120: Why Your Hips Are the Engine of Your Golf Swing

In this episode, Shaun goes deep on the single most important area of the body for golfers the hips and breaks down exactly why they matter, what goes wrong, and how to fix them.

What you'll learn:

• Why the hips are the #1 area Shaun would fix on every golfer if he could only pick one
• Internal rotation vs external rotation: what each movement is and when each hip needs each one during the swing
• Trail hip in the backswing: needs external rotation to load properly — without it, the backswing gets cut short or the low back compensates
• Lead hip through impact: needs rapid internal rotation to rotate through the ball — this is where the power lives
• Why limited lead hip internal rotation is the most common restriction across thousands of assessments at Fairway Performance
• The two consequences of restricted lead hip IR: neurological deceleration (the body slams on the brakes before impact) or compensation (low back extension, lateral slide, early extension, standing up through the ball)
• Why pain on the side of the restricted hip is a telltale sign — right-handed golfer with a locked-up left hip will typically feel pain on the left side of the low back
• The sitting epidemic: why your hips are tight because of lifestyle, not genetics — desk work, driving, and inactivity lock down the hip capsule and surrounding muscles
• The three-step fix: 
  1. Tissue work — glutes, hip flexors, adductors, deep rotators (piriformis). Lacrosse ball, foam roller, or hands-on physical therapy
  2. Mobility drills — 90-90 stretches, hip CARs (controlled articular rotations), seated internal rotation work. Active, not passive
  3. Strengthen in new ranges — squats, lunges, single-leg work, deadlifts and RDLs through full ROM to lock in mobility gains
• Real results: golfers going from 20 degrees of hip internal rotation to 40-45 degrees in 4-6 weeks of consistent targeted work
• Time investment: 10-15 minutes a day is enough to see significant changes
• Why strengthening the new range is the piece most people miss — without it, the mobility tightens right back up

Key takeaway: The hips are the engine. If the engine doesn't work, nothing works. Take care of your hips and your hips will take care of your golf game.

Resources mentioned:

• Free Mobility Self-Assessment: https://fairwayperformancevipcoaching.com/mobilityselfassessment
• Fairway Performance website: https://www.fairwayperformance.com
• Episode 109 — The #1 Reason Your Back Hurts After Golf: It's Not Your Back
• Episode 113 — Your Elbow Pain Is Not an Elbow Problem

Connect with Shaun:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaun.diachkoff/
• Website: https://www.fairwayperformance.com