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Exercises to Improve Hip Rotation and Eliminate Sway in the Golf Swing from PGA Coach Stephanie Molloy

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As the summer golf season comes to a close, it might be time to look at the next steps you can take to improve your golf game this fall.
Putting together an exercise routine to strengthen the muscles used in the golf swing is just as important as all that time you put in on the range.
Fortunately, PGA Coach Stephanie Molloy sent us a video of a short, sampled, progressive overload program that will help improve hip rotation and eliminate some of the common swing faults she sees in her students.
Check out the video below to see Molloy walk you through the program and be sure to give her a follow on Instagram for more great coaching on the course & in the gym.
Focus: Internal Hip Rotation - Eliminating Sway/Slide
1. Make space in the hips and lower back with 2-3 mins of diaphragmatic breathing all through the nose and your hands on your ribs for feedback. Also, breathing provides feedback to core for better stability. Things won’t stretch if the body isn’t stable.
2. Anterior/Posterior Tilts: From your golf posture with hands pressing into a wall (if you have it) for feedback. Use your breath from exercise one to help with this. Inhale during anterior tilt and exhale during posterior tilt. This is a tremendous way to get the obliques involved. Repeat this exercise two times for 30-60 seconds.
3. Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch: Use a pole against the spine for feedback. Repeat this stretch two times for 30-60seconds
4. Glute Bridges: Add some weight to help stick the stretching of the hips right away. Repeat this exercise two times for 30 seconds with a pause at the top.
5.Half kneeling Cable Chops: Be sure to start off very slow, forcing yourself to activate internal hip rotators and obliques deliberately. Eventually, you will build this to a faster speed within the same session or over the next few weeks. Repeat this exercise two times on each side until technical failure.
6. Light Side Shuffle: 60 seconds where the lead leg in the shuffle is being cued to generate force and stay neutral (not turned out to much). Your Lead leg is pushing into the ground and pulling. This is geared at lead leg internal hip rotation in the swing.
7. Single Leg Deadlift with a Light Single-Arm Row: Initially perform both separately. Hip hinge and then row. You can place the opposite arm on a bench or platform for extra stability. Eventually you will improve your strength and build to doing the row with the hinge and faster. Repeat this exercise two times on each side until technical failure.
8. Finish the program with golf swings or some med ball rotations with very light weight.
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Stephanie Molloy

Member


Golf Coach

Ridgefield, CT

My name is Stephanie Molloy. I’m the Director of Operations for The Golf Performance Center. At The Golf Performance Center, we believe that which can be measured, can be improved. Come take an assessment with us to see where your physical movement and golf skills truly are and where they can go. We have an offering for everyone with our small group coaching model and individualized Player Development Plans.