A Hip Setup for Success at Address

A good golf swing starts with a sound setup. So, give yourself a fighting chance by improving your address position.

‍

When it comes to the address position, most golfers understand that because our trail hand grips the club below our lead hand, the trail shoulder should likewise tilt downward in relation to the lead shoulder (right below left for right-handers).

Many of world’s best players look balanced and athletic in this regard, but many amateurs look unathletic and awkward with their tilting. So, let’s discuss a simple key to improve your setup and fix what you never may have known was ailing you in the first place.

‍

Slide your hips more toward the target at address

We often see amateurs position their hips in the center or behind center of their stance. This can move the torso excessively behind the ball (to the right for right-handers), and when combined with shoulder tilt often leads to slicing the ball from an outside-to-in swing path.

Many tour pros by comparison place their hips more toward their lead leg at address, which keeps their shoulders balanced over the lower body – a key position to create the inside-to-out swing path many of us desire.

How to practice this:

1. Take your normal driver stance and feel the weight equally distributed over both feet.
2. Slide your left hip toward the target over your left ankle.
3. Notice you may feel more weight on your left leg and your hands positioned more forward.
4. Take some slow and smooth practice swings, feeling that your lead hip stays over the lead ankle throughout the swing.
5. Hit golf balls in the same manner, while slowly ramping up the pace until you can maintain this feeling with a full swing.