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Turn Within Your Stance
Your practice at a glance
These golf drills are from the Golf Practice Made Fun App.
A more centred golf swing starts with turning comfortably rather than drifting sideways.
To stop swaying in your golf swing, use the Anti Sway Backswing Drill to feel support through your trail foot, the Anti Hip Sway Drill to check the gap beside your hip, and the Corey Pavin Swing Drill to explore your chest turn around an upright club. Start slowly and follow each drill’s eighteen-shot or eighteen-repetition format. Allow your pressure to shift naturally as you turn; the aim is to notice an unwanted slide, rather than hold your body rigid.
Drill 1. Anti Sway Backswing: Feel the Inside of Your Trail Foot
The spare shaft gives you a small change in foot pressure that is easy to notice. Feeling the inside of your trail foot can help you recognise a sideways roll towards its outer edge while still allowing your hips and chest to turn.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lay a spare club on the ground at a right angle to the target line. Rest the outside edge of your trail foot lightly on its shaft, creating only a slight lift. Keep the spare club clear of the ball and the playing club’s path. The trail foot is the right foot for a right-handed golfer and the left foot for a left-handed golfer. |
| 2 | Take your normal address and make slow rehearsals. Feel pressure through the inside of the trail foot as your chest and hips turn back. Allow a natural pressure shift without sliding over the outside of that foot, then turn through to a balanced finish. Keep the ankle comfortable and avoid exaggerating the tilt. |
| 3 | Once comfortable, play eighteen gentle shots in two sets of nine using the same inside-foot cue. Count one point for each solid strike. Remove the spare club afterwards and try the feeling from your normal setup. |
Explore the full Anti Sway Backswing Drill and demonstration →
Drill 2. Anti Hip Sway: Turn Inside Your Reference
A visible gap beside your trail hip gives you feedback about sideways movement. Turning without closing that gap helps you explore rotation within your stance, while the reset after each attempt keeps the reference useful rather than something to brace against.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Plant an alignment stick securely just outside your trail foot, with its top around hip height. Leave a small gap beside your outer hip. Take your normal iron stance and check clearance through a slow rehearsal so the stick stays clear of your body and the club’s path. |
| 2 | Turn your chest and hips back slowly, feeling the trail hip turn behind you rather than slide towards the stick. Keep your knees soft and allow pressure to move into the trail foot. If you touch the reference, stop, reset and try a smaller turn. Do not push against it or freeze your hips. |
| 3 | Turn through onto your lead side, pause in balance and reset. Complete nine slow routines, then nine more routines or easy shots. A balanced finish is useful feedback, but check the hip-to-stick gap during the backswing as well. |
Drill 3. Corey Pavin: Turn Around an Upright Club
The upright club gives your lead hand a steady reference while your free arm and chest move. Noticing the lead elbow helps you compare a comfortable turn with drifting away from that reference, before rehearsing a smooth move towards impact.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Stand comfortably with the clubhead resting on the ground in front of you and the shaft upright. Rest your lead palm lightly on top of the grip. Bring the free trail hand down as though addressing a ball, without leaning your body weight onto the club. |
| 2 | Turn your chest back and let the free trail arm rise into a slow backswing. Keep the reference club upright and notice the comfortable bend in your lead elbow. An arm that straightens as your body moves away is a useful clue in this exercise, rather than an exact measurement or a reason to hold your head motionless. |
| 3 | Let pressure move towards the lead foot as your chest turns towards impact. Return the free hand with its palm facing down; the reference shaft can lean forward gently. Reset to the upright-club start. Complete eighteen slow repetitions without hitting a ball, resting after six and twelve. |
Explore the full Corey Pavin Swing Drill and demonstration →
