Swing Sequences

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2. HIP RISE

Triple-X Factor: Continued

By Jim McLean with Pete McDaniel
Illustrations By Jim Luft And Jason Lee
Photos By Stephen Szurlej

Most people think the only connection in golf is the hands to the club. Of equal importance, however, is the feet to the ground -- a huge power source. This dynamic connection is the key to understanding the lower body's role in the swing.

Many golfers think the hips should turn level. That's simply not true. The right hip moves higher on the backswing, and the left hip even higher on the forward swing. It's this hip rise that creates a power surge, the player springing up from the ground.

At setup, your hips should be level or slightly angled, with the left hip higher. Going back, your right hip should rise slightly as you load your right side, which is a fundamental we teach at our golf schools. As you start down, both hips should lower into a sit-down position before the left hip rises dramatically, producing that burst of power.

Some amateurs have zero hip rise or a fake hip rise because they have an extreme amount of body lift, seven inches or more. These players raise the whole body to start the downswing; they never "sit down," so it's not a true hip rise. As you move through impact, feel your front hip turn to the left and upward to gain power. Feel what the longest hitters feel: Explode off the ground.

DRILLS: LEAD WITH LOWER BODY: Set up in front of a full-length mirror and have a friend mark your hip line with tape on the mirror. Holding a club across your shoulders, practice turning back and through (left). Note how much your hips move up and down. The drill at left shows a small hip shift going back and a much bigger shift through the shot.

: Look at the pant cuffs of U.S. Open champ Angel Cabrera. His left hip rises almost six inches through impact.

THE RESEARCH: How far 75 tour pros thrusted their pelvis upward at impact compared to 150 amateurs (average handicap of 17.2):

TOUR PROS
4.53 INCHES

AMATEURS
.50 INCHES; Research by Golf BioDynamics, Inc.