Improving Hip and Shoulder Rotation
By Steve Silverman
The game of golf is an enigma. Beginning golfers are peppered with advice on how to play the game and most of the advice appears to make little sense at first. More experienced players might tell a new golfer that to get the ball to go up in the air you have hit down on it. They will also say that if you want to hit it far, you have to take an easy swing. Another piece of advice has to do with the hips being the engine of the swing followed by the shoulders. It may not make sense to the newbie, but it is true.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Warm up your hips before you start your round. To do this, take a golf club and put it in the crook of your arms while holding it behind your back. Once you have the club locked in position -- by moving it forward -- rotate your hips slowly but fully all the way to the right. Return to your original position and then rotate your hips in the same manner to your left. Do this five times on each side.
Do shoulder swings while you are in the locker room preparing for your round. Your shoulders have to rotate fully when you play golf, so hold your arms out pointing at opposite ends of the locker room. Make five small circles going forward and then five small circles going backward. Repeat the set before you walk out to the first tee.
Address the ball squarely when you get to the first tee. Your left shoulder should be facing the green (or the target you are aiming for) and your left foot should be directly underneath your shoulder. You want to be in this position to hit the ball well, but this is also the position to be in order to rotate your hips fully.
Bring your hips back and to the right to begin your swing. When your hips have turned as far as they can, shift your weight from your back to your front and turn your hips the opposite way. This is where the bulk of the power in your swing will come from.
Rotate your shoulders back slightly after you rotate your hips. The hips and shoulders have to work in concert with each other in order to build power and accuracy in your swing. After your hips have started to rotate forward, bring your shoulders down and through the ball.
Tips & Warnings
Warming up before each round will help you get better hip and shoulder rotation.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
