Golf can be a confusing sport at times.
One time we might hear from one golf instructor is that the hips are the engine of the swing. That we should rotate our hips fast and clear them out!
While the next instructor is telling us to allow our arms and hands to drive the swing and allow the legs and body to support the swing.
Which one is right?
The reality is that you can play golf with either main swing thought or approach.
Chance are if you talked to 20 great golfers, they might all feel something different in their swing and then we would have to question whether the feel that they have is actually real!
There are golfers that focus on the rotation and allow the hips to drive everything and other golfers that have a more arms driven, hands based swing.
And they both can work for you!
I know what you are thinking…I just want to play consistent golf. What is the best method and what role do the hips play in the golf swing.
Our goal is to introduce you to the following topics related to the hips in the golf swing. These include:
- What role do the hips play in the golf swing?
- Two different approaches in hips in the golf swing.
- Which of these two approaches is better?
- How to measure your golf swing to determine which swing is best.
- BONUS DRILL: Gain more speed!
The ultimate goal of any golfer should be to explore, measure and get better. Too many golfers explore and try to get better, but never truly measure what is making a difference in their golf swing.
What Role Do The Hips Play In The Golf Swing?
The hips rotate through and help generate speed, control and accuracy. Some golfers base their swings on a rotational based swing (great focus on the hips), while others focus more on the arms and hands and allow the hips to respond accordingly. All quality golfers have their hips rotation throughout the swing, it just happens in different amounts.
Hips In The Golf Swing: Two Different Approaches in Golf
One Approach: Rotational Based Swing
The rotational based swing is one where the golfer makes a complete turn and backswing going back. From there the golfer will have a slight squatting motion and allow the arms to drop slightly before rotating through and opening the hips and allowing the club to come through.
In this swing pattern, the golfers spend a decent amount of time training the hips and working on the movement of getting open.
What are the pros to this swing?
The benefits of this swing include a stable club face through impact. The people who promote this swing often talk about using the big muscles and allow the club face to enter the hitting zone with very little manipulation in the downswing.
You will find golfers like Matt Wolff and Justin Rose as two examples that use a good amount of body rotation to open up and produce club stability and quality power.
What are the cons to this swing?
For those without great flexibility or those golfers that haven’t spent a lot of time working on getting open through impact, it could take adding some flexibility and then working on training the hips to open up while maintaining a spine angle that stands down on the ball without early extension.
Who teaches this type of swing?
The number one instructor that comes to mind and someone working with many up and coming juniors and players currently on tour is George Gankas.
He spends a significant amount of time talking about match ups and using the rotational speed to generate power. He is a specialist in ground forces and using the legs through a squatting motion to generate speed.
Second Approach: Arms Driven Swing
This approach is driven by the arms and the hands. In this movement the golfer works on getting a complete backswing and then the focus is on letting the arms and hands fire down and through the ball.
The golfer will often feel that his or her back stays towards the target and the body and hips work more in support of the swing or as a resistor. The golfer is able to control the speed and path of the swing in the arms and hands.
The body still remains active, but is more in a supporting role vs generating the speed.
What are the pros to this swing?
This swing allows the golfer who may lack the flexibility and option of a rotational based swing to still generate some impressive power. The pulling of the arms and hands has been proven to generate speed.
Mike Bender has some great videos on the speed that can be produced with this type of swing. Monte Scheinblum has also discussed at length the ability to produce speed without a ton of hip movement.
Did you know that the LPGA golfers have a higher average hip speed than PGA Tour players, but the PGA Tour players have on average 19 extra miles per hour over their counterparts on the LPGA tour?
What are the cons to this swing?
Many instructors will point out that under pressure you would rather rely on the big muscles to drive the swing versus little muscles in your hands. They claim that under pressure the body will not be able to reproduce these swings when you need it most.
Who teaches this type of swing?
There are several that come to mind. The first and arguably the best is Mike Bender. He has some decent youtube videos and an awesome instagram page.
Also, Monte Scheinblum has produced some quality classes on the speed that can be produced without the hips or from hitting off of the knees. Not that they want you to not utilize the body, it just doesn’t produce the speed that some promote.
Hips in the Golf Swing: Which Swing is Better between the two?
There are plenty of golfers that have had success with the two different approaches. The key here is to find what swing works best for you. While I personally prefer the arms driven swing, I can see the benefits of the rotational, hip driven swing.
From my baseball background, I like the feel of being able to utilize my hands and not feel like I have to rely on the timing that it takes to rotate my body.
As we get older, the rotation of the body day in and day out seems unreliable to me. However, if I was teaching my young son to play, the rotational based swing seems to have many benefits and plenty of power to play any course!
How To Measure Your Swing and Decided for Yourself!
In today’s golf world, there are now affordable golf launch monitors that every golfer can have as a part of their golf setup to ensure they are using the best equipment and keeping their swings on track.
With today’s topic, I would highly recommend measuring the difference in swing speed and ball speed with the two different swings discussed.
Being able to make your own conclusions on changes in your golf swing before hitting the course will go a long way in helping your experiment and have your game reach its full potential.
With anything in golf, we recommend testing it out for yourself. We know that every golf swing is slightly different and that golfers have different expectations and budgets.
As a result, we highly recommend testing products out for your game and your swing. This is now affordable and can be done! We live in an amazon time!
There are three excellent options in today’s market that allow you to measure your swing at the driving range, in a net, or in a home golf simulator. These versatile options below give you instant feedback and the information you need to experiment and see what works best for your!
I would recommend one of the three launch monitors listed below:
I personally use the SkyTrak Launch Monitor and am able to use it in my golf simulator setup in my garage and take to the driving range or course.
The real time data on ball speed, spin rates and spin axis gives me the feedback I know to test out different clubs and setups on my drivers or what clubs I am hitting the best.
The affordability of these products is rather impressive and if you are serious about improving your game, you have to check these out!
Hips in the Golf Swing: Frequently Asked Questions
Do the hips start the downswing?
Technically speaking yes. If you watch a slow motion swing of many of the greatest to ever play the swing you will notice the lower body start first. However, the intention of the golfer does not impact this.
The time difference between the hips and lower body starting compared to the upper body or arms is miniscule.
Be aware that if you intend to fire your lower body, you can get a bad spot from a sequencing stand point. The gap between the two can cause you to get “stuck” in your downswing.
Some golfers need to feel that their back is staying towards the target as Jack Nickluas has frequently pointed out. Does this actually happen? No, the back does not stay towards the target, but once again is it is a feeling.
How far should I turn my hips in the backswing?
There are two different common teachings. The first tells you to restrict your hips and turn your shoulders to create a large gap between the two. The second camp will tell you to turn your shoulder and hips fully to create the most amount of speed and fluidity in the swing.
What should your hips do in the golf swing?
The hips need to turn back and through. The amount of turn will vary from golfer to golfer, even among the greatest golfers of all time. More recently, we have seen a return to more hip movement in the backswing and less overall restriction.
This is similar to how the greats like Sam Snead and Ben Hogan made their golf swing.
BONUS DRILL: Gain More Speed!
Let’s face it, regardless of how you decide to use the hips in your swing, the key is to work on increasing your speed in the golf swing. It has become very clear the need for speed in the golf swing and there are ways to add speed! The analytics on all levels of golf show how important speed and additional speed are in reducing golf scores.
Once you have the proper mechanics down and can figure out the best way to use your hips, it is time to start training for some additional speed. This is a drill and training protocol that I would highly recommend.
SPEED DRILL: Increase your swing speed through overspeed training
- Check out SuperSpeed Overspeed Training Protocols
- Train every other day for 10-15 minutes.
- See a 4-6% increase in swing speed as early as the first training protocol.
The number one thing that has helped me gain significant distance is the SuperSpeed Training System. This overspeed based system where you train every other day for about 10-15 minutes with different swing sticks can help you increase your swing speed by 5-8% which can be 20-30 yards.
Who wouldn’t want an extra 20-30 yards. Plus it helps improve your mechanics.
SuperSpeed Golf – Use Discount Code Golfjourney365 for some savings!
The analytics are pretty clear on the importance of speed in the game of golf. Would you rather hit your approach shot from 130 yards of 160 yards?
The answer is pretty simple! We know that over the course of time, we will hit shots from 130 yards much closer than from 160 yards, whether we are an average amateur golfer, a scratch golfer, or a PGA Tour member!
The key is having shorter approach shots, so we can hit the ball closer to the hole and then make more putts! Speed is king in the game of golf! Make sure you check out SuperSpeed Golf!
My Secret To Golf Improvement
Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.
I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.
This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf.
I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.
It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.
Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.
