I generally try to read most of the instruction articles in the likes of Golf Digest and Golf Magazine only because everyone of my students is reading them and many will come to see me trying to do something they saw in the magazine. Most of the time this leads to nothing but trouble. This is because articles are written in very general terms and are not able to address an individual’s problem.
One of the things I read about often is how the lower body creates power on the downswing and if you want to hit it 10 yards farther you need to swing your hips faster. So, I have students constantly coming to me trying to swing their hips faster, and the faster they swing their hips the worse they hit the ball. Why? Because, what majority of the articles do not talk about is what role the shoulders or upper body play in the power process.
In the recent issue of Golf Digest, Jim McLean’s article entitled Triple X-Factor (http://www.golfdigest.com/instruction/swing/2008/01/mclean_xfactor1) he talks about what he calls the X-Factor stretch.
The X-Factor is the difference in shoulder rotation versus hip rotation at the top of the golf swing. To maximize power you should maximize shoulder rotation and minimize hip rotation. The X-Factor Stretch takes this a step further and shows that to truly maximize power the X-Factor is increased at the beginning of the downswing, meaning the hips start the downswing but the shoulders do not move as seen in the picture to the right. As Mclean says in his article “The upper body and lower body should work independently. The hips and legs separate from the upper body and start forward.” What McLean does not address is that the average person does not have the flexibility to properly make this move, so when they begin to shift and rotate their lower body their upper body will automatically follow. When this happens all of the stored energy is depleted prior to impact and the club will generally swing on an outside to in path which ultimately creates weak left to right shots.
In McLean’s article he has two drills, Turn Your Hips and Keep Your Coil that are excellent drills to work on improving your X-Factor Stretch but you first need to find out if you have the flexibility to make this move. Dr. Greg Rose from the Titleist Performance Institute (http://www.mytpi.com/) has a test called the Pelvic Rotation Test which checks the player's ability to rotate their lower body independently from their upper body. Dr. Rose says that “this is an important skill to properly sequence the downswing and generate a good x-factor stretch (increased separation between the upper and lower body on the downswing). This movement requires good mobility of the spine, hips and pelvis, and simultaneous stability of the trunk.”
To do this test stand in your golf posture and cross your arms across your chest. From here, do not move your upper body and try to rotate your lower body (belt and below) only. Look for any movement of your shoulders or excessive lateral motion of the pelvis verses rotation.
If you have trouble moving the lower body independently of the lower body it is going to be extremely difficult for you to make a good X-Factor Stretch. When I see that a student has difficulty making this move which is about 75% of my students I encourage them to feel their arms dropping into the correct downswing position before beginning to rotate their lower body, this prevents the student from coming over the top and leads to better ball striking.
So, next time you want to try an increase distance make sure you can physically make the move and remember a ball struck in the center of the club will always go further than a off center strike.
One of the things I read about often is how the lower body creates power on the downswing and if you want to hit it 10 yards farther you need to swing your hips faster. So, I have students constantly coming to me trying to swing their hips faster, and the faster they swing their hips the worse they hit the ball. Why? Because, what majority of the articles do not talk about is what role the shoulders or upper body play in the power process.
In the recent issue of Golf Digest, Jim McLean’s article entitled Triple X-Factor (http://www.golfdigest.com/instruction/swing/2008/01/mclean_xfactor1) he talks about what he calls the X-Factor stretch.
The X-Factor is the difference in shoulder rotation versus hip rotation at the top of the golf swing. To maximize power you should maximize shoulder rotation and minimize hip rotation. The X-Factor Stretch takes this a step further and shows that to truly maximize power the X-Factor is increased at the beginning of the downswing, meaning the hips start the downswing but the shoulders do not move as seen in the picture to the right. As Mclean says in his article “The upper body and lower body should work independently. The hips and legs separate from the upper body and start forward.” What McLean does not address is that the average person does not have the flexibility to properly make this move, so when they begin to shift and rotate their lower body their upper body will automatically follow. When this happens all of the stored energy is depleted prior to impact and the club will generally swing on an outside to in path which ultimately creates weak left to right shots.In McLean’s article he has two drills, Turn Your Hips and Keep Your Coil that are excellent drills to work on improving your X-Factor Stretch but you first need to find out if you have the flexibility to make this move. Dr. Greg Rose from the Titleist Performance Institute (http://www.mytpi.com/) has a test called the Pelvic Rotation Test which checks the player's ability to rotate their lower body independently from their upper body. Dr. Rose says that “this is an important skill to properly sequence the downswing and generate a good x-factor stretch (increased separation between the upper and lower body on the downswing). This movement requires good mobility of the spine, hips and pelvis, and simultaneous stability of the trunk.”
To do this test stand in your golf posture and cross your arms across your chest. From here, do not move your upper body and try to rotate your lower body (belt and below) only. Look for any movement of your shoulders or excessive lateral motion of the pelvis verses rotation.
If you have trouble moving the lower body independently of the lower body it is going to be extremely difficult for you to make a good X-Factor Stretch. When I see that a student has difficulty making this move which is about 75% of my students I encourage them to feel their arms dropping into the correct downswing position before beginning to rotate their lower body, this prevents the student from coming over the top and leads to better ball striking.
So, next time you want to try an increase distance make sure you can physically make the move and remember a ball struck in the center of the club will always go further than a off center strike.
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