How to Stop Swaying in the Golf Swing - 3 Simple Steps

Quick answer: Swaying is excessive lateral movement of the lower body away from the target in the backswing - your hips slide off the ball instead of loading into it. Fix it in three steps: flare your trail foot slightly open at address so your trail hip can rotate, apply pressure down into the ground with your trail foot instead of pushing away from the target, and stand an alignment rod vertically just outside your trail hip as a physical reference you shouldn't touch. (Left-handers: mirror every direction in this guide.)

In this post, WhysGuy will cover:

• What swaying is, and how it quietly costs you both consistency and distance.
• 3 practical steps to stop swaying in your golf swing.
• The drill that trains the replacement move - a real pressure shift.

What Is Swaying in the Golf Swing?

It seems reasonable to assume that sliding the whole body away from and back toward the target would produce added power in the golf swing. The problem with doing this is that it makes timing the swing extremely challenging. Every inch you travel away from the ball is an inch you have to recover - at exactly the right moment, every single time.

Swaying in golf is generally defined as excessive lateral movement with the lower body. If you find yourself swaying, it's highly likely you're leaving consistency and distance on the table.

The important distinction is between pressure and weight. Pressure is the force you apply into the ground; weight is the location of your center of mass. A good backswing moves a lot of the first and very little of the second. A sway is what happens when the two get confused - you move your center of mass sideways because it feels like loading up, when what you actually wanted was force going down into your trail foot. Our complete guide to weight shift in the golf swing breaks that distinction down checkpoint by checkpoint.

How to Stop Swaying

Below are three practical steps. They're in order for a reason: the first removes the physical restriction that causes most sways, the second replaces the faulty move, and the third gives you the feedback to know it's working.

1. Rotate Your Trail Foot Open at Address

• Golfers often have limited hip mobility in their trail hip, which can make it difficult to rotate effectively in the backswing. As a result, they end up sliding laterally with the hips instead.
• Rotating your trail foot (right foot for right-handers) slightly open at setup will allow you to rotate into your trail hip more easily.
• This is a setup change, not a swing thought - once the foot is set, you don't have to think about it again during the swing.

2. Improve Your Pressure Shift

• Instead of letting your hips slide away from the target, focus on applying pressure into the ground with your trail foot as you take the club back.
• When you apply pressure into the ground with your trail foot, it will be easier to keep your hips from sliding. You may also find it easier to generate power in your golf swing.
• Learn more about how to shift pressure properly in our weight shift guide.

3. Use an Alignment Rod as a Reference Point

• Stand an alignment rod vertically so it's just outside your trail hip at address.
• Make sure you don't slide into the alignment rod in your backswing.
• The WhyGolf Alignment Disc can be a useful tool if you want to be able to stand your alignment rods at specific angles indoors or outdoors.

The Pressure Plate Mirror Drill

The fastest way to stop swaying is to work on your pressure shift, and the Pressure Plate is built for exactly that - it teaches you to push into the ground instead of pushing laterally. Pair it with a mirror and you get both halves of the feedback at once: what you look like, and what your pressure is actually doing.

• Setup: Stand in front of a mirror with the WhyGolf Pressure Plate under your feet.
• Focus: Without a ball, practice your swing slowly while watching yourself in the mirror. Concentrate on keeping your head and upper body steady, avoiding any lateral movement.
• Pressure Plate action: As you start the backswing, focus on tipping the Plate to your trail side (right side for right-handers) without allowing your body to sway laterally. That's the tell that your pressure is shifting while your center of balance stays put.
• Repetition: Repeat slowly, with controlled movements. The Plate gives you instant feedback if you begin to sway, so you can correct it in the moment rather than after the fact.

Why You're Still Swaying - Common Mistakes

• You're bracing instead of rotating. Locking the lower body stops the slide but kills the turn - and a short, armsy backswing costs you more than the sway did. The goal is rotation, not rigidity.
• You flared the wrong foot. The flare that frees your backswing turn is on the trail side. Opening the lead foot helps your follow-through, but it does nothing for a sway.
• The rod is too close. Set it just outside your trail hip, not against it. Touching it at address means you'll be fighting a limit you were never going to clear.
• You only check the top. Plenty of sways happen in transition, not the backswing - the hips shoot past the ball on the way down. Watch both halves of the swing in the mirror.
• You're chasing it with speed. Slow, deliberate reps are what change a motor pattern. Full-speed swings just reproduce the one you already have.

Key Takeaways

• Swaying is excessive lateral movement of the lower body, and it causes timing issues that show up as inconsistent contact.
• Rotate your trail foot slightly open at setup to make it easier to turn into your trail hip in the backswing.
• Improve your pressure shift by applying force down into the ground with your trail foot, rather than sliding away from the target.
• Stand an alignment rod vertically just outside your trail hip and make swings without contacting it.
• Train the replacement move slowly - the Pressure Plate only tips when your pressure genuinely shifts.

Check out our YouTube channel for drills and tips: