This article was machine-translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean original
There are likely many of you who feel stressed after a round, whether about distance or ball flight, even though you have played diligently just as you were taught. Everything that happens has a cause, and your shots are no exception. If mistakes are recurring, it is important to develop the ability to identify the cause yourself.
Nowadays, with just a mobile phone, you can find the world's best lesson videos anytime. However, it can be confusing because some people tell you to do it this way, while others tell you to do it that way. There is a coach just for you that costs nothing, requires no reservations, and always tells you the truth without a single lie. It is the ball you hit.
01The ball teaches us two things — result and cause
Every time you hit the ball, it always tells you two things. The first is the result. It naturally tells you whether it went to the right, to the left, or went high. However, most of the time, it stops there. Second, the ball also tells you the cause of why it was hit that way. Nowadays, this cause is being verified with data using swing analyzers or launch monitors.
02The clubface determines the start, and the club path determines the curve.
If you say you hit a push fade, "push" means the clubface was open at the moment of impact, and the fact that the ball curved to the right means the club path passed to the left relative to the direction of the open clubface. Conversely, a push draw means that although the clubface was open at impact, the club path passed to the right relative to that direction. It can be confusing, but you can remember that the ball's trajectory is influenced by the clubface, while the amount and direction of the curve are influenced by the club path.
It is common for most amateur golfers to have excessive curve due to either an overly severe out-to-in or in-to-out swing path. If you hold your club path a little more stable and consistent, you can hit the ball with a much more stable trajectory.
03The Real Cause of the Wobbling Orbit — Axis Position
One of the cases I see most often is when golfers rotate using their right side as the axis, when they are supposed to rotate around their center. If you rotate around your center, your right hip moves backward along with your left hip as much as your left hip moves forward during the backswing. However, if you imagine extending your spine and fixing it to the ground, you can rotate as much as you want without changing this axis.
However, if you rotate around the right side of your body as the axis, only your left hip moves forward while your right side remains in the same position. Consequently, during the downswing, rotation occurs around the left hip that is already forward, leading to an "early extension" phenomenon where the upper body lifts. This makes accurate contact impossible.
04The pelvis must rotate around the center of the body as an axis.
The term "early extension" might make the movement itself seem inherently bad, but in fact, the extension motion is necessary for our bodies to generate power. The issue is timing. If you rotate to the right instead of staying on your axis during the backswing, the timing becomes too fast; however, if you maintain your axis and rotate while opening your right hip backward, you can delay the timing of the early extension. That is why performing the backswing properly is crucial.
05Pelvic rotation exercises using a chair
Let me introduce an exercise method to help you get a feel for pelvic rotation. Sit on a chair and cross your arms, placing your hands on your shoulders. In this position, it is not easy to move your pelvis up and down or side to side. Instead, you can only move it forward and backward, but this allows you to feel the sensation more intensely. The reason for doing this while sitting is to feel the movement of the pelvis entirely, without the unnecessary compensatory movements of the knees or lower back that occur when practicing while standing.
The sensation here is very similar to the feeling in the pelvis during an actual shot. The fascinating thing is that even though only the pelvis moves, the upper body follows automatically. Instead of forcing upper body rotation, moving the pelvis causes the upper body to follow that movement. Therefore, if you utilize your pelvis effectively, you can execute a much more comfortable and stable swing, even under tension.
06Today's homework
- Sitting on a chair and moving the pelvis back and forthCross your arms and place your hands on your shoulders, then repeatedly practice the sensation of your pelvis moving back and forth. You can do this anytime, even while eating, as long as you have a chair.
- Stand and touch your right hip to the back wallPlace a chair behind you and practice the movement so that your right hip lightly touches the chair when you lift your backswing.
First, familiarize yourself with the sensation while sitting, and then complete the movement while standing, mimicking the feeling of an actual swing. By effectively utilizing your right hip in this way, you will be able to cleanly correct habits like hip thrusting or early extension.
