In this video tip PGA golf professionals Pete Styles and Matt Fryer will help you to understand how the restricted hip action during your golf downswing can create incorrect strikes and issues with distance and shot direction. By initiating your downswing with a correct hip rotation you may feel that you can clear your hips much quicker in the downswing, and therefore have a full and more fluid follow through. Utilizing a step drill, where the golfer actively steps forward during the downswing phase should encourage a much fuller hip rotation at the start of the downswing.
Matt would you like to see my impression of the golf commentator on the telly? Yes Wonderful thank you got the commentator on the telly will often say look at the way he cleared his hips. Yeah I hear that a lot look how far he has gone with with the cleareance of his hips and obsessively clear his hips. What does it mean. Is it me is it relevant and how do I do it better I don't know yes so one thing that I would stress with this is one position that I see a lot of when we've not cleared the hips. The guy who isn't doing it is returning pretty much back down to their address position so we see that the hips start here and they may have some rotation in the backswing but as they come back down to impact. Useless than where we started but some people think that's the right thing to do because they've put this really careful set up and I've come back to it right from the idea we're not going to get the power we want we need a rotational aspect in our golf swing to allow us to advance the ball further allow us to swing the club more on plane and keep control of the golf course as we're going through it and then you know if you think a couple of players at the moment you look at Justin Thomas call him snake because he is that quick with these hips through the ball it's unbelievable where you get you know you see them on the way down and one of the things that we start to see you know you know a really good golfers golf swing as they get to the top of their backswing the hips are actually already starting this motion here.
Where they're starting to open out so as they get into impact they're almost something to some extent where they are actually aiming at the target as they meet the golf ball instead of back to face on. Show me that again so with a back of the hip such could hit that they hit clear in right that's what we're looking at these hips going from the set up position to their impact position exactly. Justin Thomas really very open snake heard that was your nickname for now that's not to be the same for every golfer and you know so if we can understand and trying get some going you know get the hips starting to clear in the downswing even if it is only that you know the 10 15 degrees open to the ball impact. That there's not enough they have in the past to face off so any amount is good yeah the more the better Yeah show me a drill that can help OK So for this what we're going to do is going to have a bit of a step thrillers we're coming through as I just turn on to this camera here what we're going to be finally by this is as I take my backswing and I'm going to have this little opening as you see here of my head because I'm going to throw things here a little bit with my feet together and then as a start I downswing and notice how opening muscles open as well a little bit that's going to help me get turned into obviously we're not doing this is we actually hit want to drill here so we're going to get this feeling of dragging the force open a little bit which in turn my head now has to open a little bit more as I'm going through a great way of feeling the initiation of a hit for a safety net a bit of a hit yeah you would never really sort of take a step in space where you take a step ready to go through to finish. Exactly yeah now you can hit the ball doing this exercise you can use a little bit tricky to do this at a golf ball. So I we would often golfers to tee the ball up. So Matt is good enough to do this you know he's not going to do it straight off the deck but if you struggle with it take a 9 iron take the ball down on the peg just feel a little half swing stance drill.
Even was not like that you know that tee pegg was sticking out of the ground some there. Almost having to warm up so if you're getting that you know too get that to start off it there. If you are uncomfortable they were at one time progress into the ball there's nothing wrong with with that to get it go and so as we success come right here what we see now close together and again it's not that I'm going full out with this one it's just a little sore pitching swing I've got a 7 iron and expecting to hear about a 100 yards as I go through so I can make my backswing about halfway and then my 1st movement now with my lead for is to step out and open a little bit here throw hit and turn and see as I finish I've got my hips looking down towards the target that's why so I will give it a go fit together. Good and really cause I feel more turned than I would do in a normal day also when you put on like Matt was still able to hold the balance to a degree now if you lost a bit of a balance as long as he lost in the right way as long as you lost the fight going to fall for me I'd be OK with that. Yes if you want to talk the same out with any wouldn't want to lose their balance and go backwards and you will be more open to chest than target. You are right exactly right felt really really stretched just through this drill motion getting it open and turning out quite a good warm up exercise and you think yeah definitely you know you see a lot of plays and even is like the super speed training thing where you have people yeah I know and it's going to help with speed of the things you know you transition so it was a warm up act society yes one testicle gets is moving actually gets a little bit active as you go into your golf swing and you don't need that's OK about speeds and this clearing the hips is a barrier to speed isn't it but it's so news you can get fast so you see this while nothing in the open nice hips a little bit quicker yeah. So I'm not going to hit him one more shot I'm going to do my best golf commentator and pressure I'm going to want to play areas have I'm flush this one down the middle for us. Oh look at the way he cleared his hips see it is easy to commentate, you could get a job, I could get a job at that. That was fantastic so that is a great exercise to help you clear your hips if you're struggling with the mobility of your hips if you're struggling with the power in your golf shot and you're not actively clearing your hips the step drill is a great exercise for the next time you're on the driving range.