There's a fine line between a powerful pressure shift and a destructive lateral slide — and most golfers who slide have no idea they're doing it. It feels like a weight shift. It feels athletic. But instead of converting that lateral energy into rotation and speed, the hips keep moving — past the lead foot, past the impact zone, and straight into a power leak that costs distance and consistency at the same time.
David Potts knows the feeling firsthand. It's one of his own bad habits — and he built a drill to catch it in real time.
The Hip Slide Stopper Drill
David Potts — Golf Digest Best Teacher in Every State, Director of Player Development at Country Club of the South, SAM Putt Lab Certified Instructor, and Assistant Golf Coach at Oglethorpe University — uses the pathpal at a 45-degree angle as a hip slide detector.
The setup is straightforward:
- ✓Set the pathpal to 45 degrees — roughly hip height or just below
- ✓Position it a few inches in front of your lead hip at address
- ✓Make your swing with the intent of posting up on the lead foot
- ✓If your hip contacts the rod on the way through, you've slid instead of rotated
The rod doesn't lie. A proper lead hip brace clears it. A lateral slide catches it. Every rep gives you immediate, unambiguous feedback on the one lower body fault that kills more swings than almost any other.
Why it works
Pressure shift and lateral slide feel almost identical — until you have a physical reference point.
David's key distinction is that pressure shift and lateral slide feel almost identical — until you have a physical reference point. He loves seeing golfers shift back and through, but insists there has to be braking involved. The lead hip needs to stop its lateral movement and become a pivot point — a stable post that the upper body fires around.
When that braking doesn't happen, the leg drops, the hip slides, and the body stalls through impact. Clubhead speed drops. Contact becomes unpredictable. The pathpal makes the moment of braking — or the failure to brake — physically tangible on every single swing.
The lead hip doesn't just shift forward — it has to stop and become a pivot point. That's the difference between lateral slide and true rotation. The pathpal makes that moment of braking physically tangible on every rep.
Who this drill is for
Spine angle loss
Golfers who feel like they "lose their spine angle" through impact.
Push and block
Players who push or block shots to the right under pressure.
Can't feel the fix
Anyone who's been told their hips slide but can't feel the correction.
This drill is also well-suited for golfers working on vertical push and ground force generation — the kind of lower body action that creates real speed without added effort.
How to practice it
Set up the drill before your next range session and hit 15 shots at 75% effort, focusing only on posting up and clearing the rod. Pay attention to which shots contact it and which ones don't — you'll likely find a pattern tied to swing tempo or effort level that reveals exactly when your slide kicks in.
15 shots at 75% effort. Focus only on posting up and clearing the rod. Notice whether misses cluster around harder swings or specific tempo patterns — that's the data you're looking for.
About David Potts
Continue training: related drills
The Hip Slide Stopper Drill targets one of the most common lower body faults in the game. Once you've identified your slide pattern, these drills are the natural next steps — each targeting the same root causes from a different angle.
"Stop the Slide" Lead Leg Rotation
Directly targets the same lateral slide fault from a rotation perspective — the focus shifts to firing the lead leg into rotation rather than braking against a rod. A complementary approach for golfers who want to feel the rotational side of the fix, not just the braking side.
View drill →The TrueStrike Heel Stomp Power Drill
Fixes the same root cause — lateral slide and early extension — by grounding the lead heel and training a proper lateral-to-vertical pressure sequence. Brad uses the TrueStrike surface to give tactile feedback on exactly where your weight is going at the moment of truth.
View drill →The Slapshot Rotation Drill
The natural next step once you've learned to brake the hip slide — this drill trains the rotational power that a stable lead hip unlocks. Brad uses a hockey-stick analogy to help golfers feel what true spine-perpendicular rotation looks and feels like.
View drill →Frequently asked questions
Train with the same tool
pathpal is an integrated training system used by Golf Digest Best Teachers across the country. One tool, unlimited drills, immediate feedback on every swing.
Shop pathpal
