Bend From Hips
By T.J. TOMASI
Universal Press Syndicate
They say the eyes are the first thing to go, but what matters more to your golf swing as you age is the loss of flexibility, especially if you play only once a week.
Unlike strength, which diminishes gradually over time, loss of flexibility tends to accelerate rapidly. Of course, you can slow this process down and even regain suppleness through exercise, but in the meantime, your loss of flexibility is made even worse by bending incorrectly from the waist.
The problem is that when you bend from your waist, you hunch your back and lock your hip joints, and this restricts your hip turn. You also tend to slide your hips too much laterally, a motion that robs you of power and can hurt your back. The good news is that, like many swing errors, you can correct this with the right setup fundamentals ― in this case, good golf posture.
Your body is designed to bend forward from the hips rather than from the waist. When you bend from your hips, your spine tilts, but it doesn't curve. Not only is this good for your golf swing, but it's good for your back, as well.
To assume the correct position, proceed as follows: With your knees straight (but not locked), place a shaft across your hips, parallel to the ground. Now push the shaft backward until your rear end protrudes and your weight moves to your toes. Then simply flex your knees slightly until your weight is redistributed from the balls of your feet back to your heels.
By bending correctly from your hip joints, you also create room for your arms to swing. This is important for several reasons. First, as you become less flexible, your arm-swing shortens. Johnny Miller once commented that when John Daly is 90, his swing would be about normal length-wise.
Second, if you have a bit of thickness around the mid-section, bending from the hips removes any obstacles that may be in the way of your arm swing. When postured correctly, your arms hang freely without the tension in your neck and shoulders that restricts your arm-swing.
Assuming the correct hip flex should have created enough room for your front arm to swing at least 45 degrees across your chest, the position your front arm will be in at the end of your takeaway. If your arm runs into your chest before it reaches 45 degrees, just bend from your hip joints a bit more until you can swing without interference from your chest.