Golf drills can be extremely effective if kept simple. I think that many of the 'contraptions' golfers and golf instructors often use (swing jackets, hinged clubs, etc.) are often more detrimental than helpful as they restrict the golfer to a certain movement. In reality, there are many different swing types (think of the difference between Jim Furyk's swing and John Daly's) and I believe golfers should be free to use their natural form.
This is not to say that there aren't some general truths and general checkpoints to the golf swing. However, trying to teach someone 'the perfect swing' is not advised in my opinion, as the student will become too preoccupied with analyzing their swing to death and all natural instinct will be lost.
There are several drills I use that 'encourage' what I consider to be good fundamentals of the golf swing. Here are some of my favorites:
Left Hand Only Drill:
Easy. Hit balls with only your left hand on the grip. Start with chip shots and move on to pitches and full swing with more lofted clubs. This is one of the best (if not the best) drill for me because it encourages 'getting the lead arm (that's the left arm for right handers) more involved'. It's very natural for us as right handers to try and force the club down and through with the right hand. However, this is detrimental to the golf swing as it will cause an early release and 'flipping' at the ball. Left Hand Only Drill will get the lead arm more dominant as it should be and the golfer will establish much better 'lag' through the impact zone.
OK Sign Drill:
Once the golfer is comfortable with the Left Hand Only Drill, I like to have them try the 'OK Sign Drill'. Set up to the ball with your normal grip, then remove the thumb and forefinger of the right hand and mimic an 'OK Sign', touching the tips of the two fingers above the grip. Hit some balls like this, again, progressing from small chips to the full swing with lofted clubs. Removing the grip pressure from these two fingers does wonders for helping the lead arm dominate and getting good lag through the ball.
Ball Too Far Forward Drill:
This is a good one for the Driver. Tee the ball up so that it is so far forward in your stance that it is outside your left heel. Hit balls and feel the clubhead extending down the target line for a long period of time before contact is made. This helps to keep the clubhead square through the impact zone and encourages a delayed release.
Feet Together Drill:
Hit middle irons with your feet right next to each other. This helps with many things; swinging easier, discouraging the 'sway' away from the ball, keeping the head still, and preventing vertical body movement.
Balance Pod Drill:
The only 'contraption drill' I use. Buy two small, inflatable balance pods at your local yoga or exercise store. Take slow motion swings (without a ball present) while standing on the pods, occasionally pausing at the 'general swing checkpoints' (club parallel to ground, club perpendicular to ground, top of backswing) and try to keep your balance. This builds up the muscles in the lower legs that are crucial to a good golf swing and helps dramatically with balance. Pausing at the checkpoints ingrains the key positions into the muscle memory.
Brush The Wrists Drill:
For slicers. Hit balls and then make sure your wrists brush against each other as you follow through and release the club, getting your arms into an 'X' position. In order to get into this position, the right hand is forced to roll over the left hand excessively, which encourages the proper release of the club (many slicers 'hold on' to the release for too long and chicken wing their left elbow - or separate it from the body on the follow through).
Line Em' Up Drill:
This is a great one for around the green or if you're fortunate enough to be able to practice the full swing on a wide, grassy area. Line up 10 balls or so in a straight line away from you, about six inches apart, and hit each one, walking down the line and letting the club swing back and forth naturally (never letting it stop swinging), feeling it brush the grass back, and brush the grass through. This encourages a natural swing as opposed to a forced one. The grip must be kept fairly light on the club in order to achieve consistent contact.
Club On Chest Drill:
Hold the shaft of the club so that it is lying against your chest and your arms are in an 'X' position holding it in place (with the club parallel to the ground and parallel to the body line/ target line). Have a ball in the middle of your stance, and mimic a backswing with the club on your chest. Make sure that at the top of the 'backswing', the shoulders have turned enough so that the club points directly at the ball on the ground. Then, mimic the downswing and follow through, making sure that at the finish, the club is again pointing directly at the ball. This encourages a good shoulder turn and helps with keeping the eyes down.
Step Right, Step Left Drill:
Take full swings with a middle iron - when you bring the club back, move the left foot over so that it touches the right foot. At the top of the swing, move the left foot back over to it's original position then begin the downswing. As you follow through, move the right foot over so that it is touching the left and hold the finish. This encourages a good weight shift to the right on the backswing and to the left on the downswing.
Chip With Eyes Closed Drill:
Just like it sounds. Hit chip shots at the driving range with your eyes closed, making your best effort to achieve contact. This helps the golfer develop feel and awareness.
Right Heel Up Drill:
This is a good one for beginners or those who have trouble getting the ball up in the air. Take your normal stance, then bring the right heel of your foot up so that the toe is touching the ground. Hit some balls like this (starting with chip shots) and make sure the heel stays up the entire time (backswing, downswing, and follow through). This helps the golfer hit the ball on a descending blow as it puts the body in a position that makes 'hitting down on the ball' easier. It also discourages the 'scoop' at the ball and promotes good lag.
Pull Your Arms Drill:
This is one of my favorites and you don't even use a club. Take your normal stance and pretend the club is in your left hand. Grab your left elbow with your right hand and pull your arm back so that it is parallel to the ground, parallel to your body line and parallel to the target line, keeping the right elbow close to the body. Stop. This is what I consider to be the ideal position at this point of the full swing. If you remove your hand from your elbow and take your normal grip as the arm is parallel to the ground, you will be in the correct position. Make sure that the majority of your body weight is on the right side. Try the opposite for the 'release'. Grab the right elbow with the left hand, (pretending that the club is in the right hand) and pull the right arm forward. Again, when it is parallel to the ground it should also be parallel with the body line and target line and if you were to take your right hand off the left elbow and put it in the 'virtual grip', you would again be in a great position, fully released down the target line with the majority of body weight on the left side. This drill teaches the proper take-away, and the proper release of the golf club. Straight back, Straight Through.
Ball Behind Club Drill:
Take a pitching wedge, set down a ball, and put a ball a few inches behind the ball you are addressing. When you bring the club back, simply hit the back ball with the back of your clubhead and start it rolling backwards. Try with different clubs and move the back ball a bit further away from the front ball as loft decreases. This encourages a good 'straight back' take-away
Walk Through Drill:
Take a lofted club, hit the ball, and as you follow through step forward with your right foot so that you actually finish with your right foot in front of your left foot and up on your left toe. Incredibly effective to teach the proper weight transfer and keep the club square and traveling down the target line for longer. Gary Player used to hit balls like this during tournament play.
3 Ball Drill:
Another good one for slicers. Set up three balls a few inches apart in a horizontal line that points towards your front foot. Hit the middle ball. Repeat. This encourages bringing the club down on an 'inside to out' plane and releasing to the right (outside the target line), which will cause the ball to draw if the face of the club is square to closed.
Back To Target Drill:
It is literally impossible to hit a slice with this one. Hit balls with your back to the target. Set up normally, then turn your stance 45 degrees to the right (for a right-hander), but keep the clubface square to the target. Hit balls from this position. Sure feels awkward, but it definitely gives the feeling of coming at the ball from the inside. Probably not for the beginners though, because making solid contact will be difficult.
Club On Ground Drill:
The most simple drill I can think of. Just set a club down on the ground between your body line and the target line. Have the club either parallel to your target line or slightly pointing to the right. As you hit balls, focus on getting your clubhead on a plane that follows the angle of the club on the ground. This visual will help prevent an outside to inside swing path on the way down.
Lock The Wrists Drill:
This is a great one for chipping and putting, as the wrists should remain firm all the way through the stroke (no hinging or unhinging). Simply take your putter or pitching wedge and hold the grip with your left hand all the way down on the grip. Turn your right hand around so that the pinky finger is closest to the ground, and grab both your grip and left wrist with your right hand. Now, take some strokes (either with a ball or without) and feel how your wrists stay firm throughout the swing. This is how it should feel when you hit 'actual' shots.
Putt To The Fringe Drill:
The best putting drill. Putt balls towards the fringe from different areas on the green and try and get the ball to stop in the fringe. This will help the golfer develop an excellent feel for distance control (the most important aspect of putting). A great one for beginners because the target is much bigger than a 'hole' and it frees them up to swing more naturally.
Twirl The Club Drill:
Bring the club back to parallel (to the ground) and close your eyes. Twirl the club in your hands so that the clubhead rotates around several times and then stop randomly. See if you can guess what position the face of your club is in. As you develop feel for the clubhead this will become easier. The best golfers know exactly where there clubhead is throughout the swing - this is a key to allowing the clubhead to do the work and not force it.
Toe-up Toe-up Drill:
Another of my favorites. Bring the club back so that it's parallel to the ground and stop. Assure that at this point two things are evident; the toe of the club is pointing straight up and the club itself is parallel to your body line/ target line. Hit the ball and follow through but again stop when the club is parallel to the ground and assure the toe is up and the shaft is parallel to your target line. Practice will all clubs. Make sure your arms don't separate from your body excessively. This will reinforce a major checkpoint in the swing, improve your chipping and pitching, encourage a proper release, and help straighten out your shots.
Footprint In The Bunker Drill:
Make a footprint in the bunker, facing the target. Put a ball in the middle of the footprint. When you swing down, try and remove the footprint with the clubhead, paying no attention to the ball. This will help the golfer slide the club under the ball and accelerate through.
Give a few of these drills a try and let me know what you think!
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