This at-home drill will help you eliminate the sway in your golf swing

If you sway in your golf swing, GOLF Teacher to Watch Erika Larkin says to try this at-home drill.

Instagram / @ErikaLarkinGolf

In an effort to make a weight shift, many golfers make the mistake of swaying during the golf swing. However, while this might feel more natural to some amateurs, it’s a bad habit that reduces the distance of your tee shot.

Since no player wants to lose length with their driver, Erika Larkin, a GOLF Teacher to Watch, posted a video to her Instagram account to help players fix this swaying issue.

The at-home drill Larkin shows requires nothing more than a small ball, a wall, and a few minutes of your time. Hey, who doesn’t want to improve their golf swing that efficiently?

So take a look below at some of Larkin’s tips for fixing the unnecessary sway in your golf swing.

Try this at-home drill to stop swaying in your golf swing

So why is swaying in your golf swing bad to begin with? When players sway, it leads to issues with balance — which can throw off the entire swing, leading to mishits because the clubface isn’t lined up with the ball.

But Larkin says that this at-home ball drill will help players “stay dynamically centered,” learning how to use their hips to hold the ball against the wall as they rotate their body.

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“Instead of dropping the ball, roll the ball [against the wall] — kind of like a gear effect,” she says. “Just keep even pressure on the ball. No need to squish the ball against the wall; we don’t actually want to lean into it too soon. Stay centered, and turn.”

With the added focus on your hips, you’ll feel them turning (not swaying).

For right-handed players, your front hip will move towards the ball, and your back hip will move towards the back. By combining these two movements, the result will be a rotation, rather than the feeling of a shift.

When putting these elements together — and by testing out Larkin’s at-home ball drill — you’ll generate more power, resulting in longer shots off the tee.

“This is going to help you learn to load against the back leg, instead of a sway — [resulting in] a powerful backswing to set up for an explosive downswing.”

Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor