How to Make a Centered Hip Turn

[Gboroman]

Thanks, Mike.  I do need to video my swing and upload it.

I've been looking through the Weight Forward - SwingCatalyst & SAM thread and it's been enlightening.  This weekend, I focused on my weight/pressure as it relates to hip turn.  I know feeling can be misleading, but I still feel as though it helps me to turn my hip back if I get weight on my back heel and feel my back glute tighten A2-A4.  I also notice a slight drop in my head as I do this.

However, I started to not focus on heel/toe pressure, but just tried to "feel" 50/50 or 45/55 A2-A4 while trying to rotate my Right Pocket Back (RPB).  And, boy, did I start feeling a more connected and powerful swing with my irons!  It "felt" like I was getting weight forward more at impact.  I did straight pull a few shots, though.

My question is, would you recommend to not worry too much about pressure in the back heel to achieve a good centered hip turn?

[mvmac]

Just sharing a good post by @iacas .

http://thesandtrap.com/t/77836/my-swing-drvfrshow/18#post_1084306

Quote:

[cbrister]

What is considered a reverse hip slide?

[mvmac]

What is considered a reverse hip slide?

Where the hips "slide" too much towards the target on the backswing. Not really a term I use a lot.

[mvmac]

Sam Saunders

[mpb1472]

Went to the heated range the past two weeks focusing on turning more. My bad shot is a pull hook. When I thought of moving my right hip back and turning behind me to the target I stuck the ball much better without pull hooks. Took away my focus on front side turning. Hope it is something constructive and lasting for my swing.

[MrDC]

It's all about the legs, even though they seem passive and move very little, the muscles are working hard, and I think beginners overlook the legs a lot and end up out of center, it's not something you really notice much when looking at a swing, but the legs and how you work the knees during the swing are super important to stay centered and getting the weight forward correctly.

My teacher rarely mentioned this, it was always hips, hips, hips, well the hips need something to support them well, and you can't just use your core.

[PJCdude]

I got directed to this thread due to my own swing thread and I can't wait to try this out. I don't see an opportunity to hit up the range in the near future but I've been practicing with a microphone stand in school. (I'm a music teacher) is it worth filming that?

[mvmac]

[mvmac]

[deekay]

Hi all,

I notice that some players allow their left knee to "break" somewhat towards the ball (while straightening their back leg a little), while others seem to let the knee "break" more toward their front foot.

I find that if I do the latter (towards the front foot, while allowing my back leg to straighten a little), it really helps me shift forward through the stroke. This does, however, feel as if I am shifting the axis of rotation towards the target, rather than keeping it centered. It is not a gross shift, but it is there all the same.

I have struggled with fat shots for a while, and this has really helped. On the other hand I don't want to form a habit which is going to cause other problems down the line.

Any thoughts?

P.S. Apologies if this has been covered already and I have missed it!

[mvmac]

Hi all,

I notice that some players allow their left knee to "break" somewhat towards the ball (while straightening their back leg a little), while others seem to let the knee "break" more toward their front foot.

I find that if I do the latter (towards the front foot, while allowing my back leg to straighten a little), it really helps me shift forward through the stroke. This does, however, feel as if I am shifting the axis of rotation towards the target, rather than keeping it centered. It is not a gross shift, but it is there all the same.

I have struggled with fat shots for a while, and this has really helped. On the other hand I don't want to form a habit which is going to cause other problems down the line.

Any thoughts?

Feel isn't always real so do you know if you're shifting forward on the backswing? You may normally shift to the right too much so the feeling of the left knee over the front foot (a feeling I have recommended to some players) may help you stay centered and hit the ball more solid. I don't know of any good players that actually flex the knee over their front foot.

[deekay]

Thanks @mvmac,

I did this move last evening with the backrests of two chairs resting against my left and right hips respectively. It's my understanding that if I simply rotated in position (stationary axis) a gap would open between both hips and their respective backrests.

What actually happened is that a gap opened between my right hip (I am a righty) and it's chair, while my left hip actually pushed the chair away slightly. Feels as if my (straightening) right leg is pushing my lower body slightly to the left as it rotates.

The position of my head means that my left knee is still slightly "inside" my front foot when it appears in line.

I actually use that "knee appearing in line with foot" as a bit of a swing thought!

[mvmac]

Came across this and thought it was interesting. When they're talking about the hip sway moving towards the target 4", they are probably measuring the trail hip, not the center of the hip/pelvic girdle. The pros aren't "sliding" their hips forward on the backswing, the trail hip is just moving up and around, like I talk about in the OP.

http://www.golf.com/video/sponsored-golftec-swingtru-motion-study-hip-sway-backswing

[isukgolf]

Interesting video and I never collated hitting behind the ball with my hips until Brian (Evolvr) pointed it out in my video in an answer to my "why do I do hit behind the ball so much" I have spent a lot of "5 minutes of practice" a day on this very thing ... I am slowly getting it into my head and I am hitting my driver not only longer, but straighter ... and better yet I am believing in it

[mvmac]

Mike Bender (Zach Johnson. Jonathan Byrd's swing instructor) talking about the hip turn in the backswing. I like how he asks the guy at the top of the swing, "Do you feel like you're going to swing to the right or to the left?".

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/lesson-tee-live-find-right-turn-action/

[boogielicious]

Nice article and video showing Jason Day's centered hip turn.  There is a video with the story.

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/07/how-he-hit-that-jason-days-sup.html

 By Matthew Rudy 

 

The beauty of Jason Day's swing has never been in dispute.

 

The athletic Australian has one of the Tour's most envy-inducing actions -- but it also gets the job done. He hits long, straight shots like the one that produced four rounds in the 60s at the RBC Canadian Open, and a one-shot win over Bubba Watson.

 

The height and precision Day gets with his irons is a product of ideal weight transfer back and forth, and avoiding a common mistake many amateur players make in the quest to "get behind the ball."

 

"A lot of players feel like they need to really load up and move off the ball when they make that weight transfer back during the backswing, but Jason Day keeps his spine very straight and his chest centered between his shoes," says Golf Digest Best Young Teacher Shaun Webb, who is based at the David Toms 265 Academy in Shreveport, La. "He's definitely shifting the pressure to his right side, but he's staying centered. It's what lets him create so much speed in the downswing, and hit the ball so high and straight."

 

Unlike some swing moves, this one doesn't require extreme flexibility or strength to copy. "Feel like your spine stays where it was at address -- straight up and down -- and you stretch the right side of your body away in the backswing," says Webb, who also teaches Toms. "If you've been moving off the ball a lot, this will actually feel like you're tilting toward the target. You'll see the benefit of the change right away. When you move off the ball, it tends to make the swing go out to the right, and you either slice or overcompensate with the hands and hook it. Do it like Day does and you can swing way faster, with way more control."

[MrDC]

" Unlike some swing moves, this one doesn't require extreme flexibility or strength to copy."


No, but it does require something, because it's not easy to do consistently, especially when the body starts to get tired.