What are the best hip mobility exercises for golf?

Gentle moves that turn each hip inwards and outwards and rehearse a good hip hinge work best. Seated hip rotations, lying windscreen wipers, a seated figure-four stretch, a standing hip flexor stretch, a wall hip hinge and supported standing hip turns cover all of these. Together they take about 10 minutes, need only a chair and a wall, and should always be done within comfort.

How do I know if my hips are too stiff for golf?

Sit on a firm chair with your fists between your knees, then let each foot swing outwards while your knees stay still. This shows internal rotation. Compare left and right. If one foot travels clearly less, or you feel a pinch, that hip is stiffer. In golf, a stiff trail hip is linked with swaying and a stiff lead hip with low back strain.

Can tight hips cause lower back pain in golfers?

Studies of both professional and amateur golfers have found that golfers with low back pain tend to have less internal rotation in their lead hip. This shows a link, not proof that one causes the other. The likely reason is that when the hip cannot turn, the lower back twists more. Persistent back pain should always be checked by a physiotherapist or GP.

How long does it take to improve hip mobility for golf?

Most people feel looser straight after a session, but lasting change takes weeks. Research programmes that improved hip flexibility and clubhead speed in golfers ran for eight weeks, with sessions three to four times a week in one study. A sensible approach is to do a short routine most days, retest your hip rotation every two weeks, and judge progress at around eight weeks.

Is it safe to do hip stretches after a hip replacement?

Only with your surgeon's or physiotherapist's approval. After a hip replacement, standard NHS advice during recovery includes not bending the hip beyond a right angle and not crossing your legs, which rules out stretches such as the figure-four. Follow the exercises your physiotherapist sets. Many golfers do return to the game after hip replacement once they are cleared.

Should golfers over 60 stretch their hips every day?

Daily gentle hip work is reasonable for most golfers over 60, as long as it stays comfortable. Exercise guidelines recommend flexibility work on at least two days a week, with around 60 seconds of total stretching per exercise. Short daily sessions make the habit easier to keep. If you have arthritis or a joint replacement, check with your physiotherapist before you start.

Hip Mobility Exercises for Golf (6 Moves, No Equipment)

The most useful hip mobility exercises for golf gently turn each hip inwards and outwards, loosen the front of the hip and rehearse a good hip hinge, because those are the movements your swing is built on. A 10-minute routine of seated rotations, windscreen wipers, a figure-four stretch, a hip flexor stretch, a wall hinge and supported hip turns, done most days, is a sensible place to start. Check your rotation first, move within comfort, and recheck every couple of weeks.

Why your hips are the engine of the golf turn

A golf swing is a turn around one hip and then the other. The Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) describes a good golfer turning around the trail hip, shifting weight, then turning around the lead hip, and notes that the hip meets fast internal rotation on the downswing (TPI, Your hips and your swing).

Four terms make hip rotation in golf easy to follow:

Internal rotation: the thigh turns inwards relative to the pelvis.
External rotation: the thigh turns outwards relative to the pelvis.
Trail hip: your right hip if you are a right-handed golfer.
Lead hip: your left hip if you are a right-handed golfer.

In the backswing the trail hip rotates internally and the lead hip externally. In the downswing the roles swap. A 3D motion study of 15 female collegiate golfers measured roughly how much each hip rotated during driver swings (Gulgin et al., North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2010):

Swing phase	Trail hip	Lead hip
Backswing	Internal rotation, about 9 degrees	External rotation, about 30 degrees
Downswing	External rotation, about 15 degrees	Internal rotation, about 35 degrees

The lead hip moved through significantly more rotation than the trail hip in both phases. If your lead hip cannot turn inwards, the through-swing has to find that movement somewhere else.

Hip rotation is also linked to speed. In a motion-capture study of 66 skilled male golfers (handicap 3 or better), higher clubhead speed was associated with a larger range of hip and shoulder rotation and greater hip-shoulder separation at impact (Madrid et al., Applied Sciences, 2020). That is an association, not proof that stretching adds speed.

What happens when stiff hips meet the golf swing

When the hips will not rotate, something else moves instead. Here is how poor hip mobility tends to show up in a golf swing.

Sway in the backswing

TPI defines a sway as excessive sideways movement of the lower body away from the target during the backswing (TPI, Sway). When joint or muscle restrictions stop you turning into the trail hip, TPI says sideways movement takes over, and without that stable platform you lose power. It also states that trail hip internal rotation above 45 degrees can dramatically reduce sway and ease stress on the lower back (TPI, Eliminate the Sway).

Early extension in the downswing

Early extension is any forward thrust of the lower body towards the ball during the downswing, which forces the arms and club behind the body and lifts the torso through impact (TPI, Early Extension). TPI notes that any limit in a full deep squat or full hip bend can force a player into it, and that restricted turning around the lead hip lets forward and sideways movement dominate.

Lost distance

Sway and early extension both deliver the club from a less efficient sequence, so golfers with stiff hips often feel they have lost yards. Our guide on how to increase swing speed for seniors covers the wider picture.

Extra load on the lower back

Here the research is most consistent, and it centres on the lead hip:

In 42 professional male golfers, a history of low back pain was associated with reduced lead hip internal rotation and reduced lumbar extension, while trail hip range showed no such link (Vad et al., American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2004).
In 64 amateur golfers at two clubs in southern England, those with low back pain had about 21 degrees of passive lead hip internal rotation, against about 31 degrees in pain-free golfers. Trail hips and external rotation did not differ (Murray et al., Physical Therapy in Sport, 2009).
In 30 professional golfers, those with hip internal rotation under 20 degrees showed significantly more lower back bending, rotation and side bending during the swing than those with 30 degrees or more (Kim et al., American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2015).

These studies show an association, not cause and effect. Still, the logic is simple: if the lead hip will not turn, the lower back is asked to twist more. If your back is already grumbling, read our guide to lower back pain after golf.

Hip mobility for golfers over 60

Hip rotation tends to reduce with age. A French study of 120 adults aged 20 to 60 found hip rotation range fell as age increased (Kouyoumdjian et al., Orthopaedics and Traumatology: Surgery and Research, 2012). Add decades of sitting, and stiff hips in the golf swing are no surprise.

You do not need tour-level numbers. TPI says the average PGA Tour player has more than 45 degrees of internal rotation on each side (TPI, Your hips and your swing). For most club golfers, the better questions are whether one hip is clearly stiffer than the other, and whether your range is improving.

A simple seated hip rotation test you can do at home

This check is based on TPI's seated test, where fists between the knees keep the thighs still so the feet can swing outwards as the hips turn in (TPI, Your hips and your swing).

Sit tall near the front of a firm, stable chair, feet flat and hip-width apart, knees bent at roughly a right angle.
Place two fists together between your knees and gently press your knees against them to keep your thighs still.
Let your right foot swing outwards and slightly up, away from your left foot, as far as is comfortable. This is internal rotation of the right hip.
Return and repeat with the left foot. Stop at the first firm resistance or any pinch in the groin. Never force it.
Remove your fists. Keeping one thigh still, let that foot swing inwards across the front of the other shin. This is external rotation. Repeat on the other side.
Ask someone to photograph each end position from the front, or note which side stopped earlier.

Reading the result. Picture the hanging shin as zero. Halfway to horizontal is 45 degrees. For a right-hander, the left hip is the lead hip. A stiff lead hip is the pattern linked with low back pain in the studies above; a stiff trail hip is the one TPI links with sway. A clear difference between sides is worth working on.

If you have had a hip replacement, skip this test unless your surgeon or physiotherapist has cleared rotation movements.

A 6-move routine of hip mobility exercises for golf

These hip flexibility golf exercises take about 10 minutes and need only a chair, a wall and some floor (or a firm bed). The American College of Sports Medicine recommends flexibility exercises on at least two days a week, building to around 60 seconds of total stretching per exercise (Garber et al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2011). Two 30-second holds meet that.

Aim for a mild stretch, never pain. Move slowly, breathe out as you ease in, and do not bounce.

1. Seated hip rotations (chair)

Sit tall, feet hip-width apart. Keeping one thigh still, slowly swing that foot outwards, then inwards across the other shin, like a pendulum. Do 8 to 10 swings each way on each leg, starting small.

2. Windscreen wipers (floor or firm bed)

Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and a little wider than hip-width. Keeping your shoulders relaxed, let both knees lower slowly to one side, pause for one breath, then bring them over to the other side. Do 8 to 10 each way. The knee that drops inwards is working into internal rotation. Only go as far as feels easy.

3. Seated figure-four stretch (chair)

Sit tall and rest your right ankle on your left knee, or lower on the shin if that is kinder. Let the right knee relax down without pressing it. Keeping your back long, hinge forward slightly until you feel a gentle stretch in the right buttock and outer hip. Hold for 30 seconds, twice on each side.

4. Standing hip flexor stretch (wall)

Stand with one hand on a wall. Step one foot back into a short split stance, back heel lifted, back knee soft. Gently tuck your tailbone under and shift your weight slightly forward until you feel a stretch across the front of the back hip. Hold for 30 seconds, twice on each side. In the Kim study above, golfers with limited hip rotation also had shorter hip flexor and hamstring muscles.

5. Wall hip hinge (wall)

Stand with your back to a wall, heels about a foot's length from it, knees soft, hands on hips. Push your hips back to touch the wall as your chest tips forward, back long. Stand tall again by gently squeezing your glutes. Do 8 to 10 slow reps. This rehearses the full hip bend TPI links with avoiding early extension.

6. Supported standing hip turns (chair)

Stand behind a sturdy chair, hands on its back, feet hip-width apart, tipped forward into a gentle golf posture. Keeping your head and chest quiet, turn your belt buckle to the right, then to the left. Feel your weight turn into each hip rather than slide sideways. Do 8 to 10 each way. This is internal rotation with your feet on the ground, as it happens in the swing.

How long until you notice a difference?

Each session leaves the hips feeling looser for a while, but to increase hip mobility for golf in a lasting way, think in weeks:

An 8-week golf-specific programme, done 3 to 4 times a week by 15 male golfers averaging about 47 years old, improved hip flexibility on every measure taken, along with club speed, ball speed, carry and total distance (Lephart et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2007).
In male golfers averaging about 71 years old, an 8-week functional training programme raised average driver clubhead speed from 127.3 to 133.6 km/h (roughly 79 to 83 mph), while the control group did not improve (Thompson et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2007).

Both programmes also included strength, balance and core work, so do not expect hip stretches alone to add yards. Give this routine 8 weeks, retest every 2 weeks the same way. For a wider pre-round warm-up, see our golf stretches for seniors.

If you have a hip replacement or hip arthritis

Hip replacement. Follow your surgeon's or physiotherapist's guidance on movement restrictions, and check this routine with them first. During recovery the NHS advises not bending the hip beyond 90 degrees, not crossing your legs, and following the exercises your physiotherapist recommends (NHS, Recovering from a hip replacement). That rules out moves like the figure-four until you are cleared. The outlook is encouraging: in one Edinburgh study, 32 of 44 golfers (72.7%) returned to golf after hip replacement (Khan et al., Bone and Joint Open, 2022).

Hip arthritis. The NHS describes exercise as one of the most important treatments for osteoarthritis, whatever your age or fitness, and says a GP or physiotherapist can give you a home exercise plan (NHS, Osteoarthritis treatment). Ask which of these moves suit you, stay within the range they set, and skip anything that causes sharp or lingering pain.

When to see a professional

A mild stretching sensation is normal. Pain is not. See a GP or doctor promptly if you notice:

pain spreading down a leg
numbness or tingling
pain at night or at rest
pain after a fall
any loss of bladder or bowel control

For hip or back pain that persists, a sharp pinch in the groin when you rotate, or one hip far stiffer than the other for no obvious reason, see a physiotherapist or your GP.

Turning this into a daily habit

Evergreen, coming soon to iPhone, turns this kind of work into a personalised 10-minute daily routine. A short assessment asks about your age, driver distance, where you feel stiff, how often you play and your goal, then builds each session with illustrated step-by-step demonstrations and a timer. You can track driver distance, a 0 to 10 stiffness check-in and mobility benchmarks, and type questions to its AI coach. See how Evergreen builds your daily plan.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have pain, a joint replacement or a medical condition, check with your doctor or physiotherapist before starting a new exercise routine.

Hip mobility exercises for golf that free up your turn