Do you find yourself swaying forward as you bring down your swing? Forward swaying in golf swing especially during the downswing is a very common error beginners usually experience. This happens when your hips slide forward towards the front foot. As you shift your weight, your hips do not stay in place, which means you’re having issues with your rotation and balance.
Causes of swaying in the golf swing:
Incorrect posture at address
You read and heard it many times over. The address position will make or break your entire swing sequence. Once your address is incorrect, there is no compensating the mistake during the swing. It will result in multiple swing issues, one of which is forward swaying.
Swaying in the golf swing is caused by excessive lateral movement. This means that your feet were too narrow at the address, leaving you less room to properly rotate and come down missing the right tempo.
Your hips should stay in place as your upper body rotates. This provides a stable and efficient rotation movement.
Losing your spine angle
Spine angle is crucial for a consistent golf swing. Losing your angle means losing your timing, and tempo which results in swaying. Letting your arms lead the swing and neglecting your body movement will cause you to lose your spine angle. Also, hunching too much at the address position will limit your range of movement, causing you to compensate by swaying your hips to make room for your downswing.
Poor Takeaway
One of the most common mistakes high handicappers commit is letting their hands take the lead of the swing which stays along the target line instead of allowing the club to do a circular plane. This causes golfers to sway away from their center to create more room for their swing. The proper club movement is to rotate it in a circular plane and allow it to trail naturally.
How do I stop my hip from sliding and swaying?
Now that the cause for forward sway in golf swing is addressed, the next step is to tackle how to stop your hips from sliding or swaying.
Things to consider:
Address position
Spine angle
Upper body rotation
Weight transfer
Swing plane
Address position:
A good consistent swing always starts from the setup. Here’s how to check your address position:
Your feet should be apart as wide as your shoulders
If you are right-handed, your left toe should widen a little towards the target. Don’t keep your toes squared.
The ball should be opposite your left heel
If you are dealing with irons, the ball should be in the center
Spine Angle:
Your shoulders, arms, chest, and torso should move in sync when you rotate and your hips trail along in the downswing. To do this, maintaining the connection between your upper body is crucial.
Stabilize your spine
Rotate your upper body away from the target without breaking the angle and maintaining the alignment
Maintain alignment between shoulders, forearms, chest, hips, and feet.
Correct Takeaway
Your takeaway starts by moving the club away from your target line
Keep your arms relaxed and stretched out
As your club goes parallel to the ground, your club face should be pointing slightly towards the ground
Start your wrist hinge, while still rotating and letting the club go up at the top of the backswing
From the backswing, your elbow should be tucked and your wrist flat
Weight distribution:
Weight distribution can be an issue as soon as you forward sway in golf swing. Weight should be evenly distributed on your feet at the address position and shift as the swing sequence progresses.
Weight should be 50% evenly distributed on your feet at the address
75% -80% of the weight should be transferred to the heel during the backswing
75% -80% of the weight shifts onto the front during the downswing
