Improve Your Hip Turn in Takeaway - Part 1
IN: Health and Fitness | by Michael Dalgleish | 22 Apr 2004
All good coaches encourage a good hip turn as the foundation for a sound, consistent golf swing. What exactly is a good hip turn? It does vary from individual to individual. However ideal hip turn does provide for a sound platform for the repeatable golf swing. Optimal hip turn is also essential in the generation of power with the long game swing.
To define hip turn correctly is important. Anatomical terminology has been around for thousands of years. The common description given by Golf Coaches for hip turn is in fact pelvis rotation. An integral component of gaining ideal pelvis rotation, in the right handed golfer, is internal rotation of the right hip. A number of other structures may contribute to pelvic rotation as viewed on video by the Golf Coach, these include rolling out of the foot (or supination) and turning out of the thigh bone on the shin bone (external rotation of the femur on the tibia).
Three dimensional, kinematic measurement has now highlighted exactly how much pelvis rotation range of motion the best players in the world actually have. The top players have between 40 and 50 degrees of pelvis rotation during their takeaway. This is matched with 90 to 95 degrees of shoulder turn or upper torso rotation.
Many golfers have less than optimal range of motion in their hip joints. Can you guess which group may have this problem? If you thought of the older golfer, then you would be correct. The gradual process of joint degeneration or osteoarthritis that affects all of us, to some degree over time, may lead to a loss of internal rotation of the hip. In comparison, many of our very mobile female golfers are excessively mobile and may require improved control of movement and strength.
To measure whether you have actually lost internal rotation of the hip or are excessively mobile - complete the following simple test. We call this test - the Prone Hip Internal Rotation test.
Lie on your stomach with your hands under the bumps under the front of your pelvis. These bumps must remain square on the bed - that is there should be no lifting as you allow your leg to slowly rotate inward. Don't be deceived your hip is actually turning in though your ankle appears to be moving out. When you have reached the limit of range increased pressure will be felt on the fingers on the tested side. This designates the end of range of motion - the ideal range of motion for this test would be 40 to 45 degrees.
If you fall short of this then you may need to consult your Golf Physiotherapist or Strength and Conditioning Coach to institute some specific stretches. In severe cases you may need to speak with your Golf Trained Medical Practitioner to check for any X-ray changes in your hip joint.
Once you have identified that you are limited for range then you will need to improve your range of motion - we'll cover this in our next article. Once improved it's time to consult your PGA Professional to ensure that you harness all this new range of motion and improve that errant hip turn. For the excessively mobile, stability drills will need to be implemented by your Golf Physiotherapist.
Enjoy better, pain-free golfing!!
