The belief that powerful golf shots come about as the result of swinging the club hard ignores the fact that club head speed is created most efficiently by the proper sequence of body parts uncoiling from the top of the back swing. The hips play an important role in this generation of club head speed. Spend time practicing some basic drills designed to make proper use of your left hip and you'll see the power in your golf swing increase.
Initiating the Downswing
Ben Hogan writes about the importance of starting the downswing with the release of the left hip toward the target. He warns against using the arms and shoulders as a means for initiating your move toward the golf ball, pointing out that this will disrupt the ideal uncoiling sequence and typically result in the arms getting ahead of the body to produce shots pulled off-line to the left.
Belt Buckle Drill
PGA pro Brett Gorney recommends a drill in which you begin setup to the ball in normal fashion. At this point, your belt buckle is facing the ball. Keep your club in place behind the ball and your upper body still. Start rotating your hips toward the target. Keep turning the hips until your belt buckle is pointed toward your left foot. Repeat the same action including a quarter back swing, stopping the club at the ball, allowing the hips to continue until your belt buckle is pointed toward your left foot once again.
Contact
The final part of this drill involves taking the same quarter back swing and turning the belt buckle toward the target while continuing the swing through contact. Gorney suggests going through this three-part process 25 times to get the full effect of orienting your left hip to leading the rotation. Think about getting your left leg straight and your left hip behind you as you follow through on each swing.
Avoiding the Collision
A good test to make sure that you are rotating your left hip at the right speed involves using a pair of clubs -- a 7-iron and 8-iron work well. This drill, recommended by Kevin Walker and Dr. D.J. Tomasi of Golf.com, involves setting up in your normal position at address, with the two clubs about 2 inches apart -- one held in each hand. Take a slow back swing and then swing through to follow through. If your left hip is rotating at the proper speed, the clubs won't collide with one another. If they do collide, concentrate on rotating that left hip more quickly.
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