Struggling with the hip slide
 

Hello everyone,

I'm struggling big time with the hip slide. I can't seem to get my hips to cooperate and I was wondering if any of you had thoughts on the matter.

I can get my hips to slide.

I can get my hips to rotate.

I simply cannot get my hips to slide and then rotate. When I try to do so I make the slide, then there is a gigantic pause, like a hiccup in my swing literally, and then the hips can turn.


Any thoughts?

I think it is the dual move of the hip slide to the hip turn that just won't gel. I feel like I'm just grinding gears.

I have heard some say feel like you are pushing your left foot into the ground. Will this give me the same results? It seems to but I'm unsure.

At what point in my should I be shoving that foot into the ground if that's the remedy? Back swing? Transition?

:eyes:

Great question.

I'll give you one possible solution. Widen your stance a couple of inches and bend the knees another inch.

Was just working on pivot problems in thread below- there may be some points of interest to you there- I hope?

http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/forum/thread7255.html

Good luck
The Bear

At risk of getting hammered unmercilously. . . and this is a SERIOUS post . . . squeeze your butt cheeks tight through the ball and push your belly UP.

Stick the left side of your head on a door jam where like the left part of your head at like the ear is touching it. Do the move SLOW . . . note what your spine and hip joints have to do inorder to keep going forward and turning. If your hip joints don't "release" you can't continue to turn.

Look at Hogan . . . note how his hip joints are flexed and then get "in line" to keep going forward and turn . .

Any ideas on drills I can do?

Here's a thought.
 

Make a normal full back swing then take your right hand off the club and swing hard through to a full finish.

Almost impossible to make out of sequence movements doing that. Everything falls naturally into place; nothing forced or contrived.

A couple of these swings before the real thing has the added benefit of loosening you up nicely. Failing which, a Beer, or several, might help.:D

I do believe that I have solved my problem, but I want the go ahead from the higher ups just to be certain.

Initially I had too little hip turn so I focused on hip turn, did it too early with no lateral hip movement, and developed an over the top swing.

Then I focused on bumping the hips but I was bumping them down the target line and then my hips would get stuck.

Now I believe I found the hidden gem of it all.

Get to the top of the back swing and slide the hips down the delivery line.

This drags me back under plane pretty well and the hips are still doing their thing either way.

Thoughts? Am I on the right track?:salut:

Here is another suggestion. From the chicken and egg line of thinking. A slightly backassward reworking of things , but something that has helped me.

The Hips need to turn to start the Shoulders Turning as part of the 6-m-1 Sequence. Its an initial turning or spinning of the Fly Wheel. But its the Shoulders that really matter in that its the Right Shoulder that the Bent Right Arm is attached to. If the Right Shoulder stays back , the Right ARm must straighten! Its the Right Shoulder that takes the Bent Right Arm down plane! And Homer said we should all feel like we are hitting the ball with our Right Shoulders. Its necessary for the late hit, having lots of bent right arm available for the ball.

So try a Right Shoulder Throw. Here is a dry land drill. Gripping an imaginary tennis racquet take a nice fullish forehand with the #3pp Tracing the Straight Line Plane in a golf like fashion. Let the Right Shoulder move through the shot with the Right Arm. Back and forth , back and forth with a bent right elbow late into the shot. Now take a peak at your Hips when your getting near impact. I bet they're fairly open. The Shoulder Throw or its intention has necessitated it.

It'd make for a nice golf swing too. Its the Bat Basic Stroke with a Right Shoulder Throw, technically. A right sided Hitters pattern but the Shoulder Throw can get your Pivot turning given a Swinging Pattern as well.

That drill seems to work.

I have actually been practicing a hitters stroke today and my immediate move at the top has always been to pop the wrist a little bit witch gets #3 rising up over the plane.

I think its remnants of basketball days :confused1

Start doing that drill you were talking about and transferred it to the golfing plane and it definitely has me pushing the club later in the swing and has eliminated almost all of the upward wobble at the top.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFc1j0y5fpQ

Your rhythm in the clip looks quite decent (although hard to say given the DTL angle and short clip).

Do you have any face on clips? Looks like you might want to do some work on the finish swivel. The rotation of the lead forearm will also help pull you through to a nice balanced finish, and will help solidify the pivot and hips, keeping them moving through.