- Hi, Adam Bazalgette here in Naples, Florida.
I'm two-times PGA Teacher Of The Year Award Winner
down here.
Today's subject, the hip turn in the golf swing.
So, the hip turn in the golf swing
pretty important for sure.
I'm going to show you today how it's different
going back and coming down.
Why it's different, and couple of the ways
you can work on that.
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OK, let's get started.
OK, so the hip motion, as we'll see, is quite different
in the backswing to what it is in the downswing.
And I think it can make a nice pair,
nice simple playing thoughts when you feel one
thing going back and something a little different
coming down.
So we're going to get in to all that,
but let me show you a few examples of great players
in action so you have a good mental picture.
So how about Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson
that's a pretty good pair.
So there's Tom Watson at address, top of the backswing
again address top, pretty much in the box
but as he comes to hit it, you'll see his hips
have slid quite a bit forward out of the box.
So there's more of a pivot going back,
and more of a slide and pivot coming down.
Jack Nicklaus address top of the backswing
right in the box, and then on the downswing,
forward again nearer the target with his hips.
OK, so let's start with the backswing first.
What we're not trying to do,
and you can see they weren't shifting in this video.
We're not trying to shift weight in the backswing.
Grab a club or a broom handle.
This'll approximate it the best for you.
The right-side, the back-side goes up and behind you,
and the left-side, for the right-handed golfer,
goes down towards the ground, and as that happens
you should feel more of a pressure or a build-up
of tension in the right leg,
really a pressure against the ground there.
That's what you want.
That's what's gonna be powerful.
So, remember, it's not a weight shift.
It's a pivot that builds pressure this way.
Let me briefly show you a couple of great players
from the rear angle.
You'll have a good look at how this works.
As we look at Tiger Woods, looks like a fairway wood
off the tee there.
Watch his backswing.
There's that view, if he had the bar behind him,
you can see the right shoulder moving up and around
behind his spine.
Similarly, left-side compressing downwards,
but it isn't a shift in this direction.
Just watch that right hip again.
It's a pivot, and you can really see what a job
he's done of putting pressure down into the ground there.
Now, there's been a few great players had a little bump
in their hip to kick the backswing off or something
but the predominant movement is a pivot not a shift.
There's Justin Rose when he's a little bit younger.
And again, if you watch the outside of that pocket there.
You can see, he's not shifting but he's really loaded
the ground well there, and if you can do that,
if you can make that kind of pivot
and you can put some pressure into that right leg,
you can really move athletically from that.
So, downswing wise, why do we have this shift?
What's the purpose of that?
And why do so many people struggle with it secondly?
Let's tackle why first.
Well, what it does, that shift creates a lot of power,
creates some loading of the club, and importantly
it creates power in a target direction.
When your hips shift towards the target,
assuming your head's pretty still,
it creates a little side bend in the body
and really helps this club get on plain
and work towards the target.
Let me show you what you should be trying to captivate
or cultivate a little bit from this view.
So again the goal with the golf club,
we'll call this the side of my body,
is to swing from the side of your body
then underneath your body, that's under me here,
from the side underneath out towards the target that way.
It's not the swing at the golf ball,
obviously the golf ball intersects the swing as you go.
And believe me, if you shift hips properly,
it is so much easier to get the club staying to
the side of you and coming from underneath you
out towards the target.
It really is.
OK, so let's assume we known the shift weight.
Most people have seen this.
It's not that they've never heard to do that.
Why do so many people struggle with this?
Listen, I still teach golf full-time,
it's atypical, let's say, it's not typical to see
someone drive their hips towards the target
and even close to the manner of a great player.
Most people are much more centered
and they're this way as they hit the ball.
Well, I see two reasons, or if you like,
you could say a combination of two reasons.
Number one, I was lucky enough a few years ago
to help test force plates out.
Good friend of mine was representing a great force plate
company here in the country
and you can study the movement of the balance
of the pressure on the feet and the balance
timed with video very painstakingly.
And one of the things after looking at a lot of data,
we found, and this is connected with 3D motion sequence
sensors, is the sequence is wrong for most people
and it makes it very difficult to shift the weight at all.
And what I mean by that, is most people start their arms
too quickly, they thrust towards the ball
and effectively towards the ground.
And I'm telling you, when we looked at force plate
data, the arms and club influence balance,
and when they thrust down, it's like being pulled
in this direction.
You've got that much force going this way
to the side of your body it's hard to move.
So, the best players, when they look at 3D motion
sensors, their arms just stay there initially.
Their shoulders stay there.
They shift before anything happens there,
and only then does the upper trunk start to move
and then finally that pulls the arms into motion.
Now, when I say finally, you're talking about
a very small amount of time
but that sequence is clearly different.
And again, if you doubt that, just stand there
without trying to hit a ball and you see how easy
it is to move your weight.
So, if you're struggling a lot more than that
something's influencing you and it's usually
the sequence, too quick with the arms.
The other thing I can see, is just deep down
most people their experience with golf when they were
beginners isn't a particularly positive one
in the first 100 shots.
I've rarely seen people hit it solidly in the first
hundred tries, and they start just aiming too much
at the ball.
They'll tell you the target's over there
but deep down, the balls the target,
and, when that's the case, you won't move very well.
So, here's what I'm going to encourage you to do.
Put a little tee under it,
and I'm gonna tee it a lot higher
than I would even on a par three.
Make it as simple to hit as you possible can.
And just have a little fun.
Take some risks here.
Risk mishitting a shot.
So, I'm gonna go back, just leave my arms there,
shift some weight and move a little bit,
Then get over the ball.
Don't think too much, just relax.
And just shift some weight.
Don't worry about contact.
Just get a feel for it.
This will get you going.
Well, I hope that helps you get a sense of
the hip turn in the golf swing.
And sort of a nice, easy pair if you like
of how to work on it.
And if you liked the video, please subscribe to the channel.
Would love to get you more free content.
Leave a comment.
Scratchgolfacademy.com is my website.
Could do personal internet golf lessons.
Hope you'll consider checking that out.
Thanks again.