When golfers push or block shots to the right, the instinct is to fix the hands — rotate them more aggressively through impact, feel the release, force the face closed. That rarely works, because the hands aren't the problem. The problem is what the body is doing before the hands ever get to the ball.
Janean Murphy found the real fault in her student's data. And fixed it with a training aid and a brick wall analogy.
The drill
Janean Murphy — 2024 LPGA Global Teacher of the Year, LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher (2022–2027), LPGA Midwest Section Teacher of the Year (2022, 2024), Golf Digest Best in State (Missouri, 2026–2027), OP36 Master Top 50 Coach, and Director of Instruction at Meadowbrook Country Club — places the pathpal on the lead side of a right-handed golfer as a visual boundary for upper body position at impact.
The two rods define what Janean calls the "brick wall" — a real, physical reference the body either respects or doesn't, with no ambiguity about which.
Setup
- Place the pathpal on your lead side at approximately hip height — creating an imaginary vertical line
- This line is the "brick wall"
- Hips are allowed to move past the wall — that's the weight shift
- Upper body and head must stay at or behind the wall at impact
That separation between pelvis and sternum is the sway gap — and it's what allows the face to square.
Janean identified the fault from launch monitor data: her student's sway gap showed the upper body was too far in front at impact. The pathpal translated that number into a physical reference the player could see and react to in real time.
Watch the drill
View the full guided drill on pathpal →
Why it works
The sway gap concept is one of the more nuanced impact position metrics in modern instruction — it requires separating hip movement from upper body movement and understanding their correct relationship at the moment of truth. Most golfers can't feel that relationship from the inside. But they can see a physical line and understand "hips past it, upper body behind it."
The face squares naturally as a downstream consequence of staying behind the wall — the golfer doesn't have to manufacture the release because the body position makes it possible.
The brick wall metaphor is what makes this drill stick. It's not asking the golfer to think about pelvis-sternum separation — it's asking them to visualize a wall their upper body cannot cross. That visual cue bypasses the analytical mind and gives the motor system a concrete spatial target to work with.
A push or block is almost never a hand problem. It's a body position problem. The hands can only square the face if the body position allows the release to happen — and staying behind the wall is what creates that window.
What is the sway gap?
Sway gap is a launch monitor metric that measures the horizontal distance between the center of the pelvis and the center of the sternum at impact. When the upper body gets too far in front of the ball — stacked over or past the lead foot — the sway gap closes or inverts, meaning the sternum has chased the hips rather than staying behind them.
From that position, the hands and club arrive at impact before they've had the chance to square the face, leaving it open and producing pushes, blocks, and weak shots to the right. Staying behind the ball keeps the sway gap in the correct range and allows a natural face release.
Launch monitors like TrackMan and Foresight measure sway gap as part of their body position data. The pathpal translates that data measurement into a physical reference the golfer can see and respond to in real time — without needing to read numbers between every swing.
Who this is for
- ✓Golfers who consistently push or block shots to the right without knowing why
- ✓Players whose launch monitor data shows a neutral or negative sway gap
- ✓Anyone who's been told they're "getting in front of the ball" at impact
- ✓Golfers who've tried to fix a push by manipulating the hands without lasting success
Try it
Place the pathpal on your lead side at hip height and hit 15 shots at 75% effort, focusing entirely on keeping your upper body and head behind the wall while your hips clear through. Track whether the push shape decreases as your body position stays behind the reference.
Once the separation feels natural, remove the pathpal and hit five shots — the straighter ball flight will follow.
Janean's prescription is to stay "at or behind" impact — not dramatically behind it. The goal is restoring the correct hip-torso separation, not manufacturing an exaggerated reverse pivot. The pathpal reference prevents overdoing it by giving a fixed visual line that defines exactly where "behind" is. Used by Janean Murphy at Meadowbrook Country Club.
Related drills
Body position at impact sits in the middle of a chain — lower body movement creates it, and face angle reflects it. These drills address what's upstream and downstream of the brick wall.
The Hip Slide Stopper Drill
Taught by David Potts (Golf Digest Best Teacher). The direct lower-body upstream cause: when the hips slide rather than rotate and brake, the upper body is pulled in front of the ball — creating the exact stacked position this drill fixes. Address the slide and the sway gap corrects naturally. View drill →
The Vertical Face Squareness Drill
Taught by Brad Pluth (PGA Master Professional). Once body position is corrected and the release window opens, this 90-degree rod drill verifies whether the face is actually squaring at impact. The natural downstream diagnostic after the brick wall body position is built. View drill →
The Setup Consistency Drill
Also taught by Janean Murphy. Impact position quality starts before the swing — a consistent, repeatable setup is what gives the body a stable platform to work from. Pair the setup template with the brick wall drill for a complete session that addresses both the foundation and the delivery. View drill →
About the instructor
Janean Murphy is the 2024 LPGA Global Teacher of the Year — the first St. Louis-area instructor to win this national honor. She is an LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher (2022–2027), Golf Digest Best in State (Missouri, 2026–2027), Golf Magazine Teachers to Watch (2026), and Director of Instruction at Meadowbrook Country Club.
janeanmurphy.com · @janeanmurphy · Follow pathpal on Instagram
Frequently asked questions
What is the sway gap and why does it cause pushes?
Sway gap is a launch monitor metric measuring the horizontal distance between the center of the pelvis and center of the sternum at impact. When the upper body chases the hips toward the target — closing or inverting the gap — the club arrives at the ball before the hands have had a chance to square the face, leaving it open and producing a push or block. A positive sway gap, where the pelvis is ahead and the upper body stays back, allows the natural release that squares the face.
How do I set up the pathpal for the Brick Wall Impact Drill?
Place the pathpal on your lead side — to the left of a right-handed golfer — at approximately hip height, creating a vertical visual line. That line is the brick wall: hips are allowed to move past it (that's the correct weight shift), but the upper body and head must stay at or behind it at impact. The pathpal serves as the physical reference for where the sternum should be when the club meets the ball.
What's the difference between a correct weight shift and getting too far in front?
A correct weight shift moves the pelvis laterally and then rotationally toward the target while the upper body stays tilted away — maintaining the separation established at address. Getting too far in front happens when the entire body lunges together toward the target, eliminating that separation. The result looks like a weight shift from the outside but produces none of the positional advantages of one, because the face can't square from that stacked position.
Can staying behind the ball cause a hook?
A controlled stay-behind position produces a square-to-slightly-closed face at impact — which can produce a draw or, if overdone, a hook. Janean's prescription is to stay "at or behind" impact, not dramatically behind it. The goal is restoring the correct pelvis-sternum separation, not creating a reverse pivot. For a player who has been getting too far in front and blocking shots right, even a small increase in upper body tilt away from the target will feel dramatic — but is actually closer to neutral.
Do I need a launch monitor to use this drill?
No. Janean used launch monitor data to identify her student's fault — but the drill itself requires only the pathpal and your own ball flight as feedback. If you're consistently pushing or blocking right, the body-position fault is likely present regardless of what the data shows. The pathpal provides the physical reference directly, so the improvement shows up in the shot shape without needing numbers to confirm it.
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