The Golf Downswing

The First Magic Move: Move Your Hips Laterally

For a perfect golf downswing, you must move your hips laterally, and not in a turning motion.

There are 3 reasons for this.

First, When you move your hips laterally to the left from the top of the swing, they carry the weight (which has been mostly on the right leg) along.

They move it toward the approximately equal distribution, at least, which you must have at impact.

Second, since you are twisted and wound up tightly at the top, any turning movement of your hips turns your shoulders too.

It turns your right shoulder around high and toward the ball. Hence, when you bring the club down, you have to bring it from the outside in.

The hips will turn if they are moved laterally, but they are very liable not to move laterally if they are merely turned. You can prove this to yourself by standing up and moving your hips to the left as far as they will go.

As they near the limit of extension, they will turn and you cannot stop them.

At the top of the swing, of course, the hips are turned somewhat to the right, maybe 45 degrees, and as you move them laterally they will quickly begin to turn back to the left.

The trick is get them going to the left, laterally, before they turn too much.

If you ask how much is too much, you become hopelessly involved.
You might as well ask how many angels can dance on the head of a pin!!

You don't have to worry about that. Just be sure you get your hips going laterally, and that you don't try to turn them.

The third reason for the lateral slide of the hips is that this is the movement which starts the club down toward the ball, by causing the shoulders to rock slightly as they turn.

That movement of the hips — and nothing else — provides the first impetus for the downswing.

Make no mistake about it, the hips are what move the shoulders and club and start the downswing.

• Golf dowswing Part 1: The Problem.
• Downswing Magic Move 1: Moving The Hips.
• Downswing Magic Move 2: Keeping the Head Back.
• Downswing Magic Move 3: Making No Effort To Move The Golf Club.
• How it Feels.
• Golf Downswing Check Points.
• The Downswing and the Golf Swing Plane.
• The Insidious Hand Lag, and How to Fix That Problem.
• Holding the Wrist Position.

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