Wandering Hips In Your Golf Swing?
Glen Osborne
* Do you have problems with topping the golf ball? * Do you hit the ground behind the ball? * Do you sometimes hit the golf ball with weak and high results? * Do you feel a loss of power with some of your swings with any club? * Do you have problems hitting the ball near the sweet spot of the clubface?
All of these problems (and more) could be happening because your hips move in various directions during all parts of your swing movements. If your hips are moving about then you know that your legs are moving. Your body will also be moving or it will be twisting and hunching out of good posture.
This instructional article will show you what to do to stop "wandering hips" from ruining your golf swing. And, the solution is unusual and will demand some attention in your early efforts to control your hips.
On my website I have a video clip which shows too much hip movement in my swing. This hip sway causes an unstable and weak foundation. It is difficult to generate power because this swaying places you in unnatural positions.
The golf swing demands balance. Swaying hips will cause loss of balance or a feeling that you are about to lose your balance. Your mind quickly senses the loss of power and the loss of balance. Instinctively, messages go to your arms and hands to do something to make up for a weakening swing. Almost always the hands or arms make a wrong move or a movement which is out of time with the leg and body movements.
In this clip you can also see that my forward sway causes my club to reach the bottom of its swing arc past the ball towards my right foot (I'm a leftie.) This would result in poor contact of the golf ball or a complete miss.
THE MOVEMENT WHICH ALLOWS HIP SWAY
Years ago a friend told me that my hips wandered erratically during my golf swing. He also said that there was no pattern in the hip movements from swing to swing.
We did not have a golf pro to turn to for help on this. I had to solve the problem on my own.
I used to teach physical education from Grades 1 to 9. I recalled the various age groups of young people trying to learn athletic movements for some of the sports.
Why were my hips moving? I could stop them from doing this but I had to give too much attention to them during my swing. Even tightening my hip muscles did not solve the problem.
I stood in front of a floor length mirror and did my impression of Elvis Presley (uh, the late rock and roll guy who could really sway his hips.)
OK! At least I wiggled my hips around while watching what was happening in the mirror.
If I moved my hips in any direction my back would arch out of its natural upright position. This is not good to have golf swing movements with your back out of position. Golf's 'bad back cemetery' is too full of former golfers who succumbed to injured backs. (By the way, the techniques which I teach for basic swing movements and control did bring one man out of this back injury. He was able to golf with his grandson and his former golf buddies.)
If I tightened my hip muscles and made my hips move then my whole body swayed back and forth like a tree. You do not want this change of positioning of your upper body during your swing movements. It becomes very difficult to re-align yourself to the ball as the club is hitting the golf ball.
Somewhere, an area of my body was collapsing to permit this unwanted hip movement.
The answer came from observing my movements in the floor-length mirror while keeping my hip muscles firm. My body was swaying like a tree but my feet were not moving.
The only part of me which could allow this 'tree-like' sway was my ankle joints. I yanked up my pant legs (what a ghastly sight!) I swayed some more.
Sure enough there was a lot of movement in my ankle joints.
In 2 clips on my website I use exaggerated hip and leg movements to show how much bending of the ankles there can be. You will see how far away my legs and hips move from their start position.
Can you imagine how hard it would be to push a car out of a snow bank or mud puddle if your hips were wandering or swaying?
CORRECTING THE FAULTY MOVEMENT
Prior to producing any swing movements I would firm my lower leg muscles to prevent joint movement in my ankles. No wandering hips and a much stronger connection to the ground while I swung the golf club was the result.
You will have much better control in your lower body by firming your lower leg muscles.
Two clips on my website show that my hips rotate around my tailbone. There is no wandering or swaying of my hips or legs. My lower legs stay in proper alignment with my feet. There is NO bending at my ankles.
My turning movements are balanced. They are controlled and have power from a solid connection to the ground. Sloppy movements at my ankles which would rob some of the power of my turn are prevented.
Firming your lower leg muscles locks your ankles in place. This will help you to have a more precise golf swing for power hitting and for delicate chips around the green.
Practice at home in front of a mirror to train your ankles to remain at a desired level of firmness to better control your leg and hip movements.
A good thought is to picture yourself running through rough terrain or uneven ground. The way to do this without twisting or breaking an ankle is to tighten your ankle joints.
Oh yes! This better control of your hips will help to protect your lower back from injury.
Hopefully, in the near future, I will show you how to protect a tender or injured back while you continue golfing.
Copyright © by Glen Osborne July 2005. All Rights Reserved
About the author: Glen teaches his golf program for Ladysmith, BC Parks & Rec. Beginners, struggling golfers, and juniors are his specialty http://basicbodymovementforanygolfswing.com mailto: golflesson@basicbodymovementforanygolfswing.com 10935 Trans Canada Hwy Ladysmith, BC Canada V9G 1X7
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