Leone’s Lessons: Overusing your hips is one of the most
misunderstood swing fundamentals that you hear over and over. You
hear,
”
Turn your hips for more power, or turn your hips to square the
club face.
”
This can be disastrous for the average golfer.
Overusing your hips is one of the most misunderstood swing fundamentals that you hear over and over. You hear, “Turn your hips for more power, or turn your hips to square the club face.” This can be disastrous for the average golfer.
We have to be careful when using this term, because the average golfer will tend to overdo it. The club face represents 70 percent of how the ball curves, and your hands have the biggest influence on what the clubface does — not your hips. Yes, the hips do help create club head speed, only if they are properly sequenced with the hands and arms.
Here’s the problem, when you try to rotate your hips without any lateral shift to the left side on the down swing, your weight will remain on the right side causing the club to lag behind, leaving the club face open. Having the face open causes topping, slicing and loss of power.
The proper move on the downswing starts with a slight lateral bump with the left knee, not the hips. This allows the hands, arms and club to drop to the inside creating the correct inside path to the ball. Having the club moving from the inside on the downswing will create a more powerful shot with better accuracy.
