When you watch a professional golfer launch from the top of their swing, you will see them shoot their hips as they release all the potential energy created during the backswing. This decomposition is what creates power and allows them to generate so much of it.
The move looks simple enough when executed correctly. The likes of Couples Fred AND Ernie Els they do it so well it looks like they’re not even trying to rock hard. But in reality, the power they create is the result of each moving component moving in the right order.
This order – known as sequencing – must be executed to perfection if you want to move with maximum efficiency. And one of the main ways you can perfect this sequence is by focusing on hip flare during the downward movement.
GOLF Top 100 Teachers Mike Malizia explains how in the video below.
The key to proper hip rotation
A phrase you may have heard in golf instruction is to “shoot your hips.” And while it’s true that you need to drive—or turn—your hips hard from the top of the swing, you need to do so with proper sequencing in mind.
When golfers hear the term “hip fire,” they will often turn from the top of the swing as quickly as they can. Quick hips can be a good thing for power generation, but you can’t let them go too far ahead of your upper body when you do this.
“What you’ll see from a Tour player when they get to the top and start down, by the time the forehand becomes parallel to the ground, their hips are square to slightly closed,” Malizia says. “It’s at this point that they turn.”
Recreational players get into trouble when they shoot their hips too quickly and extend their arms toward the ball. When this happens, it throws the clubhead well out of the proper swing plane and creates a steep path.
To combat this, try to feel like you’re keeping your hips locked for a tick longer when landing. Let your arms come down towards the ball and then when you get your leading arm parallel to the ground, you can fully unbend and come back hard on the shot.
“Sequencing will help you be more consistent and maximize your game,” says Malizia.
