(shoots golf ball)
- Hi Adam Bazalgette here,
founder of Scratch Golf Academy.
Today's subject, how to clear your hips in the golf swing.
Show you the pros,
show you how they don't all do it the same
and some ways that you can customize this for yourself
and also we'll give you some drills there
as we go along that will really help you get the feel
and show you something at the end of the video
that's kind of an underestimated component of all this.
So stay tuned.
(upbeat techno music)
(hitting golf balls)
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(shoots golf ball)
So how to clear those hips properly.
One thing you want to bear in mind at the very beginning,
the hips don't hit the golf ball,
the club hits the golf ball.
So you always wanna stay connected
to what you're trying to do with the club.
I mean, hey it's great to turn your hips
but if that makes you swing off the target line
or something like that which we'll get into it's no good.
So stay connected to the delivery of the club.
Now certainly one thing good hip motion can do,
speed in the hips,
helps speed the club up.
But that is only the case if this segment,
the pelvic segment separates from the other segments.
Picure me, I've used these towels in my videos a lot
if you've seen them.
Hey I can't create some speed there
but not if both ends of the towel move together.
So remember it's not just about hip speed,
it's separating the hips from the other segments
as you begin to do it.
Now, not all pros do it the same way
and not all of them just rotate their hips.
Let's have a quick look at a few of them
to get a mental picture then we'll come out
and really get into this thing.
So here's Paul Casey on the left,
there's Bubba Watson on the right,
and if we look at Paul Casey,
beautiful move there,
strong lower body action.
Let's stop him right about as he's hitting the ball.
Let's look at Bubba Watson at that point.
Look's like he's hitting possibly a wedge there.
Bubba Watson's hips are definitely significantly more
open than Paul Casey's are.
But that works for him.
Both of them deliver the club beautifully
down the intended target line.
That works for them.
So differing degrees there could
be based on athletic instinct
or perhaps even just flexibility or whatnot.
So let's look at Arnold Palmer,
nice throwback there.
And let's look at say, Dustin Johnson.
Now, let's look at Dustin.
He's hitting like a hybrid here.
Now look at the lateral movement in his downswing.
Look how his hips bump toward the target.
And I don't think that's especially a lot either.
I'd say this player Fred Couples bumps
significantly more than that.
But you watch Arnold Palmer,
super dynamic hitter of the ball.
Just watch his hips in total and you'll see
that it's almost pure rotation coming down.
There's just heiress movement forward
and that is a very rotary look.
Again that worked for him with his swing.
What is does do fantastically though
is you'll see how the lower body separates
from the upper body there,
creating tremendous torque and possible power.
Okay I mentioned in the beginning,
remember it's the club that hits the ball, not the hips
so if you were trying for a really ferocious hip turn
but you don't have the ability to separate
your shoulders from your hips a bit,
and you're a guy or a gal that thrusts
the club a little bit,
you're almost certainly gonna across
the target line when you do that.
So you even need to learn to separate the hips from the top
or you've gotta back off a little bit
of that hip rotation.
Now here's drill number one.
Just to see how you do in terms
of trying to separate your hips from your top.
Put a club, fact you don't even need a club.
Just put your hands up here like this.
Hold your shoulders nice and still
and see if you can rotate your hips
each way without moving your shoulders.
If you're good at it you can rotate
your hips pretty quickly there.
Minimal shoulder movement.
Now if you're not able to do that in other words,
if you can't separate or you can keep your shoulders still,
it could either be that you lack the coordination
between the segments,
your mind just hasn't done things like that,
or it could be that you lack mobility.
So try this little drill.
I'm gonna use my golf bag for example here.
Put your hands on the top of the cover there.
You could have them up against the door or something.
That'll hold your shoulders still.
Now you can work on those hips.
Can I move those hips pretty aggressively and independently.
We're not even counting hip drive.
We're just saying hip mobility.
If you can do that in other words
if you can do it when your hands holding
your shoulders still but you can't do it without that,
that means your coordination isn't there.
You need to see a trainer or work on some drills
to help you with that.
But even if they are still,
if you can hardly move those hips,
it means your flexibility just isn't there.
And again you can work on that
with someone that really has some expertise in that area.
Okay in this drill,
we're gonna take book out of the page of say
baseball or tennis.
Now you not have played those sports.
Hopefully you've played one or the other,
but you've probably watched them.
And baseball, when they step in to hit the ball,
the bat's actually taken back momentarily.
Same in tennis.
The ball comes here, the racket goes back
as the player steps forward.
If you can separate those two,
you'll really go a long way towards
separating your shoulders from your hips as well.
So here's the drill.
I've got the nine iron, doesn't have to be a nine,
but a short iron on a tee.
You need it on a tee really to make it easier.
Were gonna go back to maybe about horizontal
with this lead on maybe just short of it
and then pause.
Now, let me just jump in and say
I use this drill in teaching quite a lot
and typically once that ball is there and you say
"Just pause, and then do such and such."
They don't, they just hit it like that.
So you've got to make sure you have the pause.
Here's the drill.
I'm gonna do a practice rehearsal first.
Get to about here, full pause.
Now in this case, as I start to apply
force in the hips here,
I'm gonna just jolt my hands back just an inch or two
so I feel them going in the separate directions.
Lets try it with the ball here.
There's my spot.
(swings at golf ball)
Yeah I really could feel a sense
of two different directions at once.
It's not a lot of movement
but the different direction separates a segment.
Creates a lot of energy.
Now one other missing ingredient here
that most people fail to,
they don't even know it exists,
but it will really help you get those hips working.
Let's have a quick look at a pro
then I'll give it to you here at the end.
So there's Tiger Woods,
and certainly as you watch his hips,
he bumps towards the target a little bit
and for certain he clear out,
I mean his hips are aiming here
and he hasn't even hit the ball yet.
But what else does he do,
and he does this super super well,
if you look at his belt buckle,
he lowers a little bit as we comes down,
I mean his belt buckle is down there at this point.
That is pressure going down into that foot.
And against the ground you can then spring up
through the ball which will really increase
the rate of speed your hips turn at.
Look at his belt buckle,
rise as he really springs in those legs.
Snap. Straight.
You will add some power and zest if you can do that.
I have a free course, three part course, detailed videos
on how to gain 25 extra yards.
Just go down to the description box it's there for you.
So we're going right back to our drill
where we stop here and then do the two separate ways.
You don't have to do it with this drill
but it's a good way to start.
Except now I'm more aware of the ground pressure.
Let's try one out here.
So I get my spot and as I move
I'm gonna feel a distinct sense as I push the club back.
I'm pushing into the ground initially
and how that lets me spring a little bit.
Let's see how we do here.
(swings at golf ball)
I could feel some down and upward pressure there.
Not doing it like the big hitters on tour
but that feels a little more dynamic to me
even then when I normally do in my swing.
Now listen have some fun with this.
There's no exact right way to do that.
We've showed you this.
Play around with some ideas and some drills
and customize it so that you can deliver the club well.
Maybe add a little bit of force and power
to your game as you do it.
Well thanks again.
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Hope this helps you with how
to clear your hips in the golf swing
and that you'll make good progress.
(upbeat tech music)