Want to improve your swing with a simple hip flexibility drill? Here’s some advice and a drill from John Stemm, Oklahoma State’s men’s golf S+C coach.

“If you can’t externally and internally rotate your hip to get into your backswing,” Stemm says, “you’ll be forced to alter your swing, which will drastically change your angles and posture.”

To recruit hip flexibility and prevent his golfers from making counterproductive adjustments, Stemm prescribes the quick, 30-second Windshield Washer Stretch. The Cowboys used it to corral the 2006 NCAA Title.

Do:

• Lie on back with hips and knees bent 90 degrees
• Hold fists between knees, squeezing them with knees
• Separate ankles outward by rotating hips while maintaining pressure with knees on fists
• Repeat rotations for 30 seconds [for a challenge, hold at end for additional 30 seconds] • Perform drill two times every day

Don’t:

• Let up on pressure between knees
• Perform drill for less than 30 seconds or for more than one minute
• Bounce when performing
• Skip stretching sessions. Hip flexibility can improve in just two to three weeks with constant work
• Ignore stretching. Lack of hip flexibility forces overcompensation in spine rotation during swing, which can lead to back injuries