The hip rotation in a golf swing frees the rest of the body to move. It might be the prompt for part of the swing and the downfall of a bad swing. Focus on getting it right, whilst not thinking about it too much! Golfing really is a game of total opposites and it is straightforward to understand why there is a lot of confusion in the sport.

The first pointer when talking around the hip turn is that it is merely that. It is a tiny movement of the hips, combined with the legs and upper torso. But, it is not the whole body moving. The aim is that the legs, hips, upper body and shoulders turn to give the swing a wide arc, whilst the head stays entirely level. Envisage that your head and feet are clamped whilst the rest of the body turns and you are getting there.

Stage one of the hip rotation is the back swing of the stroke. Feel your upper body and arms leading the rotation and just let your hips go with the flow. At the summit of the back swing, ensure that the club is pointing where you want the ball to go and then look at how your hips have turned. They should be halfway between the opening point of pointing to the ball and the facing away from the ball. A 45 degree turn, or an eighth of a full body rotation.

If you have turned more than this the your legs have yielded too much, less than this and you are too stiff and not storing the energy wanted to send the ball towards the flag.

Now the fun bit! I pause every so momentarily at the top of the back swing. Just long enough for me to think ‘hips’. At this point my reaction is to start the hip movement to begin the down swing action. This is a small left shift of the hips, which drops the shoulders practically vertically, bringing the arms down. There is also a small movement of the arms to bring your right elbow towards your right hip.

The last part of the hip swing is to open them towards the target somewhat. This is the end part of the left shift and will let the club and arms to pass cleanly in front of the body.

But take into account – the head stays still! You are rotating the body, not stirring the head.

If you have ever skimmed stones across water then you will know the final hip position feeling from that, even if you don’t yet realise that. Pretend to skim a stone and look at where your hips finish off. That is the position you are trying realize!

To recap, starting square to the ball the hips should rotation 45 degrees away from the ball, virtually being dragged by the upper half of the body, then start the downswing with a slight left shift of the hips and a turn towards the target, finishing as even if you are skimming a stone.

Oh, and did I mention – keep your head still! It is a rotation, not stirring the whole body!

Written by Keith Lunt. If you want to read more about golf training, call into the blog. Or pop in excess of to read more round golfing equipment.

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I just need to look up and down the range to see that there is a huge range in distinctive swing rhythms and golf style. Walking to an empty bay, I typically try to stay away from positioning myself next to those flogging the ball most of the way down the range. Seeing their huge swings and the result of the ball flying high and long isn’t what I want, with my much slower swing. It is too scary and makes me feel very inferior!

But, with a fresh correction to my swing rhythm, although I do not appear to hit the ball as hard, by using the correct rhythm I am getting merely as respectable a carry as the big hitters, but as the trajectory is flatter, the roll afterwards is a great deal extended.

So, what is the secret of the swing tempo? Well, start it at the address position. Make sure that when you set up to the ball you are at ease and steady and easily and rhythmically move the club to the apex of the backswing. If you discover the club too heavy at the top of the backswing, stop merely short. Better to not make a full swing than to begin the downswing unsteady.

Once I get to the top of the backswing I put in a very slight pause. Long enough for it to be seen by those watching, but not much. All that I am doing is ensuring that once I have got to this location my thoughts change from making a perfect backswing to starting a good downswing.

It is a micro pause. Next to nothing. Just long enough to once I touch the backswing position to say to myself ‘hips’.

And that is when they move left, which initiates the entire downswing routine. As my hips go left, I drop my right elbow down to my waist, with the power in the arms starting and building on the way down. But not the full power of the swing just yet. It is only when my hands get to between the 8 o’clock and the 7 o’clock positions do I let the full power of the swing develop, the club accelerate fully and the power to be unleashed. It is not a huge power difference, but enough to feel it. Only enough to give you full control of the club at the start of the downswing, before the power is applied.

That is my golf swing temp fix and it has increased my driver carry by round 30%. Wait until your hands are between 8 and 7 o’clock before you really apply the power. It may not look as dramatic, but it hits the ball merely as far and possibly a extraordinary deal straighter, as you are eliminating the wobble and lack of control at the start of the backswing. Any errors brought into the swing there will be magnified by the time you hit the ball.

Keith Lunt owns and writes for eighteen-holes.co.uk, where you could find more about training and golfing gear.

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