Hip Clearance
Also known as: clearing the hips, hip rotation through impact
Hip clearance is the rotation of the lead hip out of the way through impact. It creates room for the arms and club to swing freely past the body.
In the golf swing, hip clearance refers to rotating the lead hip out of the way through the impact zone. This creates the space for the arms and club to swing through to the target. Without enough hip clearance, the arms are blocked from following a straight-through path, and the golfer must compensate. Common compensations are throwing the arms across the body (over the top), pushing the shot, or flipping the hands to get the clubface square. Hip clearance is a prerequisite for a free, uninhibited arm swing through the ball.
The mechanics of hip clearance require the lead hip to rotate around and behind the golfer as the downswing progresses. At impact, the lead hip should already be significantly open to the target. Tour pro players show lead hip angles of 30–45° open at impact. This rotation creates the room for the hands and club to swing past the body on a straight-through path. Golfers who do not rotate enough often feel like the arms are "stuck," or that they cannot release the club freely. That is because there is physically not enough space for the arms to swing through.
Hip clearance is distinct from hip slide. Clearing means rotating the hip around and behind the body. Sliding means moving it sideways without rotation. A golfer who slides the hips without clearing them will feel blocked in a different way. The body is out of position, but the rotational space has not been created. Mobility limits in the lead hip are the most common physical cause of insufficient hip clearance. The specific issue is the ability to internally rotate the lead hip. Targeted hip mobility work can directly improve it.
Practice the "bump and clear" feeling: at the start of your downswing, first bump the lead hip slightly toward the target (small lateral shift), then immediately rotate the lead hip behind you as fast as you can — the combination of bump then rotate is the core of hip clearance.
Test your hip clearance with a wall drill: stand with your lead hip about 6 inches from a wall, make a backswing, then initiate the downswing and clear your hips without touching the wall — if your lead hip bumps the wall, you are not clearing but sliding. If you can rotate freely without contact, your clearance pattern is correct.
Example
A player whose belt buckle faces well left of target at impact has cleared the hips fully — the arms swung freely and the face arrived square.
How it shows up on video
From a face-on camera angle, hip clearance is visible at impact as the lead hip appearing to have rotated away from the camera. The lead hip should look like it is "behind" the lead leg, having cleared out of the impact zone. Insufficient clearance shows the lead hip remaining square or pointing toward the ball at impact, giving the hips a "blocked" or "stalled" appearance. From a down-the-line angle, good clearance shows the trail hip driving through toward the target while the lead hip has cleared space. This allows the arms to swing past the body on an unobstructed path.
Common mistakes
- Sliding the hips forward without rotating — lateral movement without clearance rotates produces a "chicken wing" arm position because there is no room for the arms to swing through. The hips must rotate, not just slide.
- Early extension (standing up through impact) — a golfer who thrusts the hips toward the ball blocks clearance from the other direction. The hips move toward the ball instead of rotating around and behind the body.
- Clearing the hips too early (spinning out) — excessive hip clearance early in the downswing leaves the arms and club behind. This produces a weak push or block to the right. Timing matters as much as the amount of rotation.
- Ignoring hip mobility as the root cause — many golfers try to "think" their way to better clearance without addressing the physical limitation. If the lead hip cannot internally rotate adequately, no swing thought will create proper clearance.
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
Motion Lab's hip reads are turn and slide. It estimates your hip turn away from address and how much of your hip travel is rotation. It does not measure how open your hips are to the target at impact, because the target line is not read. To check clearance, film face-on and pause at impact to see how far your belt buckle has turned.
Related terms
- Early ExtensionEarly extension is when the hips thrust toward the ball during the downswing. The golfer stands up out of posture and has to compensate at impact.
- Lateral ShiftA lateral shift is a small move of the hips toward the target as the downswing starts. It moves the low point forward and works with hip rotation instead of replacing it.
- BlockingBlocking is when the arms and club fail to fully release through impact. The face is held open, so the ball flies straight right (for a right-hander) with no draw.
- Kinematic SequenceThe kinematic sequence is the order in which body segments accelerate and decelerate during the downswing: pelvis → torso → lead arm → clubhead. Each segment slingshots the next for maximum speed.
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