Golfers striving for a better swing often face the challenge of swaying. Swaying involves unwanted hip movement that affects stability and accuracy.
In this article, we explore practical methods to eliminate swaying and improve your golf swing, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player. Let’s enhance your game by putting an end to swaying.
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What Is Swaying In Golf?
Swaying in the golf swing refers to the mistake of the hips moving sideways. As the swing progresses, the hips slide back towards the rear foot during the backswing and shift forward towards the front foot during the downswing and impact. Essentially, the hips fail to remain stable within a designated range, often referred to as “the box.”
A more effective swing involves the golfer’s body weight shifting primarily through the upper body’s rotation around a central axis. This central axis is ideally provided by the hips, which serve as the pivot point, enabling the upper body to rotate smoothly on this pivotal base.
Issues Linked with Swaying
1. Hips Shift Without Rotation – Resulting in an Overreliance on Arm Movement in the Swing.
When a golfer experiences swaying, they may mistakenly think they are incorporating hip movement into their golf swing, yet they might not be aware that they are not truly rotating atop them. In reality, they are merely shifting the hips around.
Neglecting to properly coil the hips will hinder the ability to efficiently uncoil them as they approach impact. This inability to effectively coil and uncoil the hips results in a swing driven primarily by the arms, causing only the shoulders to rotate. This, in turn, diminishes both power and consistency from your swing.
2. Lack of consistency
Between the initial address position and the point of impact, the golf ball remains stationary on the ground. However, your body undergoes significant movement, especially if swaying is a factor. Consistently bringing your club to the correct position during impact is crucial for a successful golf game. The challenge arises when your hips shift back and forth, impeding this goal.
In an optimal scenario, the bottom of the swing arc should be just ahead of the ball, promoting clean strikes. Engaging in lateral hip movement creates a substantial obstacle in consistently placing the swing arc’s bottom in this favorable location.
By prioritizing hip rotation while maintaining their relative stability, you substantially enhance the development of a dependable golf swing technique.
How To Stop Swaying During Swing
1. Direct your attention towards shifting your weight to the inner part of your foot.
Your body’s weight should naturally shift towards your rear foot during the backswing, but this movement should occur through rotation, rather than by sliding your hips and weight backward.
To confirm the correctness of this motion, position your golf club in front of your chest and ensure that the club’s end points toward the ball, simulating the top of your swing position.
Achieving this proper posture entails significant body rotation during the backswing, particularly involving your hips and shoulders.
To prevent swaying and optimize your potential for maximum power during the downswing and impact, ensure that your weight is centered over your instep – the inner part of your foot – rather than tilting towards the outer edge.
Placing your weight on the outer edge of your foot will compromise your ability to execute a forceful downswing and might indicate a tendency towards swaying.
2. Angle your right knee inward
While swaying can occur during the downswing, it often originates in the backswing phase.
To prevent early hip movement and ensure stability for the downswing, focus on keeping your hips steady from the outset. A helpful technique to counter hip sliding is to angle your right knee inward.
This subtle adjustment, ideally integrated into your setup or even used as a swing trigger, effectively secures your right knee’s position. Consequently, your hips are compelled to rotate instead of shifting backward.
With the hips properly coiled during the backswing, the natural process of unwinding during the downswing and impact becomes more intuitive. This occurs with minimal lateral movement.
Drills To Stop Swaying
In golf, how you move matters a lot. Imagine there’s a line between swaying and turning while you swing. If you go too much on the swaying side, things can go wrong.
When you swing the right way, you turn your body nicely at the top, and then shift your weight forward as you start coming down. But if your swing isn’t so great, you might end up swaying back and forth instead of turning. This can create a bunch of problems.
If you watch professional golfers, you can see how they do it right. Look at LPGA pro Gabi Ruffels’ swing below. She turns well and shifts her hips forward as she starts coming down. This makes her swing strong and efficient, something every regular golfer wishes they could do.
It’s absolutely absurd that @GabiRuffels has only been playing competitive golf for six years. One of the best swings in the game🤤 pic.twitter.com/fDVa6Hj7DT
— Zephyr Melton (@zephyrmelton) October 15, 2021
When you watch the pros do this, it might seem easy, but it’s actually quite tricky. Many regular golfers, when trying to get this right, end up moving their bodies the wrong way, which is not what you should be doing.
The good news is that GOLF Top 100 Teacher Kevin Sprecher has a great trick to fix this issue, and you only need one club.
Hold the club with your hands at both ends, gripping it tightly. This will help you keep the club steady between your hands. Now, practice making a few turns back and forth while holding the club this way. Keeping a firm grip on each end will stop you from swaying and help you turn correctly.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, eliminating swaying from your golf swing is essential for better performance. By grasping the difference between swaying and turning, and practicing techniques like weight distribution and specific drills, you’re on track for improvement.
Keep practicing these methods, and you’ll develop a more consistent and effective swing, leading to a stronger and more successful game on the golf course.
