Fix Reverse Pivot - Trail Side Dominant Setup

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This golf setup check is critical to getting rid of a reverse pivot and over the top downswing. If you're setup is right side dominant, you will struggle with not slicing, hitting it fat and many more ball striking woes.


Hey Rotary Swing golfers, Chuck Quinton here. I want to talk about one of my biggest pet peeves that causes you guys more trouble than anything else, and it all starts from setup. So often, especially what I see in my unlimited review groups, with people setting up what I call right side dominant. Now, what does that mean? Without fail, one of the biggest things that most people overlook is axis tilt at setup. I've talked a ton about axis tilt. You have to have axis tilt at setup. However, for most of you, when you start getting axis tilt, you're like, "This doesn't feel right. I feel like I'm like this. How am I supposed to hit a ball from here?"

                Now of course if you take the time and look in a mirror, you realize it looks like this, it looks normal like every other tour player on the planet, but you feel like this and you're relying on your feel. As I've told you a million times, I don't care how you feel right now, you're gonna get used to it. It's all about what the mirror tells you, because the mirror doesn't lie, and the video camera doesn't lie. You know you have to have axis tilt, you know everybody has axis tilt, but why do you keep setting up like this? That's this right side dominant stuff that keeps coming into your swing. So, let's talk about what it looks like, so that you can discover whether or not you are setting up right side dominant, and let's talk about all the things it's going to cause issues with, and how to fix it.

                So, when I see somebody right side dominant, the first thing I notice is no axis tilt, or even negative axis tilt where they're leaning their spine toward the target. So if they're setup like this, I know that we're in trouble. We've gotta start from scratch. You've gotta understand the whole big picture of the swing. We've gotta be body-centric, left side dominant. This pulling force is what ... You've got to align yourself with Newton. Nobody has outsmarted Newton yet, so you can't deny the physics of the golf swing. So when you're setting up like this, I know the first thing you're gonna do is take that club back with your right arm.

                And so, that's gonna look like this, and you're gonna get into your right hand dominant position, shut clubface, this weird gang handshake that I talked about in my handshake video, where the hand's on top ... the right hand's on top of the left, because the right hand is in a position to hinge back. When you setup right side dominant with no axis tilt, and your shoulders tend to setup really level, the right hand is gonna tend to get into a really weak grip position. So, you'll notice from a right side dominant position this thumb and forefinger line kind of go straight up my head, and a lot of times in my students I even see it going towards their left shoulder. Really weak position.

                So now, if my hand ... Forget golf for a second. If my hand's in this position, what does it want to do as I start rotating back? It wants to hinge on top, it doesn't want to rotate open. Why? Because, you've already put your hand in a weak position on the golf club. If a weak position on the club, what is that gonna tend to lead to? An open clubface. So, what do you want to do instinctively to compensate for that? Shut the clubface, 'cause you already have a really weak grip, you're gonna take it back shut, and now all of a sudden your golf swing is a huge bucket of compensations. You've got nothing but compensatory moves to try and bring that club back. And almost without fail, with this weak right hand, upright spine, shut clubface coming back, guess what you're gonna do coming through? You're gonna flip and push the club coming through, in a desperate effort to try and square it up. Let's not do that, because that's going to create every other problem under the sun, and you're never gonna be a great golfer.

                To be good, we have to use the fundamentals that every single tour pro uses on the tour. There's a reason that they're tour pros, because they follow the RST fundamentals, so they have axis tilt. As you have axis tilt, that allows my right hand to naturally come under the left and get into a normal, stronger position at address, where this right thumb and forefinger point towards the right shoulder. This feels really weak, and not very dominant. I kind of call it a passive right hand, because you're putting it underneath, and the left side is getting dominant now, it's on top of the club. And this is coming underneath, employing a shared power move. You don't want to put this thing in complete control, because then you're going to go into all the stuff I talked about during the take-away, and so on.

                Also, when you start setting up with no axis tilt as I've talked about before, you've got this weak right hand, high right shoulder, shut clubface coming back. Look what happens to my spine as I go back. Almost always, when you have no axis tilt, unless you do a lot to move your head off the ball, which is of course not desirable, then we're almost always going to reverse pivot. And it all comes again from wanting to be very right side dominant, right shoulder high, right arm on top of the club. So, if that's you, when you look at yourself in the mirror and you see that your spine's really upright, your right hand's really weak, clubface is going back shut, or you're flipping it open with your hands, one of the two, but you've got that weak right hand, you need to understand that you're being very right side dominant, and you need to go all the way back to the beginning.

                Work through RST Five Step, and add that lead arm, that third step. Take your time working through that, because your brain is still saying, "No matter what, I want to hold and do everything with my right hand," and that's going to cause you all kinds of problems that you already know about. So, check yourself in the mirror, watch yourself, make sure you're not being right side dominant. Axis tilt. Stronger right hand, so that it ... This thumb and forefinger go up your right arm, and your shoulders have a little bit of tilt to them, and that will get you in a much better starting position.

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Kevin
Photo below for comment on slide and blocks
February 28, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. I commented below.
March 1, 2021
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Kevin
Hi Craig I was able to finally get to the simulator today after doing a lot of reps indoors this winter. I noticed some right side dominance and setup after a few swings and worked to close my shoulders and get my trail arm more under / elbow but out. After making those adjustments though my next shots were all blocks based on my path I assume due to closing the shoulders. I’m also still noticing a big slide and left hip out past NJA - can’t seem to fix that. Good news is my distance was up
February 28, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. Great news about the distance. Yes. The slide passed and drop underneath will definitely affect that swing path to more in to out. Really looks like your head dropped back during the downswing giving you that secondary tilt. Probably a little trial hip push in there.
March 1, 2021
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Kevin
Thanks Craig....I know the slide often results from not getting to the lead side early enough as well. I have always seen drills where you place an alignment rod, den caddy etc. just outside your lead leg and focus on not sliding into it. It sounds like you are recommending I focus more on turning my trail side off and pulling to the left more me lead knee, hip and pelvis though. Any drill or feel to better feel my trail hip staying back (keep the right heel down more?)
March 1, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. Trail foot isn't that pushy. Split the tour pro downswing sequence drill into two chunks. Top piece, sq to sq, and the fire the post/release. Yes. Get pressure over sooner and get out of the way sooner with lead side.
March 1, 2021
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James
Further to my last review Craig I have worked on those two areas you pointed me to and now not quite so crouched now, less knee bend and reduced the rounded shoulder. As you can see in the capture below I have a bit of lead arm showing at address. Hard to see here as I am wearing black shirt but when you see this in the review I have upped, you will notice more in the video as I start my back-swing. BTW, I am using my 8 iron here after re-gripping it; this is something I have not done before and I was very pleased with the result.
October 14, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. Huge improvements on the setup and swing today. You are now going to the race with a setup that has a chance to win.
October 14, 2020
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James
Thanks for the review Craig. On listening to your comments, yes I agree with you I have become a little right side dominant at address and need to get my axis tilt back to what it should be and hopefully that should sort out that right shoulder protraction. Basically I have been working so hard on that 4 of 4 drill and striving to maintain the tush line that I have ignored this axis tilt. I will work on that though. Ironically when I work on that 4 of 4 in my study using a wedge I am aware of the axis tilt.
October 1, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. Good. Big win today in the review. But, these little pesky items add up in the end.
October 1, 2020
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Kevin
Top of backswing after making elbow pit improvement with stronger right hand position
August 10, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. Much more in front than the deep/flying position. Big improvement.
August 10, 2020
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Kevin
Hi Craig - I’ve been working on this per my last swing review and open shoulder position. I had an indirect benefit as well, the stronger right hand let you me fixing my elbow pit and ultimately my backswing position is better - bingo! Question though on how to check this down the line (chuck is face on in the video). Should we be able to see our left forearm (assuming the camera is setup correctly)? I attached a picture - before my right arm was covering the left from DTL
August 10, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. Great. Exactly. You should be able to see the tiniest bit of the lead forearm from DTL.
August 10, 2020
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Donald
I was just sloppy with my setup on the review. Haven't Kept track of all my reps since boot camp, but had 1000+ during the boot camp prog. I think that I Need more swing reviews; I thought that I did reps easily & perfectly. I know "feel & real" . Had issue with videos. Wife too feeble to operate the camera & too stubborn to take my instructions.
April 29, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Donald. Setup is the foundation. Glad to hear on the right track. Just gotta get that video situation worked out
April 30, 2020
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Ramu
this is something I have been fighting as well. I heard about training the non-dominant side ( swinging left-handed if you are a right-handed golfer) with an orange whip or a weighted club for better balance and correct sequencing. Is that something you would recommend? Thanks a lot
July 15, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ramu. Take a look at the Two Club Drill. Same premise.
July 15, 2019
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Martin L
I heard comment on tv today about Rory opening and closing right shoulder during swing. I found at set up that my right shoulder was rotated in. By rotating it outward prior to starting back swing I feel like I get more length in back swing and a much better position on top. Does this make sense?
February 17, 2019
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
By what you're describing it sounds like you're getting your shoulders in the box at address, which gives you better posture and that you're using your right shoulder to rotate by pulling it back behind you. These are things that we teach golfers to do for better rotation. If you're asking about the same thing that I referenced, then yes, it certainly would make sense. It would be hard to tell without a swing review though. If you set one up, we can definitely take a look at it.
February 17, 2019
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Martin L
Thanks. That's what I thought. I hadn't looked at set up videos in some time. Will review asap. Seems to make putting easier too. Can you suggest a good exercise to strengthen muscles needed to keep shoulders rotated ou?
February 18, 2019
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Eric
This was a very eye opening video. I think I have struggled this for years and I have a very right arm starting lawn mower move. Over time it has really hurt my shoulder. Even when I focus on non-rounded shoulders, as I put my right hand on the club (even with axis tilt) it wants to go on with this feeling like I am hitting a top spin in ping pong. It hikes up my right shoulder and I am done. I have very broad shoulders, especially in relation to my hips. If I really focus non-rounded shoulders, moving right hand into club from underneath AND neutral stance width, I can do it. The key is the proper stance width. What is the physical relationship between getting the right hand on in a narrower stance. When I set up too wide (which is natural because I was taught shoulder width), I feel like I am a few inches from connecting to the club, which forces the right hand dominant top spin move to get the hand on the club - right hand dominance?
January 22, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Eric. Glad you liked the video. The wider the stance the more axis tilt you will require to get setup properly. More than likely while standing too wide you added the dominant trail arm position because the concept of axis tilt was missing. And, getting the trail hand on top felt more powerful. Sounds like right side dominance to me.
January 22, 2019
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Mike
I think I may have too much spinal tilt at address. What are the consequences of this? Is just enough needed to accommodate the R hand being lower than the L on the club for a R/handed player?
January 16, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mike. Take a look Axis Tilt at Setup Video and Common Setup Faults and Fixes Video. Too much axis tilt will affect weight transfer and tend to get you excessively shallow on the downswing if followed by a good lower body shift.
January 16, 2019
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Eric
This feels like a ah-ha moment. I have set up very right side dominant, I can feel my right shoulder wrist and hand rotate when I put my right hand on the club like I am hitting a top spin shot in ping pong. I have always struggled with an open left hip, but that setup pushes me into thy. I have done the left arm only drills especially in the Winter Training. I can also remember the very early RST lead arm only drills. A little confused about the left arm dominance when pushing with the left is one of the concerns. Is is ok to keep the right hand very light on the club during the backswing. It is funny, the open hip makes it hard to do a proper lead arm movement and I end doing a lawn mower pull with the right to finish the backswing.
November 10, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Eric. Glad you enjoyed the video. Very light trail arm is perfectly fine.
November 10, 2018
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Gary
Curious as to why a right handed golfer stands to target like a baseball player and is taught to strike the ball similar to a backhand performed by a left handed tennis player. Any thoughts on why the dominant hand is trailing in a golf swing and somewhat passive rather than leading ?
June 26, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. In an ideal world players would play the opposite. Most of it comes from a player already having coordination in one side and an already ingrained kinetic sequence. Therefore, the ability to add power sounds easier coming from the trailing side position. Not meaning it is correct, or the most efficient.
June 26, 2018
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Lawrence
As part of set up would slightly stronger left hand grip be advisable. Also this produces the effect of the left elbow pointing more towards the target line than towards the left hip ala Hogan. Is this a better position to help the left dominance? L Green
June 10, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lawrence. Our preferred grip is a slightly stronger than neutral position. With the lead elbow pit pointed away from the body. Not overly locked and too externally rotated. But, away. Golf Grip Checkpoint Tips Video.
June 10, 2018
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Wyatt
I was fortunate enough to spend a few days with a senior golf coach and his advice mirrors almost exactly Chuck's comments in the video. Chuck did address flipping of the club on the downswing if your axis gets out of shape, and I recall this senior golf coach telling me that the right wrist should ideally still be flexed at impact. Apparently that's natural if your setup is right. Do you concur with that?
January 25, 2018
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Chuck (Certified RST Instructor)
It should still be arched slightly back at impact and be releasing.
January 25, 2018
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Robert
In one of his earlier videos, Chuck said that you want the body going in the opposite direction of the clubhead. On the backswing, you want to pull the clubhead back by allowing the right shoulder to go toward the target, and conversely on the downswing, the left shoulder pulls the club by going away from the target?
January 24, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Rob. Yes, you always want to be working in the opposite direction of the club. However, remember it's not shoulder spin the brings the club down. The swing starts from the ground up.
January 24, 2018
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Robert
I'm snapping the towel. So I want to push hard with my lead leg forward so my lead hip goes up and behind me, allowing my hands then to whip through and release. I'm not pushing with my trail shoulder at all on the downswing.
January 24, 2018
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Hector
I HAVE BEEN A ROTARY SWING STUDENT FOR A LONG TIME , BUT STILL MY HANDICAP IS OVER 20. i KNOW ALL THE THEORY BUT i CANT REOPRODUCE THAT TO MY SWING. WHEN I'M IN THE BACKSWING IN AXIS TILT AND i DO THE WEIGTH SHIFTING I DO SWAY. MY QUESTION IS , CAN I START WITH THE RIGTH SHOULDER INSTEAD OF THE WEITH SHIFT ? ANY HELP ?
January 21, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Hector. You may start with rotation if you already shift the weight well. However, the weight shift is a really good way to trigger the backswing. I would focus on Step 2, Weight Shift Video Part 2 and Fixing Your Sway. Sounds to me you are adding a little pushing to force excessive movement off the ball. Work on your body drills first in a mirror, or head against a wall as in the video I listed above dealing with sway.
January 22, 2018
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Hector
CAN YOU EXPLAIN IN DETAILS WHAT HE MEANS WITH BODY CENTERED LEFT SIDE DOMINANT SET UP ?
January 21, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Hector. Body centric/Left Side Dominant Swinger. You are trying to align your golf swing up with Newton. To swing from the inside - out (body being the swing engine) and use pulling forces instead of pushing the club around (lead arm dominant).
January 22, 2018

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