How to Fix Hanging Back in the Golf Swing

Hanging back is one of those swing faults that can quietly sabotage your ball striking without you even realizing it. At first glance, everything may look fine — you turn, swing, and make contact. But the result tells a different story: thin shots, fat shots, loss of distance, or that frustrating feeling of not compressing the ball.

What’s happening? Your weight isn’t shifting to your lead side during the downswing. Instead of moving forward and rotating through impact, your body hangs back on the trail foot.

This not only robs you of power, but also throws off your low point, making it hard to make consistent, solid contact.

The good news is that hanging back isn’t a permanent flaw — it’s usually a result of poor sequencing, fear of hitting behind the ball, or physical habits you can retrain.

In this article, we’ll walk through what hanging back looks like, why it happens, and how to fix it with feel-based drills and better movement patterns.

If you want to start hitting the ball more crisply and confidently, learning to move through the shot — rather than away from it — is the key.

Resource: Get the All Access Pass. Learn about our training programs with step by step practice drills, weekly schedules and routines to follow so you can break 90, break 80 or scratch golf. Plus access our video lesson library in addition to following the practice plans.

What Is Hanging Back in the Golf Swing?

Hanging back refers to a swing fault where the golfer fails to transfer weight onto the lead side during the downswing. Instead of shifting pressure toward the target and rotating through the ball, the weight lingers on the back foot — often through and even after impact.

This backward lean causes the low point of the swing to stay behind the ball, making clean contact much more difficult.

You might be hanging back if you:

• Frequently hit the ground behind the ball (fat shots)
• Catch the ball thin or on the upswing
• Struggle with distance, especially on irons
• Notice your trail foot is still flat or bearing weight at finish
• Finish with your spine leaning away from the target

From a visual perspective, it may look like your chest is falling away from the target through impact, or that your follow-through stalls.

Often, your arms will extend prematurely to try and “rescue” the shot since your body isn’t moving forward to support a proper strike.

It’s a silent swing killer, especially for players who are otherwise mechanically sound.

Even if your grip, alignment, and backswing look solid, failing to move forward through impact will make solid ball striking feel inconsistent and unpredictable.

Why It Happens

Understanding why golfers hang back is the first step to fixing it. Often, it’s not due to laziness or a lack of effort — it’s a protective move the body makes in response to fear, imbalance, or poor sequencing.

Fear of Hitting Behind the Ball

Many golfers who struggle with chunked shots unconsciously shift away from the ball in an attempt to avoid hitting the ground too early. Ironically, this makes fat shots even more likely. The brain tries to “lift” the ball up rather than let the club bottom out naturally in front of it.

Poor Lower Body Sequencing

If the downswing begins with the upper body instead of the lower, the hips never shift toward the target. This causes the torso to hang back and the trail foot to stay planted. Without a proper lead-side weight shift, the club path gets steep or inconsistent, and clean contact becomes guesswork.

Lack of Trust in Rotation

Some players are hesitant to rotate aggressively into their lead side because they fear pulling the ball or losing control. This leads to a swing that stops short — a decelerated move where the arms flip through impact because the body never fully clears.

Physical Limitations or Setup Issues

Restricted hip mobility, weak glutes, or incorrect ball position can also contribute. If you’re too far from the ball, too closed at setup, or not strong enough to stabilize the lead side, your body may default to a trail-side-dominant motion.

Key Concepts to Fix Hanging Back

To eliminate the habit of hanging back, you need to replace it with better movement patterns — ones that encourage forward motion, proper rotation, and solid weight transfer. These aren’t just swing thoughts; they’re physical feels and positions that retrain how your body moves through the ball.

Shift Pressure Before the Club Drops

One of the most important moves in the golf swing happens before the downswing even begins. As you complete the backswing, your weight should already be starting to shift into the lead foot — not after the club starts down.

Think of pressure building in your lead foot as your backswing finishes. This subtle move helps trigger a forward-driven downswing.

Rotate Into a Posted Lead Side

The lead leg plays a vital role in stabilizing your body through impact. Instead of hanging back, work on rotating your hips into a firm, straightened lead leg. This creates a bracing point for power and keeps your upper body from falling away from the target.

Keep Your Chest Ahead of the Ball

At impact, your sternum (center of your chest) should be slightly ahead of the ball. This promotes proper shaft lean, crisp contact, and forward momentum. Hanging back, by contrast, leaves your chest behind — which leads to scooping or flipping with the hands.

Ask yourself:

• Do you feel your chest move toward the target in transition?
• Can you hold your finish with weight mostly on your lead side?
• Do your hips clear before the arms swing through?

Feel Ground Force, Not Backward Lean

Use the ground. Push off your trail leg and into your lead side as the swing transitions. When done properly, this shift is smooth — not jumpy — and it helps you rotate through the shot rather than sway away from it.

Drills to Fix Hanging Back

To eliminate hanging back, you need drills that teach you how to shift forward, rotate through impact, and stay balanced on your lead side. These drills are simple, effective, and build the kind of muscle memory that leads to real improvement on the course.

Lead Foot Press Drill

This drill trains an early weight shift before the downswing begins.

• At address, slightly lift your lead heel off the ground.
• As you finish the backswing, press your lead heel back down to initiate the downswing.
• This pressure shift cues your body to move toward the target and gets the motion started from the ground up.

You’ll feel a smoother transition and better balance through the ball.

Head Forward Drill

Place a golf ball or object a few inches in front of the ball you’re hitting.

• During setup, align your head so it’s slightly in front of the actual ball — closer to the target.
• Focus on keeping your head in that forward position through impact.

This promotes forward shaft lean and discourages falling back. It can feel exaggerated, but it works fast.

Impact Line Drill

Draw a chalk line or place an alignment stick on the ground just forward of the golf ball.

• Your goal is to make contact with the ball and brush the ground in front of that line.
• If you hit behind the line, you’re likely hanging back.

This builds awareness of where your low point is and teaches forward ball-first contact.

Trail Heel Lift Drill

This drill trains dynamic weight transfer and body release.

• Hit short-to-mid iron shots where your goal is to finish with your trail heel off the ground.
• If your trail foot stays flat, you’re not shifting properly.
• Feel the trail heel lift naturally as the weight flows forward and around into the finish.

It helps eliminate lazy back-foot finishes and trains proper follow-through mechanics.

Conclusion

Hanging back is one of those silent swing killers — it doesn’t always look dramatic, but the effects on your contact, power, and consistency are undeniable.

When your weight stays stuck on the back foot through impact, the result is usually thin strikes, chunked shots, and a frustrating loss of distance. But the fix isn’t overly technical — it’s about learning to move your body more efficiently through the ball.

By understanding the cause of your hang-back tendencies, focusing on forward pressure, and incorporating feel-based drills, you can train your body to move toward the target with balance and authority. You’ll start hitting the ball with better compression, a cleaner strike, and more confidence in your finish.

Commit to rotating into your lead side. Trust the ground. Let your weight shift forward early and naturally — and soon, your ball flight will start telling you the work was worth it.

Golf Practice Plans to Follow

• How to Score in the 60’s Golf Training Plan
• How to Score in the 70’s Golf Training Plan
• How to Score in the 80’s Golf Training Plan
• All Access: Get Every Practice Plan (Lifetime Membership)

Thanks for reading today’s article!

Nick Foy – Golf Instructor