Hover over the plus signs to learn more about the pelvis and torso rotation at specific points in the swing.
At Address
At address, the pelvis rotation is typically close to zero, meaning it is approximately square or parallel to the target line. The torso, however, is typically slightly open, or rotated toward the target between 3 and 12°
As the backswing begins:
As the backswing begins, the pelvis and torso both turn away from the target. The line on the graph shows how many degrees the pelvis has rotated away from the target. We assign rotation toward the target as positive, so rotation in the backswing will be negative. Even though the torso typically is more open at address, by mid backswing the torso has already caught and rotated past the pelvis.
Just before the top of the backswing:
Pelvis rotation at the top of the swing is typically between about 35° and 55° with torso rotation between 85° and 110°. You can see that the pelvis starts rotating toward the target before the torso. In this graph, that means the red (pelvis) line will hit its lowest point and start rising slightly before green (torso) line.
Mid Downswing:
By mid downswing, the pelvis and torso are both turning rapidly toward the target. Typically at this point in the swing, the pelvis will have already passed its address position and will be 5-15° open, or positive on the graph. The torso, however, will still be slightly closed, or negative on the graph.
At impact:
At impact, the pelvis and torso are now both open, or facing the target, with the pelvis being more open (25-45°) than the torso (10-35°).
Note: The top of the backswing can be defined differently; we choose to define it as when the club starts rotating toward the target. This is commonly accepted across 3D platforms (such as V3D, AMM, Kwon3D), however, it may also be defined as when the pelvis starts turning (such as the Golf BioDynamics system). That is also perfectly acceptable, and if it fits better with your teaching philosophy, then it is a better definition for you to use. If you choose to use when the pelvis starts turning toward the target to define the beginning of the downswing, then the line marking the Top of Backswing would simply shift to the left. Importantly, nothing else would change.