What does the Left Hip do during the golf swing

[555harv]

Very helpful. After all this is a swing, not a hit. the club rotates around the fulcroms created by the spine and the hip. this is as good a description as any of this complex move. Thanks.

[bigBertha68]

works for me ... thanks for the wonderful tip!

[rippendorber]

this is actually pretty spot on.... all the positions he is talking about are correct

[mrbusapp]

Very helpful suggestion, well stated. Simply put, yet very few other people have said it so simply. Thanks

[wehmeyerw1]

jack nicholson?

[Risaldeb]

You lose power big time on this swing plus you go over the top. This was my swing for 3 years and I increased my HC but when I swing my hips laterally on downswing I gain big distance and dropped my HC by almost 10. No offense just sharing experience.

[Edge4writer]

@Risaldeb Some lateral movement of the hips on the downswing is inevitable, but you have to turn, too. If you don't turn that left hip and get it behind you out of the way, the body will not be able to swing through, you'll get stuck and then come over the top in an out-to-in swing - big pull or slice from that. Firing the hips out of the way ahead of your body turn actually increases your power and distance, and will help drop the club on an inside path for that desired draw.

[Risaldeb]

@Edge4writer Thanks for the good response. Yes I fine tuned by hip turn by first firing my left knee forward and all else are passive and what a distance and accuracy. I have difficulty firing my left hips and after watching your videos and Jack Nicholas left knee release and put it all together it make wonders.

[lonestargun]

That's what I needed to hear, when on the range and it pretty much cured it. Thanks for the post

[KBrown28031]

if you immediately turn that left hip then your shoulders will turn and you will be over the top coming down. You should start with a very small hip bump towards your target.

[kristoferb]

@KBrown28031 This man just said it, Im still a beginner, but YOU NEED to start with a very small hip bumb towards the target otherwise its sooooo easy to turn the shoulders before the whole turn and youll hit the ball to the left if your a right handed golfer. But sure, the hip should go around but FIRST start with a small hip bumb its the key!

[justjames1111]

Great vid Bobby, thanks. Just to clarify my understanding we should avoid the exaggerated hip 'slide' towards the target on the downswing, however, there is a small 'bump' forward just before the turning of the left hip, which helps get your weight back onto your front foot, as spotted by 'blackynth',at 1:45 in the vid, and then the left hip turns behind you. Thanks again.

[weapons33]

GREAT TIP,, SUBBED UP!! TH

[blackynth]

I think this guy nails it. The only thing he fails to say is that there needs to be a small initial lateral shift (just like he does at 1:45) to get your left hip back over your left foot and then **turn** your left hip in and around.

[sifurick123]

Golfers need to slide the hips forward a little if their stance is to wide . Jack Nicklaus changed his head position in relationship to the ball because he could no long generated the necessary power to slide to the left. Old Jack vs. New Jack]

[remmy100]

ehhh, im not too sure about this one. correct me if im wrong, but immediately rotating the hips at the start of the backswing generally lead to a over the top swing? Since most "weekend golfers" have that problem, starting the DS with a lateral, as opposed to a rotational, movement with the hips would indeed bring the club more inside and ultimately help the player with this/her swing. i know that has fixed my slice which ive was fighting for over a year.

[daver19572000]

This video is going to keep a whole bunch of PGA professionals busy correcting the disaster this will create. If that right foot (heel) spins out counter clockwise behind him like it does there is no hope for solid contact. The right heel needs to lead the toes towards the left foot (clockwise) during the downswing. Just like it would if you were to skip a stone really flat across a pond. Watch Mr. Hogans right heel during the downswing.

[bigboycat1]

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[FitFast8]

If you do that then the weight will stay on the right side-no good. Also the hips will over-rotate.

Watch any good player in slo mo and the hips will stop rotating when they are at about 45 degrees open-with this method the hips will just spin out to 90 degrees or more. What this guy should be saying is that you shouldn't push off the right leg in the downswing (which causes the excessive lateral slide).

[CFFALLA]

this guys a weekend golfer.

[martinkp76]

there must be a small lateral move towards the target then the start of the left hip rotation, not hip rotation alone which will cause an over the top swing..hogan and tiger has a lateral move first before hip rotation

[mrbritvic]

there are some conflicting videos on you tube-check out kinetic sequence which teaches the opposite also the guy in the red shirt on golf tips says the first move is a push forward with the hips with the head over the ball-who is right ?help

[sonicdeviant]

Here's the way I use these youtube golf tips: If two or more different folks give the same tip (the more the better), I try the tip and see if it works for me. If it's one person touting some crazy idea, I skip it. However, there are instances where the "accepted practice" turns out to be a myth (i.e., so wrongly ingrained that several pros teach it WRONG).

[rw5791]

well,I have to disagree here.90% of weekend golfers hit from the top.God knows it took me a long time to make precisely the hip move that this guy is preaching against.I'm finally hitting the ball from the inside.

[dtmcbride]

Scott Lugar is right...

[catapultmagic]

One of the biggest problems weekend golfers face is 'early extension' or throwing your hips/pelvis towards the ball. I've fought it my whole life. A good swing thought is to keep your butt planted in place (see chair drill). Simply roll your right buttocks over the chair during the backswing and your left over the chair to initiate the downswing. You'll make a proper weight shift while naturally 'bumping' your hips laterally. As an added bonuses you'll keep a steady spine angle.

[cpoole9]

this guy is giving misinformation. luigi fercotti is talking crap like its his job.

the last problem that most weekend golfers have is hitting too much from the inside. they hit slices because they hit from the outside and dont push their hips forward enough.

[tubeboy7575]

You are arguing about this... If you try it and it works great, if you can't or won't use it fine. Was Bruce Lee a great martial artist? He learned all kinds of styles and used what worked for him, discarded what didn't.

[fingersmcoy]

I don't know about this. i think a little lateral motion is a must. I just think that many of us over do that lateral motion. that may be our problem.

[ScottLugar]

Here I am again to tell u this guy's talking pish, complete pish. See previous posts. Watch the Pro's, they all have one thing in common -A MASSIVE LATERAL move frwd of the hips (parallel wth the ground) as the swing initiator. Prove it to urself, fire ur left hip forward and see how ur hips will auto-turn. Also, that hip shift will drag ur left arm down into the back of the ball, leading to a more consistent ball strike. I repeat, FIRE UR LEFT HIP FORWARD AND UR HIPS WILL TURN AUTOMATICALLY

[MrLuigiFercotti]

@ScottLugar

Your are talking crap.

There is no need to conciously slide the hips forward if you have any natural athleticism in your swing, you will do it automatically in preparation for the forces created by the acceleration of the arms and hands back to the ball. OTOH, I see far more players that simply do not clear their hips agressively enough to stay ahead of the upper body. Turn turn turn and turn harder.

[ScottLugar]

@MrLuigiFercotti

Sliding the hips laterally = transferring the weight = what all the pro's do. Hmmm,  so Ben Hogan was a weekend golfer?

[hardyhardhor]

@MrLuigiFercotti yeah,being told to slide the hips often ends with exaggerated slide and the left hip in a locked position. I like harvey penicks idea of just feeling the weight go onto the left foot while returning the right elbow to the side of the body...without rushing..the club is then in a position to be released as hard as you want with hips trunk arms and wrists..everything.

[jaymaynk]

So Hogan was a weekend golfer? Tiger is a weekend golfer?

[KJEboys]

wow! You nailed it for me!! I am the "weekend golfer!" I do exactly what you said about pushing the left hip forward as opposed to turning it!

I will try what you've suggested this weekend.... hopefully my drive will go beyond 200 yards!!

Thanks!!!

[Santanderuk]

Hopefully it will stop my pushes to the right

[jflash214]

great tip

[jafalad]

This is awesome instruction. Thanks for presenting it so clearly. I'm coming over the top and slicing because my left hip is not rotating.

Can you give me an external swing thought for this move please? So rather than think "left hip backwards and around" which the brain finds hard to scramble something like: "turn as if in you are in a barrel." Many thanks!

[smoothswinging14]

if you have 2 lines outside of each hip at address, you will notice your left hip moves away from the left address position during the backswing. your right hip will either stay at the right line or move away from it...on the downswing, the left hip must return to at least where it was at address, if not u will slice or pull, def over the top.

[TheKPGA]

Hello!

[chittychad18]

Acually it works fine.

[ScottLugar]

Whatever u do with ur golf swing DO NOT DO THIS, coz spinning the hips w/o moving the weight laterally is a deadly move, it will make you hit the ball early and frm out2in.

The hips will turn if they are moved laterally. U can prove this to urself by standing up and moving ur hips to the left as far as they'll go, as they near their limit of extension they'll turn and u cant stop 'em. So: move the hips laterally 2 the left, keeping the head back and making no effort whatsoever to move the club!

[golfermanMC]

Unless you time it perfectly, you will hit a slice every single time with this hip move...

[xvirg]

ok, I'll give this a try. It better work, if I don't break 80 tomorrow, I'm coming down there. I hook so bad it curves back and hits me in the rear end.

[tihannorubato]

good tip. I've always had problems - especially when tired - of pushing out my left hip. I call it the slide. Alot of teachers miss this and its difficult to catch sometimes since hitting down on the ball is so important.

[Gyro911]

How do you do that with out your front knee buckling?

[moshady8008]

This was a *perfect* tip for me. I was duck hooking badly. When I corrected for it, I'd hit an extreme push/fade. I watched this vid and realized I wasn't turning my hip nearly enough on the downswing because I was swaying them too much instead. I'm hitting it much straighter after practising the hip turn. Excellent vid!

[PMAN46]

i can hit like 180 -190yrds and i'm only 13. but i'm only 5 foot tall. my dad and grandpa say i started golf at the right age (8yrs old). so they said i could start a golf carrer. but there are no good golf courses near were i live.

[nikepro911]

how come tiger barely rotates his hips? if one can do that with a lot of shoulder turn, does that have a more powerful effect?

[Gyro911]

Tiger has muscle memory since a child so it comes natural to him. He also changed his swing and had knee surgery due to certain bad swing habits

[hawaiicy]

That's part of the X-factor. The greater the difference between your shoulder turn (90* or more) and your hip turn (45* or less), the greater torque you are creating for you to uncoil in the downswing, which generates more power.

[Dreama40]

Folks hes on the right track except for the fact that your do need to have a slight lateral shift to assist in the weight transfer ,combined with the left hip turning out of the way, if your just turn your hips you may get stuck with to much weight on the back foot at impact, you only have to study the swings of any tour player to prove this........by the way this move is what seperates great players from us hackers he he.....

[viola128]

good advice !! I tends to "shift" a bit too much on the down swing and thus I came too much from the inside. Your swing thoughts of moving the left hip to the "back" is great. I will try it next time I am at the range.

thanks, keep them coming.

[golfrules08]

hi could you have a look at my swing please

[eddiebutt1]

I must say I really enjoy your vids they are easy to follow and no long crap I have been working on my swing so much swing plane etc. I forgot about the hips after watching this I tried it on the range and got a bit more distance by turning my hips properly and it felt a lot better very few people have the perfect golf swing but your vids have sorted a lot out in my head and I am seeing the results thanks for posting

[rindupadakau]

This is the first time to know that how to move the hip of left hand side when we are going to in the downswing.Thanks for your kindly to teach.

[p01argentina]

"Too many weekend golfers move their hips lateral and hit from the inside"???

PLEASE!!! Talk seriously!!!

And, free of charge, a lesson: turn your left hand grip more towards your right, because you have the clubface open at the top.

[ssgolf37]

you are 100 percent correct!!!!! if everyone would follow his advice of what NOT TO DO in this video they will push and draw the ball!!!! so PLEASE everyone do what he says NOT to do early in the video!!

[ScottLugar]

Ben Hogan said he turned the left hip as the first move in the downswing; but Hogan also said "there must be enough lateral motion forward to transfer the weight to the left foot". Analysis shows that Hogan had a pronounced lateral move before his hips started to turn. If you make a fundamentally good backswing, the correct lateral move forward will lead the hands and arms down on plane and from there angular momentum will turn the hips automatically for you. Dont argue with Mr. Hogan

[spyglass75L]

thank you ScottLugar for mentioning Ben Hogan!!!

yea, this guy has no clue what he's talking about

[pcmaskarino]

thank you

this was really helpful

[cdd0111]

it took me many years to realise the importance of the left hip move. i've always moved my legs too much in the swing & as i tried to hit from in-to-out i realised my hips would always end up following which in turn resulted in some hideous compensational moves.

for me, the correct left hip move is a major key to delivering the club face squarely at impact with power. try it - don't slide it, turn on it.

[joshino2]

even the iron shots right?

[cdd0111]

yes, with all clubs. i have a friend who is a very good ball striker & he says he feels he's hitting the ball 'from the side' when his right hip is about to move in front of the ball. he does this while trying to push the ball out to the right & boy, you should see the result. all the pros have open hips at impact, some more than others, ie jim furyk, he stands closer to the ball than most so he has to 'pivot' his left hip earlier. the pros compensate for any lateral movements they make.

[justjames1111]

I am constantly amazed how even top teaching pro's don't do what they say they're doing. This guy is pretty good, but you can clearly see a small lateral movement towards the target prior to turning the left hip. What he is talking about is excessive lateral 'slide' towards the target which causes many prob's such as he describes.

[einardan2005]

i think first you have to make a little laterall motion on the downswing your grong!!!!

[jkiene]

That's exactly what I am doing...sliding too much. thanks for the tip!

[boldendoesgolf]

A spin of your hips to the left, as you are demonstrating, can possibly cause one to get stuck on the downswing. There IS a slight bump towards the target THEN a turn to the left to initiate the downswing! NO pro spins their hips as you are showing! C

[golferkent]

great tips what I'm looking for.

T.y.

[frankydeee]

Great tip. Thanks