Dave Phillips demonstrates a drill to help efficient movement of the pelvis in transition.

okay we’re doing a little drill here and I want to demonstrate something that happens with the pelvis now this is really important because we talk about this a lot early extending and how the pelvis should move there is this lateral shift in the golf swing when does that occur how does that incur but I really want to think about the pelvis remember the pelvis is an elliptical shape it’s not a circle so if it’s an elliptical shape when it rotates the right butt cheek here should actually if I rotate it should move backward so if there was a wall here along my tailbone it would move behind the wall in transition I want to feel like I’ve been shot by a cannonball in the gut I want this belt buckle to move this way first this way so it’s actually moving laterally but it’s also moving back so I feel like my belt buckle at the top of my back swing is moving at a 45° angle towards my trail heel so you can see here as I get to the top of the back swing when I do this it shallows the club and it brings my elbow down in front of my hip if my hip turns or twists too early then it moves my right elbow out into a steepening position so the best players in the world do is as the club is reaching the top of their back swing they turn into their Trail side and before they’ve even reached the top they’ve moved they usually move their lead leg back in position and what it does is as they move back there’s about an inch movement about this much it’s not a lot of the pelvis it stays closed as I shift into that lead leg so I get to here I shift I get to here I shift I get to here I shift once that happens the club shallowed now I can start pushing with the ground to steepen it I think a lot of times people feel like they’ve got to push too much into their Lead Foot they don’t have to do do that all I’m trying to do is reenter remove my mass into a position that now allows me to push it’s not this huge downward movement if I get this huge downward movement a lot of times it’s it’s very difficult now I’ve steepened the club too much

25 Comments

  1. Excellent video and information! I like the concept of thinking about getting shot in the stomach with a cannonball. I recall Steve Elkington said in his book that he liked to think about bracing his abs at setup as if someone is going to punch him in the stomach. I think that could work as a thought for what to think about in that transition that is just like the cannon ball concept. I also like the note that people think about going down too much, and that its more of a recentering while staying turned away with the rear hip with a small amount of down.

  2. I saw a version of this drill performed by Monte Scheinblum 10yrs ago and he called it the zipper away drill. To this day it was the single most influential piece of golfing advice I have ever received and implemented. Refreshing to see it’s still deemed relevant by the best online instruction site bar none. Really well demonstrated.

  3. Yes I try to reproduce this by imagining a hammer throw, back on the outside then down on the inside while backing into it, you get the idea 🤷

  4. Hello, my name is Lee Joo-ho. I have obtained TPI level 1 and 2 qualifications in Korea. And can I share this great video as a short? I also use TPI and like it, so I would like to promote it and use it together.

  5. Might I suggest compass directions for your descriptions? Because I swear you said "back" to describe three different directions.

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