Adjust Your Swing Path with the Reverse Gate Drill

The reverse gate drill gives you immediate feedback on your swing path when the club is approaching the ball too much from the inside. That pattern often shows up with players who early extend, add too much side bend, and send the club excessively outward through impact. If that is your tendency, this drill helps you train a path that works more left through the strike, which can improve contact, start line, and shot shape control. It is a simple station, but it can quickly clean up an overly in-to-out move.

How the Drill Works

A standard gate drill is usually built to help golfers who swing too far over the top. The reverse gate does the opposite. Instead of encouraging the club to approach more from the inside, it teaches you to avoid getting trapped too far under the plane.

You create the drill by placing two objects—usually headcovers—around the ball so the club has to travel through a specific window. In this version:

Place one object just inside the target line behind the ball.
Place the other object just outside the target line in front of the ball.

This arrangement blocks the exaggerated in-to-out path. If you shove the club too far from the inside, you will strike the rear object. If you swing too far outward through impact, the station will expose it immediately.

The drill is especially useful if your body tends to stand up through impact. When you early extend, your pelvis moves toward the ball, your chest raises, and the club often gets delivered too much from the inside. The reverse gate encourages you to stay more in posture, keep the space you created at address, and let the club exit more left after impact.

Like any good station drill, the real value is the feedback. You do not have to guess what your path is doing. The headcovers tell you.

Step-by-Step

Set up your ball normally. Use a short iron at first so the motion is easier to control and the feedback is clear.
Place the back object inside the target line. Put a headcover a few inches behind the ball and slightly closer to you than the target line.
Place the front object outside the target line. Position the second headcover a few inches ahead of the ball and slightly farther from you than the target line.
Start with generous spacing. Give yourself enough room to make normal swings. As you improve, narrow the gate to demand more precision.
Make slow rehearsal swings. Feel the club approaching the ball without crashing into the rear object, then exiting without getting stuck too far to the right.
Hit soft shots first. Start at partial speed. Your goal is not power at first—it is learning the path that moves cleanly through the gate.
Maintain your posture through impact. Focus on keeping your hips from jumping toward the ball and your chest from standing up early.
Gradually build speed. Once you can move through the gate consistently, increase speed while keeping the same motion pattern.

What You Should Feel

If this drill is working, the biggest change is usually in your body motion, not just the clubhead. You should feel as though you are staying more organized through impact instead of throwing the club out from under you.

Less early extension: Your pelvis stays back better instead of moving toward the ball.
More down through the strike: You feel as if you stay in your posture longer rather than standing up.
A path that exits more left: The club does not keep racing out to the right after impact.
Centered contact: As the path improves, solid contact usually becomes easier.
Better control of your stock shape: You are no longer forced into an exaggerated push-draw or hook pattern.

A useful checkpoint is whether you can swing through either type of gate. A fundamentally sound motion should not be trapped at one extreme. If you can only survive a drill that promotes an in-to-out path, that is a sign your pattern may be too one-sided. The reverse gate helps restore balance.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Setting the objects too tight too soon: If the gate is overly narrow, you may make compensations instead of a natural swing change.
Trying to cut across the ball: The goal is not a steep wipe across it. You are simply reducing an excessive inside-out path.
Ignoring body motion: If you only manipulate the clubhead but keep early extending, the pattern usually returns.
Using too much speed at the start: Begin with rehearsals and small swings so you can actually learn the movement.
Assuming every golfer needs this drill: Most players fight a leftward path, not an overly rightward one. Use this drill only if your pattern fits it.
Forgetting the clubface: Path matters, but you still have to control the face. A better path alone will not fix every ball flight.

How This Fits Your Swing

The reverse gate is a pattern-specific drill. It is not for every golfer, but it is extremely useful if your stock motion gets too far under plane and too far from the inside. That kind of path often leads to blocks, hooks, and inconsistent low-point control. By changing the delivery window, you give yourself a better chance to strike the ball solidly and start it on line.

This drill also connects directly to impact conditions. A player who early extends and delivers the club too much from the inside often struggles to keep the body and club synchronized through the strike. The reverse gate helps you organize both: your body stays more stable, and the club moves through impact on a more functional path.

In the bigger picture, this is a reminder that training aids do not have to be complicated. Two headcovers can teach you a lot about what your club is doing. If your normal tendency is too far from the inside, the reverse gate gives you a simple way to train the opposite pattern and build a more neutral, reliable stock swing.