Face-on
Reverse pivot.
A reverse pivot is the upper body moving toward the target during the backswing, so at the top the middle of the shoulders sits closer to the target than it did at address. Seen face-on, it is the opposite of the small move away from the target that most good backswings make.
By Dwain Kinghorn · Updated
Face-on · Address, Top, Impact
Understanding the idea.
Face-on, note where the middle of the shoulders, the shoulder center, sits against the background at Address, then step to the Top. In most good backswings the upper body turns and drifts a little away from the target, so the shoulder center ends up slightly behind where it started. In a reverse pivot it goes the other way: by the top the shoulder center has moved toward the target. MotionEdge's Swing Review compares the shoulder center at the top with address, on full swings, and flags it only when it has moved toward the target farther than the tour range. A large move away from the target is a different picture, closer to a sway, which the sway guide covers.
A reverse pivot often comes with two related pictures. The upper body can tilt toward the target at the top, which the reverse-spine guide covers, and the hips can slide away from the target, which pushes the upper body the other way. Coming down, the body then often falls back away from the target to deliver the club, and the hips can sit behind where they started at impact. Coaches have used the term the same way for decades: upper body toward the target going back, and back away from it through the ball.
Possible associations include heavy or thin contact, a strike that feels weak, and a finish that falls back toward the trail foot. These are associations, not certain results; a golfer can show a small reverse pivot and still strike the ball well.
Film face-on, square to the golfer at about chest height, with the head, shoulders, hips and feet in the picture and something fixed in the background as a reference. Video shows where the body went, not pressure under the feet: a reverse pivot is a body position, not a weight measurement.
How to read this pattern.
Some movement is part of a good backswing. The head and upper body usually move a little away from the target, and holding the head rigidly still can itself encourage the upper body to tip toward the target. Wedges and short swings stay more centered than a driver, so a smaller move away is normal with a shorter club.
Do not answer a reverse pivot by sliding the hips or the whole body away from the target; that swaps it for a sway. Pressure is a separate question too. Players at every level, tour players included, show different pressure patterns under the feet, and video does not show pressure.
A practice cue.
Finish the backswing on the trail side of the marker.
Try the exercise.
Marker in the background
Use a mid-iron and set up facing a mirror, or record yourself face-on. Pick a vertical reference behind you that lines up with the middle of your chest at address: a door edge, a range divider, or a strip of tape on the mirror. That is the marker.
Without a ball, make slow backswings and pause at the top. Check the middle of the chest against the marker: level with it or a little to the trail side is the picture; past it toward the target is the reverse pivot. Let the head move a little if it wants to. Do not lean away from the target to beat the marker; the turn should carry the upper body there, not a tilt.
Take three rehearsals, then hit easy half-shots and three-quarter shots with the same picture in mind, pausing every few swings to check. If the hips start sliding away from the target or the trail knee bows outward, the task has turned into a sway; make the turn smaller and easier.
What to record
Compare Address and Top: note whether the middle of the shoulders ended level with or behind where it started. Keep the change only if the hips did not slide and contact held or improved.
Practice set: 6 slow rehearsals with a pause at the top, then 2 sets of 5 easy mid-irons.
Keep in mind: The turn goes around and behind the ball.
Review the result.
For a practice comparison, record 5 full mid-iron swings from a face-on view. Use the same setup for both sets; label shorter drill swings separately.
Record five full mid-iron swings face-on, filmed square to you at chest height, with the whole body and a fixed background reference in the picture. In MotionEdge, compare Address and Top: look at the middle of the shoulders against the background, and at whether the hips moved the other way. Then watch through Impact and the Finish for a fall back away from the target.
Look for an upper body that ends the backswing level with or a little behind its address position, with contact at least as good as before. If the hips started sliding away to make the turn, or the strike got worse, the change has gone too far. Compare the same club and the same intended shot each time; a wedge and a driver do not share one picture.
Watch these clips.
These demonstrations offer another way to understand the idea. Each video opens at the selected starting point and continues playing; use the note below it to focus your viewing.
The examples show upper-body tilt in relation to the turn, the tilt half of a reverse pivot. Compare the full movement rather than forcing the spine into an opposite bend.
The backswing examples separate rotation from sideways drift. A slide away from the target is the other side of this page; a fix for a reverse pivot should not turn into one.