Slanted Hips!

[Kevin Shields]

For anyone who has had difficulty reaching the TSP or staying there in the transition, or for that matter anyone who feels they "back up" to find the plane in the downswing, review Brian's Youtube on slanted hips. I just spent a day with the man in Ohio and although i have always struck the ball solidly, I've always struggled with a good player's "back up" or pulls with the irons. I learned from Lead's books and he really focused on keeping the right knee flexed. While it gave me a pattern, it also prevented me from reaching or staying on the turned shoulder plane. I thought it was sacrilege to straighten the right knee all these years until Brian "allowed" me to do it. Now i just slant the hips, straighten the right leg ( all in a NHA type pattern ) and i reach the plane, and start dead on it on the way down.

Just a personal story. Hope that it helps anyone trying to overcome the same issues i have.

 

[puttmad]

nothing wrong with straightening (but not locking) the right knee. It forms a goods "post" for you to pivot (backswing) around...feels dead natural to me...

 

[conkanen]

For anyone who has had difficulty reaching the TSP or staying there in the transition, or for that matter anyone who feels they "back up" to find the plane in the downswing, review Brian's Youtube on slanted hips. I just spent a day with the man in Ohio and although i have always struck the ball solidly, I've always struggled with a good player's "back up" or pulls with the irons. I learned from Lead's books and he really focused on keeping the right knee flexed. While it gave me a pattern, it also prevented me from reaching or staying on the turned shoulder plane. I thought it was sacrilege to straighten the right knee all these years until Brian "allowed" me to do it. Now i just slant the hips, straighten the right leg ( all in a NHA type pattern ) and i reach the plane, and start dead on it on the way down.

Just a personal story. Hope that it helps anyone trying to overcome the same issues i have.

Just Curious Kevin, do you still do the right leg straighten? I implemented the right knee flex as well thinking the straightening of the right leg was a bad thing. Now I am not sure if this is right for me. I don't get a lot of hip turn in the backswing and it just doesn't feel like I have a very dynamic or orthadox backswing. The hips feel too restricted presently. I checked out Brian's youtube vid that talks about slanted hips. I guess what I am asking is "who" and why would someone need slanted hips? What do you mean by "back up"?

 

[conkanen]

From Brian's Perfect Pivot Downswing Article: That's ME in the first paragraph.

"Since the torso is seated on the hips, the hip’s movement during the swing is all-important. Pop golf instruction focuses on restricting the hip’s movement on the backswing to create torque between the upper body and lower body. This restriction’s first commandment is to keep the right knee completely immobile on the backswing. While making such a minimal hip turn and its corresponding anchoring of the right leg can contribute to a good backswing pivot, to do so requires superb flexibility and an arm and hand motion that works in concert with this variation.

A far better solution is a free turn of the hips and a reduction in the flex of the right leg on the backswing. The golfer should feel like the first thing that moves on the backswing is the right hip, pulling the rest of the body and the arms-hands-club unit along with it. This sharp hip turn should be accompanied by the right thigh and right knee moving in the same direction-----away from the target line. This will reduce the flex in the right leg without changing the angle of the leg as viewed from the face-on view of the golfer. Interestingly, this loss of this angle by so many poor players a couple of generations ago, was the reason that the ‘keep the right knee stable’ school of thought got started in the first place."

 

[gmbtempe]

For anyone who has had difficulty reaching the TSP or staying there in the transition, or for that matter anyone who feels they "back up" to find the plane in the downswing, review Brian's Youtube on slanted hips. I just spent a day with the man in Ohio and although i have always struck the ball solidly, I've always struggled with a good player's "back up" or pulls with the irons. I learned from Lead's books and he really focused on keeping the right knee flexed. While it gave me a pattern, it also prevented me from reaching or staying on the turned shoulder plane. I thought it was sacrilege to straighten the right knee all these years until Brian "allowed" me to do it. Now i just slant the hips, straighten the right leg ( all in a NHA type pattern ) and i reach the plane, and start dead on it on the way down.

Just a personal story. Hope that it helps anyone trying to overcome the same issues i have.

Agree completely, for us mere mortals its pretty tough to make a full turn without the hips opening and they open easier as the right leg straightens. Not rigidly straight but straightening is my view.

I would also add for me it gets easier to accomplish some other things I like in the swing.

Nick Faldo had lots of flex, so does a guy like Ben Curtis. Wonder if there is a distance correlation?

 

[aaron_lohan]

Agree completely, for us mere mortals its pretty tough to make a full turn without the hips opening and they open easier as the right leg straightens. Not rigidly straight but straightening is my view.

I would also add for me it gets easier to accomplish some other things I like in the swing.

Nick Faldo had lots of flex, so does a guy like Ben Curtis. Wonder if there is a distance correlation?

I think Faldo has a lot of flex because he has long legs, I have short legs and don't even get that amount of flex with a wedge.

 

[gmbtempe]

I think Faldo has a lot of flex because he has long legs, I have short legs and don't even get that amount of flex with a wedge.

wouldnt you just have longer clubs?

Pavin has short legs, he seemed to have lots of flex in his legs watching the telecast yesterday.

 

[aaron_lohan]

wouldnt you just have longer clubs?

Pavin has short legs, he seemed to have lots of flex in his legs watching the telecast yesterday.

No my clubs are half inch shorter than standard.