By Pam Owens, Special Contributor
In the downswing, the proper hip action of your trail hip should rotate toward the ball. But if your trail hip launches higher than the lead hip, then you display the undesired “hip hiking” swing characteristic. When the trail hip remains too high for too long, not only do you block space for the club face to make good contact with the ball, but you also might end up with a painful hip or spine.
Check to see if your hips can freely shift laterally in the downswing to avoid hip hiking. First, identify this swing characteristic with a down-the-line and face-on camera view. Normally, you will see the trail hip shift laterally and rotate to a lower position during the downswing. When the trail hip moves to a higher position than the lead hip or “hikes” it also creates an excessive side bend in the spine which can lead to back discomfort.
Now let’s assess your capacity to laterally shift your hips and rotate the pelvis with these two movements. The good news is the assessment is also the training. Use these two movements to open, reset and load your hips for control and power in the downswing.
Getting the pelvis in a more powerful position will also potentially protect your back from excessive side bend. Don’t get me wrong, your spine needs to move into side bend but not do extra motion to compensate for limited hips that don’t move well.
Hula Hoop
Set up in a wide stance with feet parallel. Maintaining straight knees and neutral spine, use the ground to move your pelvis safely through every angle possible laterally, forwards and backwards in a large, slow circular pattern going in both directions. You will feel amazing stretch along the opening side of the hip/pelvis connection as you move. Contract the tissue along the closing side of the joint to drive the movement.
Now assess the quality of your movement around the circle for control and for the amount of angle achieved at the hip. (The hip specifically refers to the connection between the pelvis and top of leg.) Can you achieve the lateral shift needed for your golf swing? Ideally, you can shift way beyond what’s needed in the swing as this will create more options for various stances and tricky uneven lies. Warning: the hula hoop might just become your favorite stretch and part of your golf warm-up!
Single Leg Hip Circumduction
Stand on one leg, then rotate and laterally move the pelvis maintaining balance on the posted leg with no knee bend. Now, combine those two motions creating a slow, controlled circular movement of the pelvis on top of the femoral head going in both directions. Throughout the full circle, you’ll be trying to move safely and with no pain through your greatest motion to stretch and activate the hip capsule.
Now assess the movement quality of each hip capsule. Are you able to move into good lateral flexion on both hips? Use these movements to free up and train hip motions that control your lateral shift, pelvic rotation and hip hiking in your downswing.
Practice these two hip motions daily and you’ll see your hips open up more freely in your swing. Moving through your lateral and rotary end ranges builds control and strength within the hip capsules where movement originates.
Traditional training is good but this joint capsule training taps into four crucial systems: the joint space, the nervous system, the connective tissue and muscles. Training the hip capsule will not only open up space but creates more load-bearing strength and speed plus coordinates the brain with the hips for more swing skills. Let me know how these two drills work for you!
Pam Owens is the Director of Fitness for Royal Oaks Country Club in Houston and the owner of Pam Owens Fitness. A three-time Golf Digest Top 50 Fitness Professional, Pam helps golfers all over the world get lean, bendy and powerful with online or in person coaching. For the free 4 POST-GOLF ACTIVE STRETCHES and more resources, click here.
