How to rotate hips without right knee kicking in early?

[wolvverine]

This seems to be the move I can never nail. My right knee likes to kick in early and if I try to keep it back my left hip rarely clears at all and my lower body is closed at impact. Does anyone have a good feel for how to rotate your hips properly without the right knee kicking in excessively?

[golfsticks]

Numerous ways to approach.  One is putting a basketball between your legs- it's an an old school approach and works well.  Trail foot and lead foot work in opposite directions, CW and CCW.  

 

Hips not properly turned going back to begin with will cause problems on the reverse.   Down into the ground from the top is a priority, or restoring knee flex.

[tdeutmeyer]

Check out the vids from AMG pro's vs ams and Malaska, both on how the hips rotate.  

[MK7Golf21]

Ask 11 year old Charlie woods 

[LeftDaddy]

This is the Gankas pivot, and I not only have a problem with trail knee kicking in, but I also push off of my trail side...which causes hip slide, and causes me to get steep and dump the club behind me. 
 

It is literally the only thing I’ve practiced trying to fix for 6 months, and I’ve made little progress. I had it working for three glorious days back in June, lost it, and in trying to get it back have gotten worse. The point of all of this is that it isn’t easy to fix moves that are so ingrained. 
 

The theory says that a proper turn and weight transfer on the back swing will make it easier to rotate properly on the downswing. I’ve had Gankas’s guys tell me that I’ve got the backswing down...they want me to do freezers and slo-mo downswings to break the downswing pattern. I’ve worked on that specifically for a month, and still no progress. Old habits die HARD I guess. I’m hopeful that I’ve discovered a bit of a solution in mirror work at home, but haven’t been able to hit a ball in over 3 weeks due to poor weather here. 
 

Good luck on fixing it, and please tell me if you find a secret, but Gankas’s recommendation is to “screw in” the back leg and lead leg in opposite directions. Sounds right, but hard to do in practice if you are conditioned to not do it. Another drill to consider is to put a water bottle behind your trail foot and hit the water bottle as you swing...maybe that will work for you. 

[pinhigh27]

Make pivot more reactive. Turn shoulders more, feel like lead shoulder is moving behind you away from ball. 

[MonteScheinblum]

The AMG guys made the best video on this subject.

 

It can be boiled down to this simple concept.

 

Pros tend to move their right hip a lot in the backswing and the left hip not so much.

 

In the downswing, they move their left hip a lot and the right hip not so much.

 

Ams are often the opposite in both directions and it moves the center of the pelvis excessively as a result.

 

Then they made a second one that might even be better.

 

 

 

[MonteScheinblum]

https://youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=0IxllCJRKS4

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by MonteScheinblum

[biffstix]

I have absolutely no idea if this will work but I’m going all in on this... I’ve been watching Dr Scott Lynn’s work w the force plate videos. To get more ground torque he likes the player to put force into the left foot towards the ball which opens the hip. I think on the backswing the opposite would be true. Put forward force on the right foot to get the right hip to move backward. There’s two feet of snow on the ground so I only have practice swings to feel this out but I’m sensing an unlocking. I’ve always tried to incorporate the hips but they’ve felt sluggish with a propensity to hump the goat. This activation from the ground feels like the rear will stay back ~ naturally, without trying to jam it back. This would seem to keep the right knee from flying in like the op describes. Of course, it’s golf and I could hit it sideways come spring. 

 

[GolfTurkey]

Padraig Harrington:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_nCjjJl6oN8&feature=share

 

“You need pelvic trust”

[golfsticks]

1 hour ago, GolfTurkey said:

Padraig Harrington:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_nCjjJl6oN8&feature=share

 

“You need pelvic trust”

 

Padraig is fast becoming a favorite of mine for instruction insights.   Following tour pro ideas, like Hughes, Elkington, Burke Jr., Miller, Geiberger, Casper, etc.,  makes far more sense to me than listening to insights from lower level players/instructors.   Thanks for the link.

[golfsticks]

13 hours ago, wolvverine said:

Does anyone have a good feel for how to rotate your hips properly without the right knee kicking in excessively?

 

This drill might work for you too.  Draw right arm back, move to toss under and experience the reaction in the lower body. 

[dai3015]

Is this the same from Danny Maude? https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=danny+maude+hips+lateral+motion&docid=608053471336007749&mid=F2B29EE0F9613CC1B58FF2B29EE0F9613CC1B58F&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

 

If so, then it makes it really easy for me to understand & I've been doing it so wrong for so many years

[DShepley]

I fall into this fault from time to time.  I try to focus on turning my right hip behind, (right back pocket turns towards target), then I try to feel like my right hip, and right knee stay where they are through transition.  It feels like my left hip is opening up off of my right hip which is stationary.  (Think of this like your hips being a door and the hinges to the door on your downswing are on your right hip.  The door opens off of your right hip)  

 

Having said that, your hips will go where they need to in order to allow you to reach the ball.  For instance, if you are dumped under plane and too far inside on your downswing, you will have to stand the shaft up and rotate it in order to get the club head on the ball.  The more drastic this move, the more your will need to extend your hips to be able to reach the ball.  That is just one example, but it is probable that your hip motion is a reaction to something else in your swing like your club being out of position.

[MonteScheinblum]

4 hours ago, GolfTurkey said:

Padraig Harrington:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_nCjjJl6oN8&feature=share

 

“You need pelvic trust”

Turn and tilt, lower the pelvis and push in reaction without trying to turn on purpose....pretty much exactly what what I teach.  Love it.

Edited December 21, 2020 by MonteScheinblum

[bogeypro]

I'm finally on the road to correcting this issue, after a couple years of working on it.  There is a lot of bad information on this and no clear explanations on how to do it.  I'll try to explain what I've worked on and hope it helps.

 

From the top of my swing, I used to push hard with my right right side to fire the hips or to turn the hips.  This is wrong.  You don't push off your right.  Instead, you need to simply try to stand on your left heel.  When walking, do you need to actively push hard off each foot to continue moving to the next foot?  Nope.  You simply shift pressure to the other foot.

 

Simply trying to stand on your left heel helps the weight move laterally onto the left side, while moving it into the heel gets the hips out of the way.  Once the hips are out of the way, the arms have room to freely swing through impact.  

[johnrobison]

That Padraig video is great!!! The idea that you have to rotate or open your hips takes golfers down the wrong path far more often than it helps them. Pressure is where it's at!

[GolfTurkey]

5 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Turn and tilt, lower the pelvis and push in reaction without trying to turn on purpose....pretty much exactly what what I teach.  Love it.

I wish I had seen all this 6 months ago. I tore the labrum in my left hip at the range while deliberately trying to turn my left hip in transition.
 

It might have been a lifetime of wear and tear and about to happen anyway, or it might have been from deliberately wrenching my left hip socket open 50 times in a row, who knows.

[PracticeSwinger]

A lot of good replies already and from experience (believe me I know first hand) - it has to do with weight pressure not having recentered to the lead foot at the top (by not having enough hip tilt and pushing back on the trail hip -> sway)... only way to ‘try and ‘fire’ / open the hips is thrusting / jumping the trail hip into the ball... having pressure recentered to the lead foot at the top will enable you to pushback on your lead hip (no intention of turning) and the resulting untilting of the hips will follow (and you’ve created space for yourself)

 

Good way to feel this is the lead foot only swing (or just position your trail foot way behind in a closed setup); put all your pressure on the trail foot at the top from that position and you can see that the only way to get to the ball is by jumping at it / thrusting your trail hip forward... where with your pressure on your lead foot at the top from that position you can easily swing just by pushing back on your lead hip... my 2 cents

[scooterhd2]

11 hours ago, GolfTurkey said:

Padraig Harrington:

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_nCjjJl6oN8&feature=share

 

“You need pelvic trust”

 

legend

[jobin]

Are not the hips, left and right, rigidly connected?  Can the right one turn 45* but the left hip turn only 25*?  Seems to me, not a human anatomist, not possible; certainly not likely or without long training. 

I could be wrong, i'm only a handicap golfer.

[PracticeSwinger]

1 hour ago, jobin said:

Are not the hips, left and right, rigidly connected?  Can the right one turn 45* but the left hip turn only 25*?  Seems to me, not a human anatomist, not possible; certainly not likely or without long training. 

I could be wrong, i'm only a handicap golfer.

They are... what is meant is relative to the line (pelvis) that connects both hips... on the backswing right hip moves back / left hip doesn’t move; creating that 45* angle with the initial line... downswing; right hip doesn’t move / left hip moves back; creating that 25* angle from that top of the swing line... obviously an oversimplification of an explanation but to try and illustrate

[MonteScheinblum]

1 hour ago, jobin said:

Are not the hips, left and right, rigidly connected?  Can the right one turn 45* but the left hip turn only 25*?  Seems to me, not a human anatomist, not possible; certainly not likely or without long training. 

I could be wrong, i'm only a handicap golfer.

Technically it’s movement in the hip sockets and femurs and yes, there can be significant independent movement.  The other issue involved is incorrect movement of the center of the pelvis.

[Rbsiedsc]

14 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Turn and tilt, lower the pelvis and push in reaction without trying to turn on purpose....pretty much exactly what what I teach.  Love it.

So in other terms, try to hit the ball with your trail hip?

[KMeloney]

7 hours ago, Rbsiedsc said:

So in other terms, try to hit the ball with your trail hip?

 

Huh? What doest that mean? Why replace what Monte wrote with something convoluted? 

[Rbsiedsc]

15 minutes ago, KMeloney said:

 

Huh? What doest that mean? Why replace what Monte wrote with something convoluted? 

Just looking for another way to visualize 

[airjammer]

Another timely video from paddy. 
 

 

Didn’t see it posted earlier but for those who want to stare at paddy’s grill🤦🏼‍♂️
 

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by airjammer

[glk]

A nice way to experience the force required to rotate the pelvis is to go get some oval furniture movers.   Stand in tHem and make a backswing - lead foot will slide back and trail foot forward - this is the reverse in the downswing.   People try to spin their hips versus just push into the ground - force creates motion.  

 

como & co talk about this at 5 minute mark. Early in they are using a gadget  that makes you do the work against resistance - as noted a planemate for the body.  
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJEmtNegtrP/
 

 

[MonteScheinblum]

8 hours ago, Rbsiedsc said:

So in other terms, try to hit the ball with your trail hip?

That’s actually what gets people in trouble.   You don’t want the trail hip to fire.  

[Rbsiedsc]

3 minutes ago, MonteScheinblum said:

That’s actually what gets people in trouble.   You don’t want the trail hip to fire.  

So use ground force to push you through?