Tip From the Archives

Hip Sliding

Problem

Your hips sway during your swing.

Cure

Try to improve the range of motion in your hips because excessive lateral hip movement is often caused by a lack of flexibility for making a full turn. A quick fix to help eliminate sliding your hips during your swing is to take a very narrow stance without flaring your forward foot. This will help you turn your hips easier without sliding them forward. An added benefit to this adjustment is that you should be able to lift your forward foot off the ground easier and gives you an earlier release of the club into impact for added distance. Feel free to let your back foot to flare out a little to allow a greater hip turn during the backswing.

Therapy

To help improve the range of motion in your hips, you should do several side lunges each day. Hold a club across the back of your shoulders or neck area and look straight ahead. Step one foot away from the other and lower your body by flexing the knee and hip of lead leg. Your knee and foot should be pointing in the same direction but make sure your knee does not move out further than the arch of your foot. Return to standing upright by extending the hip and knee of your lead leg. Then lunge in the other direction and repeat several times each day.

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4 votes

 
BRYAN | last year, mid-March

SEEMS LIKE AN EXCELLENT TIP. MY LAST LESSON THE INSTRUCTOR TOLD ME TO NARROW MY STANCE. I AM 6’3” AND MY STANCE IS WIDE AND I HAVE EXCESSIVE FLAIR OUT OF MY FRONT FOOT. THIS COULD BE ONE OF THE REASON I ALWAYS FIGHT THE SLIDING OF MY HIPS. I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THIS TIP.

Crystal | last year, mid-March

You know, this was my problem too. I was trying out golf clubs at Dicks Sporting Goods and a golf pro from Dansville, NY just happened to be watching people swing in the booth for fun. He noticed right away that it was my left foot flaring out when I couldn't figure out why my contact wasn't as good as usual (plus being a little rusty). ;)

Kalle | last year, mid-March

What has helped me is the comment in the recent Golf Digest. The suggestion was to put pressure on the "sponge" under the ball of the forward foot in the downswing. The leg tension of the forward leg aids turning the hip and not sliding.

Jim | last year, mid-March

Flairing your left foot too much also has a tendency to cause your shoulders to open and a weak slice. After awhile you get used to it and it becomes your "normal" stance. This problem caused me alot of grief last year until someone pointed it out. After much effort I went back to a square stance and my draw.

Soto | last year, mid-March

I think it is more of a problem when you are using too wide of a stance with your left foot flared. I tried it and flaring my feet a little with a more narrow stance than I\'m used to seemed to help me feel less like I was going to fall on my butt and my sliding hip movement was restricted.



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