Hip slide

Hello-I would like to say hi I am a new member here and have a problem with sliding hips on the downswing-alot of leg action.I have a strong grip (4 knuckles) and usually hood the club throughout the swing-I have played pretty well that way but I am not getting any better.In fact playing worse now.If I was to guess I think I slide my hips and swing out in order to keep the face square at impact.I have tried to put a shaft in the ground outside my left foot and hit balls that way but it makes me come over the top-so I am very confused right now.Been playing for 10 yrs. like that but it is time for a change(ball striking is very inconsistent)
Any drills,tips,comments would be great-thanks.

Hi there,

One thing is for sure you are going to get worse before you get better if you intend to change things for the better.

Firstly I would work on setting up to the target correctly, i.e everything square.

Secondly GRIP There have been alot of good players with a strong grip. Langer, Azinger etc but not quite four knuckles, I would weaken it to two and a half, also making sure the club is along the FINGERS in the right hand.

As for the hips I would wait and see how you go for a few weeks with this for now, don't run before you can walk and all that.

Good Luck

Ian.

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

Thanks for the tip and I have been tinkering with more of a neutral grip and have probs with the ball going high right -losing about 20 yds.distance.I have more of a 3/4 swing, pretty compact,right elbow close to my side,etc. I'm getting very confused on things-I've had folks tell me I am on plane but I don't know anymore(went from a 4 handi to an 8 now)

How has you ball flight changed?

Sounds to me that you cant be doing much wrong if you achieved 4 h/cap. To me thats serious golf ability.From what you say, i would agree with Ian about the grip. 2knuckles to me (assuming everything is square) should give a good strike with good distance. Of course there are other issues which have to be right to get a good overall swing. elimination of "over the top", and a still lower body are probably the big ones. I always concentrate on a "pulling down" on the shaft from the top, which, if executed correctly will be self explanatory. With regard to lower movement, try to imagine that you are balancing on the balls of your feet with the knees bent. This encourages a stillness in the legs. Hope this is of some help.

Robert

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"Play to your ability, not your expectation"

Thanks for the info-I read a post earlier about on the downswing the hips should be fireing towards right field.If that is the case then mine are not-they are sliding and my right knee is coming out-I've hit so many balls on the range (folks call me V.J)lol,that I dont know if my hips are moving the right way or not.One day is pretty good -the next day horrible.

Does this hip slide happen with all clubs? It can be a symptom of poor ball position, if the ball is too far forward in the stance then the hips and knees will tend to slide forward to compensate in the downswing.

Your hips should move to around 30/45 deg right in the backswing, come back to square during the initial downswing move, then rotate to 30/45 deg forward at impact.

I think that was maybe my post

I used to slide my hips a lot and hit blocks and I never really understood the whole hip action thing until I got a few lessons from a scratch player about a year ago.

Basically when I heard bump towards the target or turn your hips I took that literally. Whenever you do that your right hip will spin out and drag your right shoulder out with it. An OTT move. You may also slide ahead of the ball this way leading to blocks or pulls as you rely on your hands to square the clubface deep into the DS

In the transition the right shoulder should go DOWN. Down will drop the club behind you, the famous shallowing move or slot. Then you hear you have to start with the lower body. Confusing right! The key is to make your lower body drop the shoulder down and the ONLY way that can happen is if you make that hip bump towards right field keeping your head behind the ball. Weight goes down into left foot and right shoulder drops. Once you have down that then you can swing as hard left as you want as the hips/shoulders etc pivot around the front foot

Heres something from Jim Mclean on exactly this move

TYVM for that -I just got back from the range and noticed something -I pull pretty hard from the top instead of letting it drop(causing my right shoulder to move out),and something else on the downswing it seems like my knees are flexed more-maybe because of the right shoulder moving out and also swinging out trying to square the face-my friend calls me a magician by the way I use my hands to manipulate the club at impact(don't want to rely on magic)lol.I am going to try and post a video and maybe that will show a bit more.I am going to try and stay more level throughout-I don't think that would hurt to do that.

Seems like were on exactly the same page there CMays with that initial hip bump out to first base

Here are two good links concerning the grip. You must understand your grip and set your wrists properly in relation to the grip.

http://golf.about.com/od/golftips/ss/golfgrip_lead.htm

http://www.pga.com/improve/tips/setu...ajar100504.cfm

The fist web page starts with illustrations and instructions on the lead hand. Click the "Follow the Dots", "Connect the Dots", etc. links for the lead hand then find the link that talks about the trailing hand and go through that. The second web page just illustrates strong vs. weak grip. I don't know about everyone else but I think one really needs to understand the grip.

in my opinion if i were you and ive been right where your at----forget about quick tips----seek out a competent instructor preferably one that uses video-----and change your stroke pattern so you can get the results you desire----after playing for ten years it wont be easy but you can do it----tips do not work for very long---maybe a day or week but inevitably the will fail-----i dont mean to sound harsh or abrasive im just given you the GODS HONEST TRUTH----STEVE