Lower body
Stick at the back hip
Hips slide away from the target in the backswing
Turn your back hip backwards in the backswing instead of sliding it sideways.
Recognise this?
- In the backswing your weight ends up on the outside of your back foot; sometimes the foot rolls outwards.
- Fat shots and thin shots alternate.
- Balls are blocked out to the right and you clearly lose distance.
- It feels as though you load hard backwards, but little speed comes out of it.
Why it happens
TPI defines sway as any excessive sideways movement of the lower body away from the target in the backswing, with your weight ending up on the outside of your back foot. You then have no stable platform to move from, and that undermines the weight shift in the transition and therefore your speed. The physical causes TPI points to: too little internal rotation of the back hip, too little separation between torso and pelvis because of a stiff spine or short lats, and weak hip stabilisers. HackMotion describes the same movement and the same misses, and names a weak core, confusing sliding with turning, and a poor weight shift as drivers.
What the drill fixes
The stick stands exactly where your hip ends up if it slides instead of turning. If you turn properly, the space stays clear.
What you need
- An alignment stick you can stand upright in the ground (or a tripod or a small post)
- An iron
easy
How to do it
Step 1: Put the stick beside your hip
Stand the stick vertically in the ground, just outside your back hip. Close enough that a few centimetres of sideways movement already hits it.
Step 2: Turn the hip backwards
Make a slow backswing in which you turn your back hip inwards and backwards instead of outwards. The marker is that you do not hit the stick.
Step 3: Feel the inside of your heel
At the same time feel your weight coming onto the inside of your back heel, not onto the outer edge of your foot.
How often
10 slow practice swings, then 2 sets of 10 balls
Starting slowly is essential here: sway is a habit in the takeaway, and at full speed you no longer correct it consciously. Leave the stick in place as you build up to full swings.
Safety
Use a stick that can bend or fall over. Never put a hard, fixed post inside the path of your swing.
Sources
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