch by making your hands go backwards, further behind you (flatter) too.

b) Nobody's said that you don't turn your hips on the downswing. c) I AM saying that this is in coordination with a good amount of pushing the lower center of gravity (between your tailbone and your belt buckle) forward (down the target line, not towards the ball). The golf swing is nowhere near purely rotary at the hip level as you seem to believe. That may be the "feeling" for you, but it's not what the best golfers do. Again, even Hogan pushed his hips forward dramatically.

[tm22721]

a) You can stretch by making your hands go backwards, further behind you (flatter) too.

You are right it is feel vs real. My intention is to rotate my hips but there is some sliding first because I am bipedal and there are ground forces that initially resist the rotation. If my intention is to slide it ends in disaster. Different strokes...

[Stuart]

Maybe you should think about "turning" or "firing" your hips rotationally instead of sliding. Sliding isn't really what you want.

[Phil McGleno]

Maybe you should think about "turning" or "firing" your hips rotationally instead of sliding. Sliding isn't really what you want.

How can I put this nicely...??? I disagree.

[Zeph]

Without video, there is no way to tell what your feelings look like in reality. Trying to fix anything is merely guesswork. It's like trying to hit bullseye on darts with your eyes closed.

[canadianpro]

Please show me a video of a great player who doesn't slide his hips toward the target....I agree with Butch

[colin007]

Maybe you should think about "turning" or "firing" your hips rotationally instead of sliding. Sliding isn't really what you want.

do you have video of your swing? im guessing that as a scratch golfer, you have learned to slide your hips toward the target, even if you dont realize it.