SHOOTING FROM THE HIP

By Joe Assell
Director of instruction, GolfTEC

One of the most frequent requests we hear is from clients hoping to gain more consistency. The biggest cause of consistency is improper hip rotation.

Most people turn their hips too far on the backswing. The average hip rotation on the PGA Tour is 45 degrees at the end of the backswing. The average amateur we see for the first time usually turns his or her hips about 60 degrees. This extra hip rotation is wasteful, an extra 15 degrees the golfer has to unturn to get back to the ball at impact. This is an inefficient position with more room for error on the downswing.

The second place improper hip rotation can cause inconsistency is the impact position. The average Tour pro has his hips 40 degrees open at impact. Most amateurs we see the first time have their hips only 20 degrees open. This means they are using their arms, not their hips, to get the club to impact.

The hands and arms have reflex muscles that can get nervous when there is a lake in front of you. The muscles in your hips and legs are your big, ``dumb'' muscles and will repeat the same move more reliably. This is why Tour pros get so open at impact - they rely on the more dependable big muscles, rather than the small muscles in their hands and arms.

To fix these problems, you should feel as if your belt buckle faces the ball when you are at the top of your backswing, and your hips should lead the downswing. By eliminating wasteful over-rotation on the backswing, and by using the hips to lead the downswing, you can become a more consistent player.