Secrets of the Mike Austin Pivot - Forget 4 to 10! 

I was struggling to get open on transition and using too much arms too early, losing lag. I implemented this simple thought process removing worrying about what my arms were dying. The 3:30 or 4 to 8 concept has changed everything. By just concentrating on getting lead hip to 8 the swing is auto and powerful and smooth. Great video

Sir, my game has changed 180 degrees around after watching your videos. Brilliant!

Wow. Steve, I think I love you. I’ve been hitting out to in and it’s killing me. I have rebuilt my swing based on your teaching and man it’s good. Hitting further and straighter with less effort than ever before. I think you might be a God.

Wish I saw this a few years ago. Thanx Steve!

As I have tried the Mike Austin golf swing...i was able to hit consistently with effortless swing despite being just 8 months into this gentleman's game and 68 years old. My pelvic bone don't heart anymore and having no difficulty in increasing the club head speed. The Mike Austin's golf swing completed my search for an effortless golf swing utilizing the powerful centrifugal force of a pendulum. Cheers!!!

I found two valuable statements in your video: 1. use this method to make the squat occur naturally rather than trying to force it to occur while trying to figure out how much to squat. 2. letting the arms be like noodles and follow the hip action, rather than using the arms to power the swing. Too many instructors fail to emphasize the point that relaxed arms during the swing allows the arms to extend naturally and whip through the impact zone.

In any event I tried your release today and was amazed at the increase in ball speed and distance. Thank you for posting your videos.

Thank You Steve. You were describing my dilemma with my rising up and my hind in moving towards the target line perfectly. I noticed this only days ago and I thought it was me. ( I wound up topping a lot of shots as well as fat ones ). I really needed this explanation probably more than most. Thank you again. A Mike Austin fan as well as a Steve Pratt fan.

Your absolutely right again Steve I struggle with early extension. I tried the 4 to 8 it’s like a revelation.

Fantastic job @Steve Pratt Golf ... clarity is so essential and you came full force ....

That makes so much sense and should be taught to all beginners.👍

fantastic description Steve this is just what am working on and you have helped cement the images for me

Thanks for the clarification Steve. While learning the Austin swing I was early extending the club. One thing I love about the Austin swing is that the hands just seem to find the ball by themselves just by using the pivot.

This is some excellent instruction that clarifies a lot of questions about the MA pivot and, indeed, the pivot in general. Thank you!

Steve, this is EXACTLY what I needed to see! Thank you for this great clarification!!👍🏽

Steve. This hip movement is exactly what I was looking for. Explains a lot. Thanks much!

Thank you for your clarification. It makes total sense to mirror the left side to the right. So simple, it's brilliant!

Great instruction and works very well, keep up the good work.

Excellent video, Steve! I struggle so much with hip slide & early extension!

Always thought that Dunaway was advocating right hip to 4 and then right knee to 10 which opens up the left hip to 8. Works great, try it

Great instruction Steve. Thanks !

Steve! This is by far the best video you have produced! What you are explaining here is so critically important! I agree! If you don't get this! You will always struggle! And by the away! This is just too easy!! Awesome Mate!!

I had the Mike Dunaway video that you showed and the Peace River Golf video and never could get that move to work. Thanks so much for your information.

Love your teaching

Ha! Spent 2 hours this morning trying 4 to 10! Will do 4 to 8 tomorrow!

I had been working on the 4 to 10 movement last time on the range. Swinging with no club in the living room using the 4 to 8 right hip, left hip movement, feels easier and more natural. Thanks again!

If people are struggling with the 4 to 10 thought and your thought process works for them then great. What I would say is that when your left hip is at 8 your right hip is facing 10. No where that I have seen does Mike Austin suggest you should early extend by shoving your weight to 10. He talks about turning your hip from 4 to 10. His video using the wall demonstrates this perfectly as Mike Dunaway does not come away from the wall. Feel is not real and I guess what ever works but the 4 to 10 with the right hip is brilliant in my opinion and took me from 3 to scratch in a year. Hitting longer and with less effort than ever before. I think it was you who posted much of the old videos of the two Mike’s and for that I will always be grateful. They are gems to be treasured. 👌👌

Steve - I found this video to have the necessary principles that I needed for a correct set up. If I’m not set up correctly to the ball … how can I make good, consistent, repeatable contact with the ball. After this video, I found contact easier & now I’m getting that crisp crack when the club head makes contact with the ball in the sweet spot. I’ve also gained a little extra distance & my ball flight is much closer to my target. What a gift! Thanks.

Great discussion and analysis

Did this today and the range and it made a huge difference, Thank you

Steve's videos are a very well thought out and are a generous presentation of his concept of the golf swing. One of the major difficulties in all similar videos is the assumption that all golfers are capable of reprising the motions and sequences that are presented. I believe that such assumptions are incorrect and are the basis for massive frustration and a number of pulled and strained muscles....one simply cannot force every body type into the same sequence of actions....impossible. As proof simply watch the large number of variations in the swing techniques of golfers on tour...if there was only one way to arrive at the impact area correctly then all golf swings would look essentially the same. I wonder if a reasonable way to proceed is simply to think of the path that one wishes the head of the golf club to take and "allow" your body trace that path...whatever one can do to make the swing reprise that path is the correct golf swing for each golfer...swing the golf club so that the path of the club is on the intended path and don't worry about moving the hips from a certain clock area to another....swing the club so that the club is on the intended path and forget about the mechanics. There will always be wonderful teachers such as Steve who can refine the golf swing of those who are capable of exactly copying the swing of a talented teacher. However, the fact that literally hundreds of books and videos teaching golfing techniques exist is proof that there is simply no one correct way of swinging the club so that impact can be reliably achieved over and over again. Each golf swing reflects the build and physiology of the individual golfer and as such must be different for each golfer....again and again, each golfer should try to swing the club so that the head of the club will accurately trace the desired swing path...forget the "how" and simply try to swing the club to impact...however one accomplishes the goal in a reasonably repetitive way is the correct swing for that particular golfer. Swing harder to hit the ball further and swing softer to hit the ball shorter...but follow the same path. Of course some of us are better able to swing the club to the ball in a more coordinated manner than others and thus golf scores must vary...all of us have unique talents and abilities..draw the intended path of the club head on the grass using chalk, and swing the club so that the head of the club can trace that path...whatever method you use will be the correct method for you. It will be, in my opinion, impossible for most golfers to copy each of the "correct motions and sequences" that are presented by the majority of teachers. Teach the path and not the method...the two are related and of course interdependent, but the emphasis is very different...one is goal oriented, and the other is method oriented. As others have stated, show the correct position at impact, and let the student try to swing the club so that the position is attained. Simply my opinion as a very senior golfer who continues to arrive at impact using the swing dictated by my physiology and other limitations! My comments are of course NOT intended to be critical of you and other teachers who are dedicated to helping golfers achieve their potential(s). And BTW, I agree about the videos in which Mike Dunaway makes Mike Austin's golf swing almost impossible to understand. Thanks again Steve.....

Well just watched this again and realized I’ve been doing tha Austin pivot wrong for the last 2 years.

A lot of previous instruction messed my game up; especially those idiotic positions during the swing I could never hit. However, I think your instruction is very easy to understand and apply.

I was taught something similar by a wise old pro many moons ago. He used different verbiage and emphasized the importance of restricting the hip turn. Ordinarily, restricting your hip turn is not a good way to go; however, what he was advocating was the rotational aspect of the hip turn is tempered by the tilting aspect. "Overturn and under-tilt," as you put it, is the bane of golfers everywhere. Pelvis on the plane = shoulders on the plane.

Dunaway used the same image in the "Secrets" video. And this messed me up too when I got this video (which came out around the time Mike Austin passed away), until I watched the video more closely. And I believe Dunaway simply misspoke or did not describe it correctly. But basically, on the rear weight shift, his right hip points to 4 o'clock, and on the front shift, his belly points to 10 o'clock (which would point his left hip at 8 o'clock and the shoulders on the 1-7 o'clock line incidentally). I don't think he meant to say that he moved diagonally toward the ball on the down swing, though the graphics suggest that. Or maybe he "felt" that way or that was the image he used in his mind; but clearly in Dunaway's swings he didn't do it as he described. In fact in "Austinology" Austin and Dunaway demonstrate the swing against a wall, so I can assume that Dunaway did not advocate moving toward the ball as the graphics show. Rather it was maybe not the best choice of words.

thank you for your explaining hip turn less or too much , causing many problem , first time to know my problem.

Awesome video, I guess this covers my previous request. I missed this one.

Whew! I had sent a message sometime ago about Mike D. 4 to 10 and you politely mentioned it was the reason I had the problems I had given you. Thanks for this video. I had given up the Mike Austin method because of that. The biggest problem I have is that when I move to the 3:30 or 4:00 I feel my weight tipping forward at the top. Having the right leg like a post where my left hip is lower and creating the tilt with the shoulder I feel my weight go to my toes causing problems. This sag like Mr. Hogan and Mr. Austin appears to have seems natural. I still play to a 4 but at 69 my flexibility isn't the same. I keep coming back to your videos because they make a lot of sense. Please give me some guidance on this life long issue. Love your swing and video's. Thanks Steve!!

Wow, amazing clarity on the 4/10 concept being wrong. I've watched Austin's swing since this video and this is spot on. He's going from 330 to 8, not 4 to 10

Testimony: I have tested this hip action this AM. Breakthrough for in incurable spinout basket case. Immediately hit it straight and further than before by 10-15 yards off a five iron. If I can take this to the golf course and it holds up it is the answer to years of struggle. The hula hoop approach sets this up by recognizing the importance of staying on the correct arc and turning, not twisting.. Once I reversed the clock (being a leftie) and made my hips follow an 8 to 4 arc, the effortless power concept just happened. Many thanks. I will be back when I have course tested the concept long enough to go through a slump. If I can get back to these hip principles on my own, the next steps are speed training and swing evaluation.

Steve, interesting you should bring this up(and so long after the fact). After studying Steve Austin's swing, especially his skeleton swing, my first thoughts were the 4(right hip) to 8(left hip) position. Then after watching Steven Dunaway's 4-10 demo in a video after that( I think it was the "Secrets from the games longest hitter" video) where he does his 4 to 10 and also uses the rope to show it as well. The first thing I thought was that's not what Austin does, he goes 4 to 8 not 10. The odd part about it was Austin was there when Dunaway did that video and the demo, so either Austin wasn't paying attention or didn't remember at the time what the hell he used to do, ha-ha. Cheers, keep up the good work.

Yes, a much better way to think about it for me!

Thank you Steve! I did see that other video and thought the same as you said looks like early extension, and new that wasn’t quite right, your explanation was excellent and tactful! I’ve seen a lot of your videos always informative, for some reason I have to squat more than you if I don’t, I have a tendency to get on my toes and extend to that 10 o’clock ? It mite be I’m a little over weight in the belly 🤔 or something else? Anyway well said 🏌🏻‍♂️

Great Advice tips

Yesterday, played first round of spring trying to turn right foot outward and squatting into the shot, played awful, and today hit some balls using your ideas where I turned right foot inward to limit to 3:30 - 4:00 and didn't miss hit one shot....searched online after poor golf round for some answers and found this video....thanks

Great explanation, Steve! Super clear. Well done!! I incorporated this concept in my swing with great results! Also, i think in my downswing to consciously move fast my belt buckle to 8 o'clock. Is that ok?

Thanks for the clarification, i was confused about the 1 0 clock realease because it seemed to not be circular around my body and it seemed my hip would raise up too much and at times i would leave the ball out in right field. But now by going to 8 o clock, the club is more square to the target, my left hips moves around faster and the club accelerates through the hitting area. Thanks.

Excellent video. But you also can make the 4 to 10 move without early extension, if you push off the right big toe at the start of the downswing. The left hip will move to 8 o’clock by itself. And you also get the necessary secondary axis tilt of the right side.

Thank you God bless bro

Thanks Steve, This left hip not turning to 8:00 maybe the reason my shots are right of target line. I’ll give it a shot.

Thank you for your response Steve, I truly appreciate! Yes Kelvin's articles are very complex... But as Hogan, Homer Kelly... said simplicity is rarely the answer to complexity... Kelvin definitely hates "goat humping" (early extension, 4-10 shift and standing up) in his view it leads to a stall of body rotation and uses arms and hands as the only power source... I don't know whether I fully understand him but what I sense when I try to execute what I think he says, it very much feels like a figure-8 revolving-door-hips-and-chest-SHIFT and hitting the ball with a ferris wheel right elbow and right armpit sensation... Hope that still sounds like English to you!

good stuff

I was trying the 4 to 10 pivot, per Mike Dunaway with bad results. Thanks for the clarification!

well done, thank you, i am a big M Austin fan, Mikes most recent videos he seemed to disagree with himself.

Well this works brilliant absolutely brilliant

Steve; most important video you’ve done. Great job. Hips and weight away from the swinging mass of the club. Physics: equal and opposite. Best Austin tip ever: throw a football underhanded and the club will start talking and singing to you. If you throw junior footballs underhanded with tight spirals and with your eyes closed, you will feel everything you need to crush golf balls.

Lol I have watched that Dunnaway video sooo many times..😂😂

You are amazing

hi Steve the best golf video and explanation I have ever seen ever in 3 years I’ve been on RU-vid 😀so so important. Some of Mikes videos he says to raise the left shoulder and drop the right through transition, Can you demonstrate this as I’m trying to do that and I keep thinning the golf ball. When does the left shoulder raise? Thank you for your wonderful videos 😄😄😄😄🏌️🏌️🏌️🏌️🏌️🏌️

Any other correction issues we should be made aware of, regarding the Mike Austin swing? Thanks for the correction.

Well I have never worked at anything as hard at golf and been an abject failure. I've been a Hogan fan for 40 years and tried to emulate his hip move/ pivot with no success. This is my last hope: thanks for the video. Grateful Aussie.

Solid!

Steve, I tried the drills but I don't get a good feeling until I try to separate the knees from each other. It sseems that activates hip rotation and I found it's the most comfortable place that allows me to work freely on everything else. Weight shift just does not work for me...

Hi Steve. Can you please explain something to us ! ! A bit of confusion. In Mick Austin’s demos the 90 degree angle he makes between the club shaft and his right forearm, he seems to release this angle starting from the top of his backswing but I’ve seen Dan Shauger keeping this angle until he reaches parallel. What is right are wrong Steve? Hope you can clarify this. Thanks 🙏

Kick the right knee to 10... Hogan’s “running the right knee at the ball,” Mike’s “kicking a midget in the balls.” Also prevents pulling shots when using the compound pivot hip action. Initially it caused “humping the goat” action (coming up out of the shot) but moving the shoulders (the door) under the 7th vertebrae solved my dilemma. After 2 years of applying the MA method, I’m finally comfortable on the course. I was a 7 hc and for about a year and a half, I rarely broke 90. I’m 5 now and can sense some hope of making it to scratch...well at least a 3. Thanks Steve.

Converting the numbers to left handed is harder than I thought lol...2, 3,4,7,8 is what I got

I noticed taking a club out of hand and putting your arms out like an airplane will force your body to do the same rotation. Good warm up.

Steve, I watched all videos of Mike Austin with Mike Dunaway. To me it was very clear that Mr. Austin agrees with 10-4. He even corrected Dunaway and insisted on that point. I think early extensión means early extension. To me, they mean move right hip "out" but without loosing the angle. I think 4 to 10 is the best description.

Hi Steve, just curious if you have done a video on which pros use this pivot past and present?

Tried it and when I stayed out of my own way I had shots perfectly down the middle Thank you something new to practice and ingrain

Steve can you show the 4 to 8 front on so I can check the spine tilt both back and forth cheers

Mike Dunaway might of been saying 4 - 10, but was as seen in the video actually moving his shift from 4 - 8 that is very plain to see , thanks Steve really enjoying these vid new to the channel, subscribed

Do you start pushing the left hip to 8:00 before the club gets to the top?

nice thanks

Reading my mind, Steve can you explain his initial take away off the ball , he seems to allow those hands/ forearms rotate quickly w that pivot w out being handsy, then comes on in fast

Steve, I followed Leadbetter years ago and had this feel. The harder I swung the straighter the ball flew. I lost that feel. I think I can get it back with your explanation. Thanks!

Hi great explanation. But can you explain the weight shift motion with the hip rotation please. So important topic. 👏

Steve I hit the ball long and straight with the 4 to 10. I don't raise up and my butt stays on the chair as I drop down and then up. I don't kick my trail knee towards the ball but towards my lead knee and my club face goes toward the target. Then my shoulder go's around to the finish about eye level. Thanks for the videos.

Steve. When you turn the right hip back to 3.30 or 4 it looks from down the line like you might be reverse pivoting. Is this correct? This is the first time I have heard of the Mike Austin method but will certainly be delving into it more deeply. Many thanks

Thanks Steve, great idea!

It makes sense! Can’t wait to try after work today. But could you possibly use a ball tracker after you hit. On cellphone it’s hard to see and kinda have to take your word... !🙂

The squat is awesome when you have a flatter rotary action, but it's hell to try and retrain yourself to do it. One of those things I can do in practice, but never consistently hitting the ball. If you early extend like I did, just staying level is a huge accomplishment. Do you feel like you counter-fall to the left? Or is it more of a push off the right?

Holy Cow, felt better the first time I did that movement in the living room, can’t wait to see a ball fly with that motion ! I do like Shaugers explanation of swinging a bag of cement with out midsection, do you think that will work with the 4 to 8 0’clock ? I also like like Shaugers explanation of bottom of spine pointing to back of right heel. Why do you think both Dunaway & Shauger look like they are almost promoting a flip type of release at impact. I think the visual of the flip & 10 o’clock has messed me up a bit

One more modification - I am going to add tilt. So it is backswing: tilt and right hip shift to 3 then turn to 4, downswing: tilt and left hip shift to 9 then turn to 8. Off to the course to see if it works.

Boy do I need this. The older I have gotten, the worse my early extension gets. I don't know if it's the arthritic right hip, the degenerating lower back, or the tightness of my hip flexors and lack of strength in quads... I'm a mess. This concept of keeping the butt back is not new for me, but I just wonder if I am physically able to even do it anymore....

Hi Steve, where are you located? I’d love to schedule a lesson

Steve That short Mike Dunaway video is not the way Mike Austin and M. Dunaway taught the pivot. In Dunaway's video he says to "MOVE THE SPINE TO TEN" NOT MOVE THE HIP TO TEN! If you look at the video he clearly is Not moving his left hip to ten. He's moving his right hip to ten and the left to 8 which is spot on, but I agree maybe a little confusing if your haven't seen the original Mike & Mike Go to the video - "How To Shift Then Turn Like a Saloon Door - Mike Austin with Dunaway & Teaching Pro" and you will clearly see this. I loved everything about Mike Dunaway. Although I never met the guy he seem like someone you would have as a friend. Austin was often short tempered and Mike D would just let it roll off his big shoulders. Let's not kick sand on Mike Dunaway.

Enjoying your stuff Steve, although have just strained my hip flexors doing fitness work so need to hold off the golf practice for a while. A lot of your elements remind me of Paul Wilson. The emphasis on lower body movement and soft arms. I know you are wanting to avoid 10 0clock like the plague, but do you think that the initial weight shift onto the left foot is in this direction before the hip turn moves the weight back and around to the 8?....

I haven't tried the 4 and 8 however I think I might have had an "ah ha" moment watching this video I was getting mess up with the swing thoughts to get to 4 and 10 like others. Here is what I understand and let me know if I got this right. So the hips thought is using a pendulum motion shift laterally to 3:30 or 4, the lead knee will automatically without thinking, flex toward the ball causing a slight turn of the hips making it a compound pivot. On the downswing, I plant the lead foot and laterally shift like a pendulum to 8 o clock (i just worry about snapping the right leg and then eventually have knee problems). The back leg and knee will then do what is supposed to without having another swing thought because planting the lead foot and the shift movement is already done on the downswing. All of this with a tilt of the spine at address to allow the shoulders and arms to swing under. instead of flat shoulders.

I never heard him saying hip to 10. I was always under impression it was him saying take the right knee to 10 o clock

Hi Steve. Total respect to you, to have worked with Mike Austin must have been very special. I too am a Mike Austin mental case, could I make an observation if you dont mind. if you check out Austinology chapter3 -secret of the compound pivot, from 21mins in to about 27mins, Mike Austin goes through the compound pivot with Mike Dunnaway ,and if you analyse it, the hip movement is not from 4 to 10. As you stated , Mike Dunnaway goes 4 with the hip, to 10 with the KNEE, as they also state, you never get the left hip out of the way, It clears itself. So Mike Dunnaway was following the advice in his instruction, He was just not putting it over clearly , Do you agree ? . Kind Regards

There are many traits that remind me of Kelvin Miyahira. Are you on the same boat? Is the Kelvin Miyahira Mike Austin association correct? Thank you

Great explanation, I have been fighting early extension and over the top forever. Yes I have been swinging out to 10 because of what Dunaway taught, not much success. Thanks Steve!

On the money big money 💰

The late Dan Shauger another Austin disciple also advocated the 4 to 10 weight shift🤔

Weight goes on left foot toe in back swing which opens hips then on down swing weight starts to go to right foot toes which starts to open hips with right shoulder getting closer to right foot which keeps bum out staying in the shot in fluid motion, that's my observation,

The hip action you describe is very similar to the stack and tilt.

4 to 10 is correct he is talking about the right hip in both directions right hip to 10 will make left hip go to 8 It will keep you inside the target line and not coming over that line and hitting pulls to the left

That is pretty complex. Here is how I taught myself the baseball, table tennis, golf and tennis. First forget 4, tell them to go from 6 to 12. And start them out with a narrow stance so they push the lead leg out of the way with the back leg. Have you ever noticed what a difficult time MA has getting players to do this. And guess where that leg gets pushed, exactly where you want it to go. But here is the real secret. I copied I think Mickey Mantle’s practice swing. And what he did was swing the elbow forward until it stops by itself. Then swing the forearm forward until it stops by itself, then swing the bat, paddle, etc. forward until it stops. In each sport, this requires that they swing out ward but at a different angle. The idea is that the bones stop the arm segment, not the muscles. In golf, you get the MA swing path. But it will be a herky-jerky swing. So you suggest they smooth it out with a strong palmar flexion that takes it even wider. Insist they do nothing to bring that club head around, the hips will do so effortlessly. The more you swing that wrist, the bigger the backswing and the quicker your hip turn gets. I never figured any of that out until recently, but I did it naturally until I read my first golf book.

hi Steve - i think the 4->10 is a misinterpretation of how to direct the pressure rather than the hip movement - Chuck Cook describes the "10 oclock" as 45deg pressure shift to clear the left hip