by Jeff Mount

Created on: May 27, 2010

When a golfer has their body weight moving forward during their backswing and backwards during the downswing and follow through, they are using a 'reverse pivot' in an effort to get the ball in the air. This motion is the exact opposite of what they should be doing, which is loading up their body weight on the rear leg/ foot on the backswing, releasing it towards their front leg/ foot as the club comes down, then fully releasing on to the left side (for a right hander) at the finish. The result of the reverse pivot is generally poor contact, low trajectory, slices, pulls, and weak shots.

Usually, when a golfer does a reverse pivot rather than the proper weight shift, it means that they are trying to help, scoop, lift, or flip the ball up into the air, rather than trusting the loft of the club to do this. The longer a golfer has gone on doing this, the more difficult it is to correct. This is one of the reasons why it's so important to take a series of lessons or find a 'mentor' early on in the learning process. If a golfer comes to me for lessons and they have a reverse pivot, there is a process I go through to correct it.

Start with chip shots

If someone has a reverse pivot in their full swing, I can guarantee they do it when chipping and pitching too. When the reverse pivot golfer hits a chip shot, they have the ball too far forward in their stance, and they use excessive wrist motion (un-hinging the wrists) through contact. They will always finish the shot with their body weight on the rear foot. This type of swing rarely results in good contact because the clubhead will be ahead of the hands at contact (thin shots are most common, but fat shots can creep in too). Also, if the golfer happens to somehow achieve good contact, the ball will fly too high in the air and typically land well short of the hole.

The goal of a chip shot should be to hit the ball on a low, running trajectory that utilizes the roll on the green rather than flight in the air to get the ball close to the hole. In order to do this, the golfer must contact the ball with the hands ahead of the clubhead and the body weight on the lead side of the body. If someone is struggling with this they should hit some chip shots with their left foot planted on the ground and only the tip of the right shoe on the ground. When chipping balls with the body in this position, it is very difficult to have any body weight transfer to the right side of the body (which is the goal of the drill), and the golfer

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