Pelvis Lives! How to Strengthen Your Pelvis for Your Golf Swing

Tuning up that critical performer in the golf swing can result in your greatest hits.

Pelvis Lives! How to Strengthen Your Pelvis for Your Golf Swing

Do you struggle to keep your club on plane? Are you able to get your body to do what your golf instructor is trying to teach you to do? Is it difficult to “break free” of swing faults that you’ve struggled with for years or even decades despite hours of practice and instruction?

After hearing these complaints countless times during my 16 years in the golf-fitness industry, I’ve come to a conclusion: Amateurs have no clue how to use their pelvises properly.

You may hear it described as your “butt,” your “center of gravity,” your “core,” and maybe even your “bucket.” Most of those areas have something to do with the pelvis, but are not necessarily the pelvis itself. 

Because the pelvis is so complex, let’s focus on a few important characteristics:
The pelvis is elliptical.

It has four bones: the two hipbones, the sacrum (on top of which your spine sits) and coccyx.

Its function is crucial for golfers.

To facilitate lower body rotation through the hip joints

To transfer created and stored energy from the ground, through the core to the torso, out the lead arm and to the club head.

The pelvis functions similarly to a mast on a ship. We know that that mast is attached to the bottom of the ship. It needs to be very strong and sturdy because it attaches to all the sails and incurs the most stress in creating movement of the ship. The pelvis does the same thing with energy that is transferred from the ground the upper body.

Your legs rely on it for proper stability so the leg muscles can create your ability to walk, squat, lunge, turn, twist, bend and otherwise get around. Your upper body essentially “sits” on top of it via your spine and rib cage (aka torso), relying on its stabilizing abilities so your torso, arms and head can move.

If you are like most amateurs, your pelvis doesn’t work well due to a prior injury or, most likely, because you sit at a desk all day. Constant sitting makes your pelvis function poorly and probably explains why your game continues to struggle with little or no improvement.

So how do you change it? Performing these four drills every day, you will begin to understand how your use your pelvis better. Not only will your game improve, but things like back pain will begin to diminish or even go away.

First, Some rules:
There should be no pain! If there is, seek professional help.

Do 3-5 times per week and especially before a lesson, practice or playing

Be smart. Don’t be a typical golfer and think “more is better!” Quality always trumps quantity.

Do 8-20 reps of each move. Start with 8 and progress as you can.

Pelvis Rotation Drill with 5-iron to improve golf posture

Pelvis Rotation test/drill in 5-Iron Golf Posture
The first time you do this, stand in front of a mirror and note how far you can move your pelvis without moving your upper body. It will improve over time and you want to have a baseline.

• Stand in 5-Iron golf posture and place a club in front of you vertically and with your hands on top of it and your elbows straight.

• Try to turn your pelvis right and left without moving your upper body.

NOTE: This is pelvis and torso separation and most of you reading this will find it a bit challenging.

All fours pelvic tilt, improve posture

All Fours Pelvic Tilt
Use a mirror to gauge progress with this drill.

• Get on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders and hips and knees at 90°.

• Keeping your head neutral, begin to arch your back. Your butt will stick in the air.

• Arch the opposite way, tucking your pelvis under you.

NOTE: Be sure your pelvis is moving and not your upper back/rib cage area! Work to feel your pelvis rotate on your hipbones.

Band or cable rotation core exerciseBand or cable rotation

Band or Cable Rotation Assist
For demo purposes I am using both a band and cable handle. Use one or the other.

• Wrap yourself in a way that the cable/band assists into hip rotation. In the photo, I am being assisted into my backswing and am therefore concentrating on feeling how my pelvis is turning onto my trail leg.

• Stay in posture and move as little as possible (like in your swing). This will teach what it feels like to use your pelvis.

NOTE: Allow your knees to “follow” the direction your pelvis is turning.

Dee Tidwell shows lunge with knee kickDee Tidwell shows lunge with knee kickDee Tidwell shows lunge with knee kick

Lunge with Knee Kick and Pelvis Rotation
• Start in a good standing, posture position, then take a back step into a lunge where your knees end up close to 90 degrees at the bottom. Be sure your knees are tracking over your toes and not flexed past your toes!

• Stand up and drive the opposite knee so it ends up parallel with the floor.

• Then, rotate your pelvis so the same knee crosses over the midline without your upper body turning with it!

NOTE: This is harder than it looks, so if you can only go two inches across midline without your upper body turning, then that’s where you start!

If you do these regularly, you should not only feel a difference in how your pelvis moves, but your ability to rotate in your golf swing will become greater, more consistent, with less pain and more power!


Dee Tidwell owns Colorado Golf Fitness Club in Denver and has won multiple Colorado AvidGolfer CAGGY Awards. He has developed and tested a program of stretching, conditioning, stability, strength, and nutrition to improve any golfer’s ability on the course and in life. He has been a conditioning coach for winners on the PGA Tour, and as a Level Three (TPI) Titleist Performance Institute Certified professional, he brings extensive knowledge and expertise that quickly translates into permanent change and success for golf clients of all ages and abilities.
coloradogolffitnessclub.com; 303-883-0435.

This article appears in the May 2016 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer.

See more from The 15th Club: Our Annual Health and Fitness Issue:

Cover Story: Going to the MAT with Greg Roskopf

Become Golf Strong: A Strength Program for Golf Fitness

To Repair or Replace? Orthopedic Answers for Golfers

Consider the Alternatives: Nonsurgical Options for Pain

Practice Makes Present: How Yoga Can Improve Your Golf Game

Pelvis Lives! How to Strengthen Your Pelvis for Your Golf Swing

The Skins Game: Protecting Your Skin on the Golf Course

Garden of Gods Club Builds Wellness Center

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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