Hip Turn
A hip turn is the rotation of a golfer’s pelvis around the spine during the swing, moving away from the target on the backswing and back toward it on the downswing. It is one of the main power sources in the golf swing.
What is a hip turn in golf?
Watch any golfer swing, and the most visible movement below the waist is the hips rotating: the belt buckle points away from the target at the top of the backswing, then faces the target at the finish. That rotation is the hip turn.
The hip turn exists because the upper body cannot coil on its own. The spine only allows the shoulders to rotate so far, so the pelvis has to turn as well to let the shoulders reach a full 90-degree rotation at the top of the backswing. According to GolfSpan, the hips rotate roughly 45 degrees back while the shoulders turn about 90, and that difference between the two creates the coiled, spring-like tension that gets released into the ball.
The hips also set the order of the downswing. In his 1957 book Five Lessons, Ben Hogan wrote that the hips start the downswing and drive the whole chain of movement that follows, a view still widely echoed in modern instruction. The term comes up constantly in lessons and broadcasts because so many common faults, from slices to fat strikes, trace back to how the hips move.
How the hip turn works
On the backswing, the pelvis rotates around the trail hip (the right hip for a right-handed golfer) while the trail leg stays braced. The lead knee gains flex. The trail knee loses some, and the belt buckle turns until it points behind the ball, while the upper body keeps rotating past the point where the hips stop, stretching the muscles of the core.
Coming down, the order reverses. The hips shift slightly toward the target, then unwind ahead of the shoulders, arms, and club, so that by impact they are already open, meaning the belt buckle points left of the ball for a right-handed player. How open? GOLFTEC instructor Nick Clearwater says average PGA Tour players arrive at impact with their hips turned 30 to 40 degrees. After the ball is gone, the rotation continues until the hips face the target at the finish.
Recognizing a good hip turn is straightforward: the pelvis changes direction, not location. The golfer’s head and torso stay centered over the ball while the hips rotate beneath them, like a lid twisting on a jar.
Hip turn vs. sway and slide
Most confusion around the hip turn comes from two lookalike movements: the sway and the slide. All three involve the hips, but only one of them is rotation.
| Movement | What the hips do | When it happens | Effect on the swing |
| Hip turn | Rotate around the spine | Backswing and downswing | Builds coil and delivers power |
| Sway | Shift laterally away from the target | Backswing | Moves the swing’s bottom point behind the ball, causing fat and thin strikes |
| Slide | Shift laterally toward the target | Downswing | Stalls rotation and forces the arms to catch up |
The numbers show how little lateral movement good players allow. Clearwater notes that tour professionals move their hips only about 0.3 inches away from the target early in the backswing, then drift toward it for the rest of the swing. Golf Digest’s report on the GOLFTEC SwingTRU study, which measured around 30,000 golfers, found that at impact, the pros’ hips had shifted an average of 1.6 inches toward the target, while high handicappers’ hips sat 0.4 inches behind where they started.
A small lateral move toward the target on the downswing is normal and useful. The fault is replacing rotation with lateral motion, in either direction.
How much should the hips turn?
There is no single correct number, but measured tour data gives a reliable reference range. GOLFTEC’s coaching data puts the average PGA Tour player’s backswing hip turn at 44 degrees, which is why 45 degrees is the number quoted throughout golf instruction as the benchmark.
| Checkpoint | Measured tour figure |
| Top of backswing | 44 degrees on average (GOLFTEC coaching data) |
| Impact | 30 to 40 degrees open (GOLFTEC) |
| Finish | Hips face the target |
Amateurs usually fall well short of these numbers; GOLFTEC’s instructors describe hip turns of around 25 degrees as a common starting point among students.
Flexibility changes what any individual golfer can achieve. The Titleist Performance Institute reports that the average PGA Tour player has over 45 degrees of internal hip rotation in each hip joint, a level of mobility many recreational players lack. Older or less flexible golfers often need more hip turn, not less, to complete a full shoulder rotation.
Common misconceptions
The most persistent misconception is that keeping the hips still adds power. The idea comes from watching flexible professionals restrict their hip turn to increase coil, but for golfers without that mobility, a restricted hip turn simply shortens the shoulder turn and the swing along with it.
Another is that a faster hip spin means a longer drive. Speed of rotation matters far less than its timing. Hips that fire before the weight has moved to the lead side leave the golfer hanging back, which typically produces thin strikes, pushes, and slices.
Zero lateral movement is a myth as well. As the SwingTRU measurements above show, tour players do shift toward the target on the downswing, just within a small and controlled range. A textbook hip turn still contains a small forward shift, the 1.6 inches recorded in the SwingTRU data.
Related Golf Terms
- Greenside flop — A high, soft flop shot played from near the green.
- Weight shift — Transferring body weight from the trail side to the lead side for power.
- Specialty shot — A creative or unusual shot played for a specific situation.
- Wind cheater — A low, boring shot designed to cut through wind.
- Tee ball — Any shot played from the teeing area to begin a hole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the hips start the downswing?
Yes, in a well-sequenced swing, the hips begin unwinding toward the target before the shoulders, arms, and club follow. Ben Hogan described the hips as the movement that begins the downswing.
Do the hips and shoulders turn the same amount?
No. The shoulders turn roughly twice as far, about 90 degrees, against roughly 45 degrees for the hips. The gap between them creates the coil that stores power.
Is a hip turn the same as a weight shift?
No. The weight shift is the movement of pressure from one foot to the other, while the hip turn is the rotation of the pelvis. The two happen together in a good swing but describe different things.
What is it called when the hips move sideways instead of turning?
Moving laterally away from the target on the backswing is a sway, and moving laterally toward the target on the downswing is a slide. Both are common faults when they replace rotation.
Sources
- Golf Digest. “Swing by Numbers: New Study Unlocks 6 Swing Secrets.” Accessed July 6, 2026.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/swing-by-numbers-new-study-unlocks-6-swing-secrets - GOLF.com. “This is how much tour players turn their hips at impact.” Accessed July 6, 2026.
https://golf.com/instruction/how-much-tour-players-turn-their-hips-impact/ - GOLF.com. “Clarifying the misunderstandings about hip sway during the golf swing.” Accessed July 6, 2026.
https://golf.com/instruction/nick-clearwater-calrifies-hip-sway-misunderstanding/ - Titleist Performance Institute. “Your hips and your swing.” Accessed July 6, 2026.
https://www.mytpi.com/articles/swing/your-hips-and-your-swing - GOLFTEC Scramble. “Turn your hips for more distance.” Accessed July 6, 2026.
https://scramble.golftec.com/blog/2015/10/hip-turn-for-more-driver-distance/ - GolfSpan. “Hip Turn In Golf Swing – Explained For You.” Accessed July 6, 2026.
https://www.golfspan.com/tips-guides/hip-turn-in-golf-swing
