Golf Smart Academy
When golfers talk about clearing in the downswing, they often mean slightly different things. A common question is whether clearing the left side is the same as clearing the left hip. The best answer is: yes and no. Both ideas are trying to describe the body opening up through impact, but they can lead to very different motions depending on how you interpret them. For most players, thinking about the left side rather than only the left hip creates a more complete and functional movement.
Why “clearing the left side” is usually the better feel
At impact, you want your body to be open enough that the club has room to swing through, but not in a way that leaves the upper body stuck or disconnected. A good impact pattern includes a sense that your spine is rotating, your rib cage is opening, and your body is moving out in front of the ball while the arms continue through.
That is why clearing the left side is often a better cue than simply trying to clear the left hip. The phrase “left side” tends to make you feel that more of the body is involved—especially the area from the lower chest to the rib cage and down into the hip. That fuller motion helps you create the open, spacious impact alignments better players have.
By contrast, if you only think about the left hip, you may rotate too narrowly or locally. The movement can become isolated to the pelvis instead of being connected through the torso.
The important distinction between left hip and left side
This is where the question becomes useful. There is a real difference between these two feels, even if they are aiming at the same general outcome.
What happens when you only clear the left hip
Many golfers interpret “clear the left hip” in a limited way. They turn the pelvis a bit, but the rib cage and upper body stay too square. In other words, the lower body moves, but the rest of the system does not open with it in the right sequence.
Another common mistake is that the player tries to clear the hip by snapping the lead knee or forcing a quick lower-body action without meaningful spine rotation. That can look active, but it does not actually create the space you need for a clean release.
When this happens, you may feel like you are trying hard to get open, yet the club still feels trapped. The body has moved, but not in a way that helps the arms and club pass through naturally.
What happens when you clear the left side
Thinking about the left side getting out of the way usually produces a better motion. Instead of focusing only on the hip joint, you begin to feel the lower rib cage opening and the spine unwinding. That creates a more complete rotation pattern through impact.
A useful way to picture it is that the left side is not just turning—it is making space. The area around your lead ribs, side, and hip is moving away from your lead arm so the club can release without getting jammed up.
This is often the missing piece for players who feel crowded at impact.
The role of the rib cage and spine through impact
If you want a more functional concept, focus less on a single body part and more on the relationship between your torso and your arms. Through impact, the goal is not simply to spin the hips open. The goal is to get into a position where the body is open while the shoulders remain organized and the arms still have room to swing.
The lower rib cage is especially important here. For many golfers, that is the area that best represents the feeling of the left side clearing. When those lower ribs rotate out of the way, you get more of the proper spinal rotation instead of a shallow, lower-body-only turn.
This creates the look of a body that is open in front of the ball, with the club approaching and moving through impact without feeling trapped against the lead side.
Why this matters for your ball striking
This is not just a wording issue. The feel you choose can directly affect your impact alignments and contact quality.
- Better space for the arms: When the left side clears properly, your lead arm is not pinned against your body.
- Less body stall: A fuller opening motion helps prevent the body from stopping and forcing the hands to take over.
- Cleaner release: The club can move through impact with less compensation.
- More consistent strike: You are less likely to feel jammed, steep, or cramped through the ball.
If you have ever felt that your left arm and left side are too close together at impact, this concept is especially important. That cramped feeling usually means the body has not cleared in a useful way. Often the hip has moved somewhat, but the left side as a whole has not opened enough to create room.
A simple way to think about the motion
A good mental image is to feel the left side of your torso moving away from your left arm. That is a more effective thought than trying to aggressively fire the left hip.
You are not trying to spin wildly. You are trying to create space. The body opens, the ribs rotate, and the left side gets out of the way while the arms continue through. That is a much better description of what strong impact alignments feel like.
For many golfers, this also improves the sensation of the body swinging the arms rather than the arms being forced to rescue the swing at the last second.
How to apply this in practice
When you work on impact, experiment with different feels and pay attention to which one gives you more space and better contact. A useful approach is to rehearse the impact area slowly and ask yourself what feels like it is opening:
- Set up and move into a slow-motion impact position.
- Notice whether you feel the motion mostly in the hip, the rib cage, or the spine.
- Try to feel the lower left rib cage and side moving out of the way of your lead arm.
- Check whether that creates more room between your left arm and left side.
- Repeat with short swings until that open, spacious impact feel becomes more natural.
If you tend to get stuck, crowded, or stalled through the ball, this is the key checkpoint: does your left side feel like it is truly clearing, or are you only turning the left hip? That distinction can be the difference between a cramped impact and one where the club has room to move freely.
In practice, the best cue is usually the one that helps you feel your left side opening as a unit—especially from the lower rib cage down—so your body creates space instead of blocking the swing.
