Padraig Harrington's Tips on Hip Turn

[Habitual Flipper]

At 2:47 he talks about how his hips work in the back swing. To paraphrase, he mentions that he turns into his trail hip and if his hand was there in the crease (on hip flexor), the feel is that his hand is being squeezed. When I try this with living room swings, it feels like it restricts my hip turn but also feels very powerful. 

 

Does anyone else have this feel with their hip turn? I'm not doubting Harrington (I love his video series), I'm just looking to start a discussion on this idea. 

 

 

[PracticeSwinger]

44 minutes ago, Habitual Flipper said:

At 2:47 he talks about how his hips work in the back swing. To paraphrase, he mentions that he turns into his trail hip and if his hand was there in the crease (on hip flexor), the feel is that his hand is being squeezed. When I try this with living room swings, it feels like it restricts my hip turn but also feels very powerful. 

 

Does anyone else have this feel with their hip turn? I'm not doubting Harrington (I love his video series), I'm just looking to start a discussion on this idea. 

 

 

Yes... you have to move into Internal trail hip rotation (and not external) - to make sure that you don't sway in takeaway - pushing your trail hip backward, enabling you then from P3 on to 'recenter' your '45* turned' pelvis towards the target, pressure lead side, aggressive pivot... it doesn't restrict the hip move, it's a timely move (not right off the bat) so that you don't max out your trail hip too early and thus dive into the ball with the lead hip

[Anthony Stevens]

I found this feeling of "pinching the trail hip crease" over the winter time. I've seen the movement referred to in various ways, such as "unscrew the pickle jar lid" with the trail foot.

 

For me, what worked to get the feeling was this:

 

1) Get into a normal width stance with no club. Knees slightly bent.

2) Move almost all of your weight to the inside of the trail foot.

3) You should be barely touching the ground with the toe of your lead foot.

4) Concentrate on the trail hip and inside of the upper leg, and "screw" your trail foot into the ground such that the lead knee moves back and slightly out toward the trail knee/foot. I feel a good engagement of those upper/inner hip muscles on the trail side, and the inside of the trail quad.

5) Move back and forth slowly to really feel those muscles engage.

 

I'm working on keeping my trail leg from locking out too early, and this feeling is part of it.

[Anthony Stevens]

This is the image I use in my head for the movement - I imagine pushing the trail foot in four ways simultaneously - down into the ground, toward the target line, toward the target, and rotating smoothly from #1 to #2, all the while keeping actual pressure on the inside of the trail foot.

 

Hope this helps.

[Habitual Flipper]

Interesting stuff! Getting my weight to the inside of my trail foot is a totally new feel and sounds like something that I should have always been doing (I think my weight has been getting to the outside of my trail foot). I have been struggling with fats and thins over the past couple seasons and wondering if this could be a factor.

 

Interestingly, over the same time though, my driver has been the best it has ever been. I had been working through some Dr. Kwon type drills over this time period and I'm wondering if it had adversely affected my ball striking while benefitting my driver. 

[Mike_C]

1 hour ago, Habitual Flipper said:

At 2:47 he talks about how his hips work in the back swing. To paraphrase, he mentions that he turns into his trail hip and if his hand was there in the crease (on hip flexor), the feel is that his hand is being squeezed. When I try this with living room swings, it feels like it restricts my hip turn but also feels very powerful. 

 

Does anyone else have this feel with their hip turn? I'm not doubting Harrington (I love his video series), I'm just looking to start a discussion on this idea. 

 

 

Very good video, almost everything I ve been working on with hip movement over the past several years to fix my "flat" hip turn and EE.... Even down to the Nicklaus rolling of the ankles...

Edited March 31, 2023 by Mike_C

[johnrobison]

2 hours ago, Habitual Flipper said:

but also feels very powerful. 

Dana D  calls that, "loading the system"

[Chunkitgood]

This is a link to the third part of a three part series by Kelvin Miyahira on the hip turn.  I agree personally with what he says in this subject if not everything.

 

The thing is, there is in addition to internal rotation of the the right hip what he calls external rotation of the right leg (not sure is this last is correct terminology) in which the right knee moves clockwise.  I would interpret what he calls right leg external rotation as not maximally internally rotating the right hip, which would keep the right knee from moving.

 

The whole thing is well worth reading and thinking about, if you’re inclined in that direction.

 

http://kelvinmiyahiragolf-articles.com/index.php/articles/articles-2/2011-articles/64-2011-07-how-to-turn-your-hips-part-3-the-backswing

The lack of a good agreed upon bio mechanical description of the essential of the  golf swing in the golf teaching world is really quite remarkable.

Makes you wonder.  Maybe some knowledge is too valuable (and I mean that in a monetary sense) to be shared?

 

 

 

 

[Albatross Dreamer]

16 minutes ago, Chunkitgood said:

This is a link to the third part of a three part series by Kelvin Miyahira on the hip turn.  I agree personally with what he says in this subject if not everything.

 

The thing is, there is in addition to internal rotation of the the right hip what he calls external rotation of the right leg (not sure is this last is correct terminology) in which the right knee moves clockwise.  I would interpret what he calls right leg external rotation as not maximally internally rotating the right hip, which would keep the right knee from moving.

 

The whole thing is well worth reading and thinking about, if you’re inclined in that direction.

 

http://kelvinmiyahiragolf-articles.com/index.php/articles/articles-2/2011-articles/64-2011-07-how-to-turn-your-hips-part-3-the-backswing

The lack of a good agreed upon bio mechanical description of the essential of the  golf swing in the golf teaching world is really quite remarkable.

Makes you wonder.  Maybe some knowledge is too valuable (and I mean that in a monetary sense) to be shared?

 

 

 

 

People greatly underestimate the role of physical ability to hit certain positions in golf teaching. Often if someone can't do something it's just assumed to be a technical thing. Here's a video if you really want to start going down the rabbit hole of movement in the golf swing have fun with this one. 

 

 

[Chunkitgood]

Thanks.

 

Here’s another article from Miyahira is which he might plausibly be said to contradict the other one.  He seems here to say stay externally rotated until range of motion ends then go into internal rotation, which is not I guess altogether inconsistent with what I said about not be maximally rotated.

 

http://kelvinmiyahiragolf-articles.com/index.php/articles/articles-2/2012-articles/76-2012-06-trunk-balance-more-on-how-to-turn-your-hips

 

I think part of the trouble is failure to be precise in use of words like external rotation.  Does it refer to a state of being rotated (relative to some “neutral” state for example) or the process of becoming more rotated with time.

 

In other sports people have figured this stuff out, and written it down pretty clearly, is all I got to say.

 

 

 

 

[RoyalTroon]

18 hours ago, Anthony Stevens said:

This is the image I use in my head for the movement - I imagine pushing the trail foot in four ways simultaneously - down into the ground, toward the target line, toward the target, and rotating smoothly from #1 to #2, all the while keeping actual pressure on the inside of the trail foot.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Fantastic image, where did it come from, and kudos to Padraig, he certainly knows his craft and folks should pay attention.   

[Zitlow]

Harrington is so talented he could play golf standing on his head and still be competitive. 

[JungleJimbo]