Sway and Slide
Let’s address the 2 most common faults in the lower body that can cause a plethora of miss hits. Those are the sway and the slide, and they can often cause one of the other to happen in the swing. Stability in the lower body is imperative to make a consistent & powerful swing every time.
The sway in the back swing is defined as any excessive lower body lateral movement away from the target during your back swing that forces your weight to the outside of your back foot. Golfers that have a sway find it very difficult to properly 
shift their weight properly during the down swing. This fault will also eliminate any chance to gain power since there is no stable platform to drive off of during the downswing. The key muscle group that will allow you to stabilize the lower body is the glute (your butt) medius and maximus. The following exercises will help you build strength in the glutes which will lead to a stronger lower body.
Bridges:
Lying flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground, cross your arms over your chest.
Push your heels into the ground and lift your pelvis up as high as you can.
Hold this position for 5-10 seconds
Perform 10 repetitions of this focusing on using your glutes to lift and minimizing your legs (hamstrings).
Helicopter Lunge:
Holding your arms out to your side with elbows locked, step into a good lunge position; be sure that your front knee does not go over your toe. Try to line your feet up as if they were on a tight rope.
Rotate your upper body back and forth for 15 seconds, but keep your head facing forward.
Make sure your weight stays centered over your front foot; don’t let your weight shift to the outside of your foot.
Repeat on the other side.
The slide is defined as any excessive lower body lateral movement towards the target during your downswing. Your upper body needs a stable lower body to accelerate around during the downswing. Once the lower body starts its forward shift into the downswing its job is to transfer energy to the upper body and stabilize the extreme rotary forces that are created in the upper body, arms, and club. If there is no stable platform to rotate around, players will lose power and try to develop speed using the upper body or arms. The following exercises will help you to get the strength and flexibility needed for a strong lower body on the downswing.
Side Planks:
Start by lying on your left side with your feet on top of each other and your left elbow directly under your left shoulder.
Slowly lift your hips off the ground until your spine makes a straight plank. Make sure to not lean back.
Hold for 15 seconds and return to the ground, as you get stronger try working your way up to 60 seconds.
Repeat on other side.
Stork Turns:
Start by standing on one leg and getting into a stable golf posture.
Lift your left leg and lock your foot behind your right knee.
Trying to keep your shoulders from rotating, begin to rotate your hips back and forth and try to maintain balance.
If this seems too difficult try holding onto a stable platform until your balance increases.
Do this 15 times and repeat on the left leg.
Mike Hansen
