Roating Hips On Downswing

If i rotate my hips, starting with my left on the downswing, why does it feel like I will be coming down to the ball very unorthodox, like my right hand will be taking over? Thanks for help guys

sometimes a bad feeling is actually doing something right for the first time

if you do it right the right hand will throw out through centrifigal force, maybe that is what you are feeling

Welcome to my world.

1. If you have a genetic swing that returns to setup, this will feel completely unnormal.

2. As a video tape junky, I kept seeing that I was not clearing my hips, and opening to the target at impact. I final did something that I KNEW had to be wrong by driving my hips much harder than I KNEW that I needed to.

3. Then when I looked at the tape, presto, suddenly I was more like the pros.

This is one of my major blocks, as it feels so freaking wrong, that only afterwards--once I look at the tape--do I realize it is right.

Me and Rich Beem attached. Man, it doesn't feel right.

Theo

Attached Images

Open Hips.JPG (102.2 KB, 76 views)

I get the same feeling but not by conciosuly trying to start my downswing by a move with my hips. I get it by trying to keep my head behind the ball and thinking about swinging as hard to the left as I can (right 'around the corner')

This to me feels really OTT but this is because I spent two years in a misguided attempt at coming from the inside (which ruined my game)

As long as your right shoulder, right knee, right hip and right hand all come down together and meet the ball at impact, your hips will be open and the clubface square. Watch any pro's swing sequence and look how all these right side parts come through together.

http://www.golfdigest.com/instructio...8ricktips.html

I get that from a well timed swinging motion (led by my chest and upper arms), rather than any jerky hip bump-turn action, but everyone would feel this differently as you say

But it is a weird feeling to be so open at impact. It just doesnt feel right because all youve read about not coming OTT or coming from the inside but IMHO (having learnt the hard way) thats all mechanical mumbo jumbo. As long as you can swing down into the correct impact positition (see Gregs impact drill) then forget how you got there. The ball will likely fly off the middle provided you setup and aligned properly

I would go as far to say that most people slice because they are afraid to hook (if that makes sense) and dont really whip the club around themselves whilst keepingn their upper body behind a stiff left leg, thus squaring the face

This will be one of my rants in a future podcast

look at the difference of your hip position with beems, his right hip is lower then his left

theo, by looking at that picture I can tell you lost your spine angle. That is probably one of, if not the biggest, reason you have a hard time clearing your hips. You did not load properly in the back swing.

I have been experimenting with rolling my forearms on backswing which puts me in a perfect tray position at the top, from there, I just let everything happen and notice a great deal of release at impact. Ball position is a little further back for this than usual.
Any thoughts?

Shootin4par,

Actually, it is more the anlge of the camera--but I can see where you could see it that way. The camera, set on the street below, is below my waist. If you had the whole footage, you would see that my spin angle came off a bit, but not bad.

Again, as I stated before, if I take the club and THROW it down the fairway, ala Shoemaker's Extraordinary Golf, my hips magically open. When I'm throwing the club, I don't think about clearing my hips at all. It just happens.

However, this isn't my only problem.

1. My take away is to the inside.
2. I come across the line at the top.
3. I swing outside in
4. I cast my club
5. I loose my right hand wrist angle
6. I can't get my right elbow into the slot (see #5 above)
7. My release (because of the cast) is sloppy
8. I tend to brake after hitting, and I don't turn over my hands.
9. I don't go to full extention

But, my spin angle normally isn't too bad.

Really, I think it pretty much a miracle that I shoot around 110. I think it is sheer stupidity to keep practing, but I'm obsessive. But if you hang around here, my guess is you are too.

Theo

Yeah, I had the camera too low. Here I am at another driving range. Note that Beem is super human, but there isn't a radical difference in hip skew.

And yes, I know that I have broken down at impact....

This is why I bought Greg Norman's secret recently. Another little training device to help out.

Theo

Attached Images

Face On Theo vs Beem.JPG (90.5 KB, 43 views)

Theo,
at address you start with a spine angle and if you dont maintain that angle then you have lost the spine angle. You say you lost it a little, I said you lost it but did not say by how much. I know how to look at camera angle and it is not the camera angle that had anything to do with my assessment. your set up was also VERY closed and that will GREATLY attribute to your inside take away, among other things. WHy dont you post a video and we can get you fixed if your willing

Theo,

I HIGHLY recommend you turn your left foot at about a 30 degree angle towards your target. Where your left foot is now, there is NO WAY your hips can clear properly. I think this will help A LOT. Let me know how you do.

Shootin4par,

I mean this in the nicest way.... You are simply wrong.

1. Please see Cswing overlay below where I show setup superimposed on impact. I have lost virtually no spine angle. As a way of comparison, I have included a picture of Travis John (and I can show a boatload more of other pros.) You can tell he is far, far worse yet nobody says he can't hold his spine angle.

2. I am not closed at all. Please look at the lines on the mat, then read the following http://www.kevinwilley.com/l3_topic04.htm I have a boatload of issues, setup up closed is one of the few I don't have. The problem with a shorter focal length is that it will make anybody look like they are closed.

Where I had the camera I had an effective focal length of around 30mm. When the pros get their videos done, I would be surprised if they ever had anything under 80mm. I can video somebody swinging, and depending on the lens, I can pretty much make it look like two different swings.

As to the video, ugghhh, I can, but why do you want to laugh so hard? Believe me, it is pretty ugly.

Theo

Attached Images

Theo and Travis.JPG (46.1 KB, 17 views)

I'll do you one better.

1. I use to carry around a template at 25 degrees. (Because this is what Ralph Mann "Swing Like A Pro" said to do. I REALLY like this book.) Normally, I end up setting at 15 degrees, because this is what I like. I'm pretty sure my foot was turned out 15 degrees, but I don't remember exactly on this swing. I have a tendency to drift back toward parallel.

2. You don't need to have your foot set to clear, however, it does limit injuries. However, here's a picture of Laura Davies, who was a massive ball crusher and could really clear the hips. Note: no turn out on the left foot. (If I had her on a 30mm lens, she'd look pigeon toed. )

Actually, my hips aren't all that bad. If I take the same picture with more like 100mm lens, you'd see something that looks more reasonable.

Theo

Attached Images

Laura.JPG (82.7 KB, 27 views)

well I guess you have not lost much spine angle, but unless you are set up to hit the ball in the net right at the fourth pole, you are closed