If you want to improve your golf swing and your overall golf game, you must practice. However, your golf practice routine is more important than the practice itself. With the right golf drills, you can make the most out of your practice time. Your game should improve quickly.
Table of Contents
7 Best Golf Drills for Your Game
Today we will cover what we consider the best practice drills from tee to green to work on while at the driving range, open field, or even at your house:
- driving range drills
- chipping drills
- putting drills
Take your time. Work through each drill. Really try to understand how each step can help you improve. Hitting longer and straighter shots is obtainable. You just have to spend the time and put in the work.
*For clarity, these golf drills are explained from the right handed golfers viewpoint*
#1 The Takeaway Drill
A good golf swing starts with a proper takeaway. The club, hands, arms, and shoulders move back together in one piece.
Start Position:
Begin with a basic setup, or address
Steps:
- Place a golf ball about a foot behind the club at address
- Brush the grass as you begin your takeaway
- Make contact and push the spare golf ball back with the backside of your club
Reps:
Perform 10 – 15 reps before hitting each practice shot
Target Outcome/Benefit:
This takeaway drill is great for developing upper body synchronicity. You should feel like everything is working together at the beginning of your golf swing.
Next we’ll talk about properly rotating your body.
#2 Hip Turn Drill
Working on hip rotation is a great drill you can do at home or the driving range. The purpose of this drill is to get a sense of how the hips turn in the golf swing, back and through. The more efficiently you can rotate your hips during the golf swing, the more consistent you’ll be with every club in the bag.
Start Position:
Start with taking a club and placing the center of the shaft against your belt buckle.
Steps:
- Take your proper golf posture.
- Feel yourself turn back onto your right side
- Then turn through into a balanced finish
Reps:
Perform this drill 10 times before you address your practice shot.
Target Outcome/Benefit:
By consistently training this drill you’ll gain a good sense of how the hips turn in the golf swing.
Moving on, now we can talk about the backswing.
#3 Backswing Drill
Often, golfers have trouble finding the top of the backswing without some swing flaw occurring. They never really feel where the club is supposed to be at the top.
Rather than always having to check your body and club positions as you practice your backswing, there is an easy drill to help you find the correct position at the top.
Start Position:
Start with addressing the ball in your basic golf stance. Now think of this drill in 3 steps as explained below.
Steps:
- Raise the club vertically onto your right shoulder
- Now, make your normal backswing hip rotation
- Then lift your arms up while maintaining your golf stance
Reps:
Instead of reps set a timer for 10 minutes. Focus on the feeling of the club head weight in your hands and wrists once at the top of each practice rep.
Target Outcome/Benefit:
This drill helps you understand how the club should feel at the top of your backswing.
Remember, feeling the weight of the club head in your hands and wrists is really important for consistent ball striking.
If you’re confused just keep it simple: lay the club on the shoulder, turn the body, lift the club up, then swing.
But what happens if you’re still firing your shoulders first?
#4 Over-the-Top Drill
The vast majority of golfers struggle with an over-the-top swing path. The problems start at the transition from the backswing to the downswing. The culprit usually is the hands and arms initiating the motion before the body has a chance to turn. The 2 most common reasons are:
- Some golfers try to control the downswing motion for better contact
- Other golfers are distance seekers and aggressively try and move the club head faster
As a result, an outside-to-in swing path happens. Slices and pulls are the results from this swing path.
Start Position:
Begin this golf drill with the takeaway and backswing you’ve perfected by this point.
Steps:
- Take the club to the top of the backswing
- Then let the club fall out of your hands and onto the ground
- Continue swinging through to the finish
Reps:
Repeat this drill 3-4 times, then hit a practice shot. Repeat this sequence at least five times.
Target Outcome/Benefit:
What this does is keep your upper body passive and avoid pulling the golf club with your hands and arms. You shouldn’t feel any tension in your right shoulder, arm, or hand. The club should lag behind and fall horizontally behind your as you complete your downswing.
Speaking of downswing, are you ready?
#5 Downswing Sequencing Drill
Creating a proper sequencing during the downswing is crucial to reaching a consistent impact position. This sequencing goes beyond the over-the-top drill and illustrates how the downswing begins with the lower body and works its way up.
Start Position:
Perform a normal takeaway and backswing with a narrow stance
Steps:
- Start with a narrow stance and swing the club up to the top and stop
- Relax both arms
- At the top of the backswing step your lead leg (left leg for right-handers) toward the target
- Your arms and club should immediately drop in the correct path
Reps:
Repeat the forward step five times before hitting practice shots, and repeat the process as needed.
Target Outcome/Benefit:
After several repetitions you should be able to feel your lower body starting the downswing. If you don’t feel your arms falling onto the desired swing path then you need to repeat the steps.
That wraps up the full swing drills. Let’s take a look at a couple short game drills.
#6 Golf Chipping Drill
I’m going to let you in on a little secret (It’s actually the biggest problem most golfers face when they are trying to hit a chip shot).
Golfers tend to try and scoop the ball with their hands because they’re trying to help get the ball in the air. The results usually end in fat shots or a bladed chip that skids past the hole.
So, if you want to end this problem read on…
Start Position:
Learn the secret in this drill by starting with a basic setup. You can put your right arm behind your back like in the picture above, but it’s not required.
Steps:
- Let go of the club with your trail hand
- Begin takeaway with the lead hand
- Let the lead hand, arm, and shoulder swing through on its own
Reps:
Practice this short game drill as much as you need to engrain the proper feel.
Target Outcome/Benefit:
Practicing this golf drill allows the effective loft of the golf club to get the ball up and onto the green without any hand manipulation.
Chipping = Check. Let’s get your putter lined up.
#7 Putting Drill
Although lag putting is a critical aspect of the game, most strokes are lost by amateur golfers with makeable putts inside of six feet, which is where this drill is going to focus. It’s the same drill Jordan Spieth uses, and one that should undoubtedly help your game.
Steps:
- Set an alignment stick parallel to the right side of the hole
- Next, set an alignment stick parallel to the left side of the hole
- Set the putter up inside the alignment sticks, which are acting as a back-and-through guides for the correct path
- Perform putting stroke with the visual guide
Reps:
This is another timed drill. Set a timer for a half hour. Once you can sink putts consistently from your spot, move your setup to a new location. Rinse/Repeat!
Target Outcome/Benefit:
The alignment sticks work as a visual aid to make sure the putter is set up square at address and impact. Due to the sticks you will also be able to see your path and arc.
Bonus: Practice With a Plan
We’ve provided you with many practice drills. Every one of them should help you become a better golfer.
However, here’s a very important tip to understand:
The last thing you want to do is try to squeeze all of them into a single practice session.
These golf drills work best when you utilize one, but no more than two drills in a given session. Do you only have an hour to work on a certain aspect of your swing, like your golf grip? Address the problem area of your game and pick a drill to improve the problem.
Remember, take your time working the steps within the drill!
Here’s an excellent way to stay focused…
Take no more than 25 balls to the practice tee for a given drill and make them last for the whole session.
The discipline you learn from taking your time on each golf drill should pay dividends for improving your golf swing. Ask yourself this, if you just get a large bucket and pound balls for an hour what exactly are you accomplishing?
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent.
That’s why it’s crucial to spend more time FOCUSING on the drills. Develop good habits. Put yourself in the right position to become a consistent ball striker. And don’t rush through your practice session!
Conclusion
Golf Drills are a great way to improve every facet of your golf swing, and we have shared the drills that are our favorites. Let us know in the comments how much they’ve helped you, and be sure to like and share the drills that have improved your golf game the most.
1 Comment
Superb lesson learnt