Hands & Hips: Creating Consistent Position at Impact in Your Golf Swing

The most exciting thing about any Major Championship is the final round on Sunday. From immense cloud coverage to a jam-packed leaderboard, TPC Harding Park was full of exciting moments down the stretch.

One of the most interesting things about Sunday’s leaderboard was the variety of swing differences amongst the top players. Whether it was Matt Wolff’s starting trigger move, Bryson Dechambeau’s need for speed with the driver, Dustin Johnson’s bowed left wrist, or Collin Mirakawa's stellar iron play at age 23.

It leads many to wonder — what made all of these players strong competitors with such different swings? The answer is simple... impact.

No matter what unique differences each top player showed Sunday, they all had a consistent position at impact.

Impact is the moment the clubhead comes in contact with the ball. There are a few very key components to a solid impact position. The grip and hands must be in front of the clubhead and ball. Many amateur golfers believe that the grip and clubhead come back to the position they are in during the setup. The hands and grip must move forward before the clubhead in order to properly compress and control the ball.

The next key characteristic in a great impact position is the hips rotating towards the target. Again, it is super important to understand that the body must be opening up towards the target at impact, allowing the player is able to increase power in the golf swing. Along with the hips, the back foot should be starting to come off the ground. These moves ensure that the body is rotating and the player is not swinging too much with the arms.

It is extremely important for any golfer to be able to hit a solid shot from hip height to hip height, or a 9 o’clock position to a 3 o’clock position, in order to play successful golf.

All golfers are different and no matter the look of the swing, a player can have positive results when they get their hands and hips positioned correctly at impact.