Tip or Trick stopping reverse pivot. (Weight shift)

iamachine1976

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Hello all
Wondering if anyone has some tips or tricks that they do to help eliminate the reverse pivot. I know this is probably the biggest killer to my ball striking and why I just can't make the next leap in my game. I am a much better wood player and short game player than a ball striker. I know I just get away with some of these issues with the woods for no reason that I can tell. I can pretty much hit a 3/5wood falling back dam near. Irons this really shows up with inconsistentcy. Fat, thin, falling back some even on a good strike. I really feel the culprit is the target pointed spine angle when I am making my turn. Looking for any tricks or swing thought. Feeling. Exaggerated position of some part of the body. Love to hear what works for some of you guys out there. As you know sometimes no matter how many videos you watch, you just can't quite get something and it's that one feeling or trick you can groove that really makes a difference. Anyway.
Thanks!
(Shoot in the mid to low 80s on our three regular courses we play. Break 80 a few times here and there. Looking to make a leap.)

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For the entire swing an athletic address posture promotes a proper turn/pivot/weight shift.
Stand straight and tall, stick your rear pants pockets outward, relax your knees a bit, that's it.
 
There are some really good videos and instagrams on this topics if you do a bit of digging but what helped me was a full length mirror and taking a backswing. I was surprised how much movement I had in any given direction and what felt right wasn’t what was happening in real life. Once I started to fix the backswing, the rest slowly got better because I wasn’t way out of position to start.

Without a video it’s hard to say exactly what’s going on (it could be a few things) but seeing what is going on is worth its weight in gold. Feel is not real.
 
For the entire swing an athletic address posture promotes a proper turn/pivot/weight shift.
Stand straight and tall, stick your rear pants pockets outward, relax your knees a bit, that's it.
Thanks. Yeah I am 6' 2" and 265. I also have lower back issues. I do think I struggle with posture. This might be why I seem to have more success early in the round with Irons and get lazy and just trying to hang on the second half. I was practicing in my living room last night. I tried to focus on the left pants pocket a little bit more and let everything work off of that. It seemed like the thought of keeping that left hip in check produced some good feelings over all. I'll have to try it on the range.

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Think about there being an egg under your right foot. Tell yourself: don’t break the egg.

I will practice with my weight already on my left side before the swing. Reminds me that that is where I want to be at finish.


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Turn around your spine don't tilt
 
Tip or Trick stopping reverse pivot. (Weight shift)

One practice drill that my guy gave me:

Start at address with my right heel off the ground. Slam that down to initiate back swing and raise your left heel. Then slam your left heel down to initiate downswing and raise your right heel back up to full finish. It helps me get the feeling of weight shift back and through. At first, he just had me doing the heels/weight shift without swinging a club.

My problem always seems always to be swaying to the back and my weight stays back and it really jacks up my spine angle.


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One practice drill that my guy gave me:

Start at address with my right heel off the ground. Slam that down to initiate back swing and raise your left heel. Then slam your left heel down to initiate downswing and raise your right heel back up to full finish. It helps me get the feeling of weight shift back and through. At first, he just had me doing the heels/weight shift without swinging a club.

My problem always seems always to be swaying to the back and my weight stays back and it really jacks up my spine angle.


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I always had a smoother swing when I was younger and was playing more sports. My feet were much more active. Good bad or indifferent. I was all in all a better (pure) ball striker.. course at the time I didn't care as much about golf in general. I do now of course that it is the only sport I have left. I am not a spring chicken anymore and am and have always been self taught when it comes to golf. When practicing in my living room taking air swings. I noticed that the more free flowing I get everywhere else in my body. My left heal would actually raise (in the backswing) like it did when I was younger. I think I am just so dam tight sometimes, that I get the forward spine tilt and by default rock back on my left foot on the downswing.
Thanks for the post! I was practicing an exaggeration of toes open. Both feet. And just taking a relaxed backswing only really focusing on my left hip and left knee bend. And low and behold. The left heal came off the ground. Not every time. But I took notice and it reminded me of days of old. I'm not saying it has to for me to have a better swing. Its just a nice reminder of things that are cause and effect. I am a much better golfer all around then I was when I was younger. That said you can learn some things from your younger self if you can just get a glimpse or feel.
Thanks again. I will try this or some variation of it for sure..

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I always had a smoother swing when I was younger and was playing more sports. My feet were much more active. Good bad or indifferent. I was all in all a better (pure) ball striker.. course at the time I didn't care as much about golf in general. I do now of course that it is the only sport I have left. I am not a spring chicken anymore and am and have always been self taught when it comes to golf. When practicing in my living room taking air swings. I noticed that the more free flowing I get everywhere else in my body. My left heal would actually raise (in the backswing) like it did when I was younger. I think I am just so dam tight sometimes, that I get the forward spine tilt and by default rock back on my left foot on the downswing.
Thanks for the post! I was practicing an exaggeration of toes open. Both feet. And just taking a relaxed backswing only really focusing on my left hip and left knee bend. And low and behold. The left heal came off the ground. Not every time. But I took notice and it reminded me of days of old. I'm not saying it has to for me to have a better swing. Its just a nice reminder of things that are cause and effect. I am a much better golfer all around then I was when I was younger. That said you can learn some things from your younger self if you can just get a glimpse or feel.
Thanks again. I will try this or some variation of it for sure..

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Rock back on my right foot that is

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As I have gotten older and bigger, my flexibility has vastly decreased and I get to swaying and lifting my upper body. It is the number one issue in my golf game today and I am constantly working on it. I spend time in my backyard barefoot doing these drills; I can feel my weight shifting barefoot. Good luck and maybe it will help.

By the way, I don’t try to lift my heels like this when playing, but the drill helps me get the feelings I need to make a better swing. If I start feeling like I have sway in my hips, I take a few swings with my feet together to feel like I am centered and balanced and then a few swings with the heel drill and it can help me feel a better swing. The key to me, is slamming that left heel down to initiate the downswing. It really helps my sequencing and get my big body moving forward.

I am not a golf teacher, but I go see one on occasion. That would probably be the best route; go see a pro and they can give you tips and drills specific to you.


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Thanks. Yeah I am 6' 2" and 265. I also have lower back issues. I do think I struggle with posture. This might be why I seem to have more success early in the round with Irons and get lazy and just trying to hang on the second half. I was practicing in my living room last night. I tried to focus on the left pants pocket a little bit more and let everything work off of that. It seemed like the thought of keeping that left hip in check produced some good feelings over all. I'll have to try it on the range.

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I am not a proponent of "in swing" thoughts. My belief is that if a player adopts a fundamentally sound address posture then his/her body will naturally make an effective pivot , without having to think about it during the swing.
Another key to making a proper pivot-turn-weight shift is using relatively light grip pressure at address. Most amateur players grip the club with way, way too firmly, and this causes several problems throughout the swing, not the least of which is wrongly using hands-wrists-arms to create a back swing. In contrast, when a player uses light grip pressure he/she naturally allows the body pivot-turn to power the back swing.
Finally, the primary tenet of Jack Nicklaus' swing philosophy has always been "steady head". From his junior golf days onward Nicklaus steadied his head at address and tried to make his turn back and through rotating around a steady head.
 
I am not a proponent of "in swing" thoughts. My belief is that if a player adopts a fundamentally sound address posture then his/her body will naturally make an effective pivot , without having to think about it during the swing.
Another key to making a proper pivot-turn-weight shift is using relatively light grip pressure at address. Most amateur players grip the club with way, way too firmly, and this causes several problems throughout the swing, not the least of which is wrongly using hands-wrists-arms to create a back swing. In contrast, when a player uses light grip pressure he/she naturally allows the body pivot-turn to power the back swing.
Finally, the primary tenet of Jack Nicklaus' swing philosophy has always been "steady head". From his junior golf days onward Nicklaus steadied his head at address and tried to make his turn back and through rotating around a steady head.
Thanks
Yeah, playing a round is for fun. I try to limit myself to just one swing thought. Like tempo or left wrist or something. I definitely try to make improvements or get something out of practice however. So I don't mind shaking things up a little when something isn't going right.

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Thank you guys for the comments. This was exactly what I was hoping for by posting this question. Just wanted to hear how people deal with this issue as it is an important one! Again, videos and articles are great, but it's valuable to hear what real people think and do. Hopefully you all are enjoying the US open this weekend.

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I used to reverse pivot really bad in my driver swing. I went to the range and beat balls. I found that it helps if I push against my backswing with my right leg. I get really heavy in my feet (I believe Justin Rose advised that in a article for Golf Mag). It helps quiet my hips more. I have a tendency to "wind up" with anything above a 7-iron, my hips, shoulders, and arms would all start at the same time. My left knee would fall forward instead of in and my right leg would begin straightening. Take a range session and work on making that feeling second nature.

Irons I get just enough knee flex to get my weight over the balls of my feet and feel centered. I tend to over-rotate and my swing breaks down, especially if I do not keep that pressure in my right leg pushing against my swing.
 
I am not a proponent of "in swing" thoughts. My belief is that if a player adopts a fundamentally sound address posture then his/her body will naturally make an effective pivot , without having to think about it during the swing.
Another key to making a proper pivot-turn-weight shift is using relatively light grip pressure at address. Most amateur players grip the club with way, way too firmly, and this causes several problems throughout the swing, not the least of which is wrongly using hands-wrists-arms to create a back swing. In contrast, when a player uses light grip pressure he/she naturally allows the body pivot-turn to power the back swing.
Finally, the primary tenet of Jack Nicklaus' swing philosophy has always been "steady head". From his junior golf days onward Nicklaus steadied his head at address and tried to make his turn back and through rotating around a steady head.
So I played my regular week day game last night. I really tried to focus on posture and being more relaxed. Both toes point slightly more out than I normally would. I actually hit the irons much much better last night. Tried to just pivot around my head and forget about what my arms and legs were doing. Lag was good. My "misses" were toe shots that actually ended up ok. Just a little short of target. I had one ultra thin shot that screwed me on a par three. I think the toe shots I can attribute to trying to adopt a new set up and posture. Long story short I had far less shots where I felt I was falling back or had a bad reverse pivot.
Now my wood game was a different story. I was a little out of sorts in that department. Which is the opposite of the norm. I'm not gonna panic however. I think I will just have to work on set up for all my clubs to get better. As I said before. I know I get away with a lot of not good things with woods. It might be a little more pain with the driver and woods to make a change for the better. I feel like if I get my swing sorted in general the woods will follow.

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I had a reverse pivot. My instructor told me to try the Gary Player step through swing. That's where you step through with your back foot. It worked for me.
 
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