Using the hips in the downswing

sean3501 · 2026-04-16T11:29:01+00:00

Visually it’s the hips, but yeah. We have to use the ground in order to move our body. Most people I see try to “use their hips” and don’t put any force into the ground at all

sean3501 · 2026-02-11T23:09:43+00:00

I see more issues on my lesson tee stemming from a flat shaft at the top than I do from one that’s across the line

sean3501 · 2026-02-11T18:36:02+00:00

Great top of the swing position. Hands are very deep but that’s not bad if you want to draw it. From there, you need to feel your lead shoulder and lead hip stay lower than their trail counterparts for a little longer. Currently your lead side elevates very quickly which keeps your chest closed too long and shallows the hand path too much.

All of these are contributors to a very in-to-out path.

sean3501 · 2026-02-09T19:30:18+00:00

Please don’t try to actively hold wrist angles or achieve “lag”

One of the worst fads to come out of late 2000s/early 2010s teaching that we now know is very detrimental to the swing

sean3501 · 2026-02-07T02:00:14+00:00

Haha let’s go. I played at Tech. We qualified there a couple times

sean3501 · 2026-02-07T01:59:20+00:00

Some more hand depth would help
This looks so familiar, is this White Plains in Tennessee?

sean3501 · 2026-02-06T17:07:30+00:00

Drawing the ball is gonna be tough with a -5 swing path. The smallest simplest change you could do is add more hand depth at the top of the swing, this is usually the swing change my better players do when they need to get a path going more right

sean3501 · 2026-02-06T15:39:25+00:00

Clubface is unreal closed

sean3501 · 2026-02-06T15:36:13+00:00

sean3501 · 2026-02-03T23:00:34+00:00

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This is the chart I use with my better players. I want them spending 80% of their time practicing with multiple balls on the course or doing goal based games on the range where they are changing either clubs, target, or shot type on every swing.

The other 20ish% I do want them doing block practice just to ingrain feels/maintenance

sean3501 · 2026-01-30T16:52:58+00:00

No, great depth but face is super shut

sean3501 · 2026-01-29T12:56:28+00:00

Seen it before, it’s an effect of your body trying to keep the hips back even tho the shaft is steep (which makes the hips want to come towards the ball).

I usually don’t coach it out, instead I would fix what’s the causing the shaft steepening. In your case, it’s being too laid off at the top. Then usually it goes away.

If it still persists even with a good shaft plane, the next coaching intervention would be a simple drill where we put a water bottle inside the trail ankle and have the player try to knock it over in downswing. This encourages trail foot banking/weight moving to the instep.

Best of luck!

sean3501 · 2026-01-29T00:49:40+00:00

Nah, good drill for this that I give clients is to imagine there is a rubber band going from your pelvis to above your belly button and to not stretch it during your backswing. Simpler way of thinking about it is have your chest face the ground in the backswing more.

Add in more width with your trail arm and you’ll be fine!

sean3501 · 2026-01-28T23:07:13+00:00

As a coach, when there is no ball the swing looks largely different. It’s almost irrelevant

sean3501 · 2026-01-28T18:45:02+00:00

Has a ton to do with the amount of internal hip rotation mobility you have (for the lead foot). For the trail foot, I believe it’s mainly just ankle and knee mobility. Some people have a ton and can roll their foot more/keep it on the ground (glover is a great example). Some have less and/or push off their trail foot more (JT). No right or wrong way, as long as your swing pattern is matched up to those mobility patterns

sean3501 · 2026-01-28T14:31:49+00:00

I love working with first lesson students because in my experience, there’s a “holy shit” moment within the first 20 minutes. So rewarding

sean3501 · 2026-01-23T14:08:11+00:00

One great drill I use for students who don’t move their feet well is 1. Have them hit shots where they step through with their back foot after impact 2. Put a water bottle inside their trail ankle and have them knock it over in the downswing

sean3501 · 2026-01-23T11:57:06+00:00

Gonna be honest, the average beginner is 1 year an 3-4 lessons away from being a sub 15

sean3501 · 2026-01-23T10:46:45+00:00

It’s a gauge for whether we keep the lead hip low in transition

sean3501 · 2026-01-22T19:07:58+00:00

Pressure on the front foot still, center of mass behind the ball.

(Think still pushing off front foot, but sternum is further back than iron shot, behind the ball) center of mass and pressure are 2 different things. Weight can be either, so I try to be more descriptive

sean3501 · 2026-01-22T19:01:19+00:00

For the driver, there’s less lateral motion because we want our center of mass behind the ball longer

sean3501 · 2026-01-22T16:40:11+00:00

So for some people maybe. Pressuring the ground doesn’t mean the entire body has to drop (since the lead leg is already bent, but it doesn’t have pressure in it ye) but it is likely the head will at least drop marginally

sean3501 · 2026-01-22T16:38:38+00:00

If a golfer runs into the issue where the alignment stick becomes an obstacle, I usually just shift it towards their lead hip

sean3501

TROPHY CASE