Question comes in from a Dewsweeper out there….Should there be hip slide?
You are going to here more about the roll of hips in the downswing and its effect on your power in the series on POWER with Hank Johnson.
As for this question it is my preference that there be no hip slide. Lateral movement in the golf swing does not provide you any advantage in fact it reduces your power. You also know from listening here on the show how much I stress the creation of a pivot for consistent and improved play (look for previous tips on pivot).
I also have found that most of the time where there is a lateral slide it is not the primary problem rather the slide is a result of another flaw. The slide has developed in order to help you create time in your swing in order to get the club back in front of your body.
If you struggle with lateral slide make sure you get some help from a teacher who can help you find out why you have lateral movement in your swing.
A tip to work on taking the slide out. Take a patio chair or a bag rack from your range and place it next to your left foot (for a right handed golfer). Make swings next to this chair without bumping the chair or bag rack forward. You will find that to do this you will need to rotate your left hip out of the way and rotate through the ball rather than slide into the hitting area.
Try this and you will e on the way to an improved swing and lower scores!