Okay so today I finally tackled that hip clearing thing in my golf swing. Man, it’s been messing up my shots for weeks. Slices everywhere, power gone. I tried watching like a million videos before this, but my brain just couldn’t make my body do it right. Figured it was time for a dedicated practice session.
Starting Out: Total Hot Mess
First thing I did? Grabbed my trusty 7-iron in the backyard – thank god for net – and started swinging like I usually do. Focused hard on trying to “clear” my hips during the downswing. Or at least, what I thought was clearing them. Felt kinda awkward, twisting fast.
Took some practice swings and felt… nothing much. Still felt stiff. So I set up my phone to record my swing. Big mistake. Pressed play and yikes. Looked like my hips were glued to the spot. All shoulders. Zero rotation happening at the right time. Ball flight probably would have ended up in next week.
My main screw-ups looked super obvious on video:
- Hips Stuck: They just weren’t turning fast enough or early enough. More like a lazy twist than a whip.
- Head Dipping: When I tried to force the hips, my whole upper body went down with them. Hello, chunked shots!
- Losing Posture: That head dip made me lose my spine angle. Just crumpled.
It was frustrating, felt super weak and out of sync.
Dumb Simple Drills to the Rescue
Okay, time to break it down. Dumbed it right down. Went back to basics.
Step One: Feet Together Drill. Put my feet right next to each other and took swings. Sounds weird, right? But this forces you to balance. Can’t swing hard without falling, so you HAVE to rotate smoothly. Did this slow, feeling my hips start turning before the club dropped. Felt… unstable but smoother.
Step Two: Happy Gilmore Lite. Didn’t go full run-up, but started with my weight mostly on my back foot. Like a small step. Taking a mini step forward while starting the downswing. This weight shift thing? Crucial. It naturally pushed my front hip back and out of the way.
The key lightbulb moment happened during these swings:
I stopped forcing the twist.
Instead, I thought about:
- Shifting my weight onto that front foot right at the start of the downswing. Like stepping on a bug.
- Letting that weight shift PULL my hips open. The hips rotate because the weight goes forward, not the other way around. Mind blown.
- Keeping my head kinda steady – stopped trying to look at the ball so hard.
Suddenly, the rotation felt automatic, not forced. Way less effort, but way more movement where I needed it.
Putting It All Back Together
After focusing on those simple feels for maybe 20 minutes, went back to my normal stance. Took a deep breath. Didn’t think about “hips, hips, hips!” Just thought about stepping onto my front foot and letting the hips respond.
First full swing felt… different. Quieter. Less strain. Checked the video again. Huge difference. Hips were visibly clearing much earlier. Spine angle stayed mostly intact. Head wasn’t bobbing like before.
Best part? The impact sound. That lovely click. And the ball. Flew straight off the face for a change! Not perfect, still got some work to do, but so much better. The slice monster was tamed. Main takeaway today was blindingly simple:
Forget actively twisting your hips. Step onto that front foot hard and let the hip clearing happen because of the step. Less work, more results. Finally fixed that stupid hip stall! Feels good.
