Power Starts Below the Belt: Hip Torque, Sequencing, and the Truth About Golf Club Speed

In golf, distance doesn’t begin with the arms. It begins with the ground.

Every truly powerful swing starts from the feet and winds its way up through the body — with the hips as the engine room. If you get that part wrong, no amount of shoulder turn or wrist action will save you.

The Truth About Hip Power

There’s no mystery to it. The strongest swings in golf — and the fastest swings in sport — use the hips to start the chain. If you want speed, you don’t chase it at the top. You build it from the ground up and send it up the ladder.

A 2022 study on sprint mechanics said it plainly: hip torque is the key bridge between acceleration and maximum velocity (Takada et al., 2022). In plain terms? Your ability to rotate and drive from your hips decides how much force you’ll generate and how well that force travels into the swing.

That same pattern shows up in golf, baseball, and throwing sports. The better the hips initiate — and the later the upper body joins the party — the more stored energy you can transfer.

Sequence Isn’t Just Important — It’s Everything

The best players don’t just “swing hard.” They fire in the right order.

Biomechanics calls it the kinematic sequence — hips, then torso, then shoulders, then arms. When the sequence is right, the body behaves like a whip. One segment stretches the next, storing and unloading elastic energy.

Research on professional pitchers and elite golfers confirms this: those who generate the most speed don’t rush from the top. They delay the upper body just enough to let the lower body do its job. That X-factor stretch — the separation between the hip rotation and the shoulder turn — gives you more than just power. It gives you consistency.

And it doesn’t just “happen.” It’s trained.

But It Has to Feel Wrong to Be Right

If you’re stuck in a slow, arm-dominated swing, learning to lead with the hips will feel backwards. Like you’re firing early. Like you’re leaving the club behind. That’s normal.

When you retrain a pattern — especially one built on decades of compensations — it won’t feel smooth. It’ll feel exaggerated. Awkward. Like too much.

That’s what real change feels like. And the science backs it up.

Studies on motor learning and proprioceptive adaptation show that error amplification — purposely exaggerating the change — is one of the most effective tools for breaking habits and rewiring your swing (Milanese et al., 2016).

You don’t inch toward better. You overcorrect — and then let the body recalibrate.

How We Train It at ATX Golf Performance

At ATX Golf Performance, we train movement that holds up — not theory.

That means:

• Exaggerated movement drills to shatter bad patterns

• Proprioceptive feedback to sharpen feel and awareness

• Rotational sequencing work that builds power from the ground up

If your hips aren’t leading the swing, you’re leaving speed in the tank. We help players train that first move, build strength to support it, and develop the control to use it under pressure — not just in a lesson.

What to Train (and How to Feel It)

Want to improve hip-driven speed? Start here:

1. Ground Pressure First

Use drills that load your trail leg properly. Feel pressure in the heel and inside edge — not the toes.

2. Fire Early

Feel like your hips open before the club moves. That’s not a mistake. That’s elite patterning.

3. Don’t Rush the Top

Let your chest stay closed as your hips clear. You’ll feel tension through your midsection. That’s stored energy.

4. Strengthen the Glutes and Rotators

Studies in JOSPT confirm that the glutes and external hip rotators are essential for force production and pelvic stability (Barton et al., 2010). Lunges, cable rotations, and lateral hip work are all staples.

Final Word

If you want power that holds up — on the course, not just in practice — forget quick fixes at the top of the swing. Start where the real players start: from the ground, through the hips, up the chain.

Train the sequence. Accept the awkwardness. Earn the movement.

It won’t feel right at first. But it will be real.
And real power doesn’t need to be forced — it’s delivered.

References:

• Takada et al. (2022). Hip Torque Is a Mechanistic Link Between Sprint Acceleration and Maximum Velocity. ResearchGate.

• Milanese et al. (2016). Correction of a Technical Error in the Golf Swing: Error Amplification vs. Direct Instruction. ResearchGate.

Barton et al. (2010). The Role of the Gluteus Maximus in Pelvic and Lower Limb Control. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy.