Proven Golf Drills to Improve Your Swing and Contact
You do not need fancy equipment to fix your swing. Here are the specific, repeatable drills I use to help students stop slicing, thinning, and losing their posture.
If your contact is poor, it could be because you are losing your posture during the swing. This video explains how an up-and-down movement of the body, or a loss of spine angle, makes it nearly impossible to return the club to the ball consistently.
Hitting the center of the putter face is the most important fundamental of putting. Using a simple training aid like this barrel-shaped ball gives you instant feedback on your strike, helping you find the sweet spot every time.
A closed club face on the takeaway can lead to a series of compensations. This drill, using a club face reference aid in a simulator, helps you feel the correct wrist and arm rotation to keep the face square.
This alignment stick drill is excellent for working on your swing sequence. If you spin your hips too fast and get your hands stuck behind you, this drill gives you the feeling of the hands and club outracing the body's rotation.
Topping your irons? The 'finish line' drill can help. It gives you the feeling of your hands winning the race to the ball, preventing an early release of the wrists and ensuring you compress the ball for a flush strike.
The takeaway is one of the most important parts of the swing. This video breaks down the three key things to look for: the position of the hands, the position of the clubhead, and the angle of the clubface.
An alignment stick under the armpit can fix two common issues. It can prevent your lead arm from getting too high and disconnected, and it can help you keep your hand path in front of your body on the downswing.
This is part two of my simple putting drills. The 'railway tracks' drill helps you monitor your putter path, while the 'circle' drill builds confidence and gets you used to the feeling of sinking putts under pressure.
The 'gate drill' is one of the best and simplest ways to improve your putting. It forces you to start the ball on your intended line, which is the first step to making more putts and lowering your scores.
If you lack arm depth and your arms get disconnected at the top, this drill can help. Using an alignment stick under your trail arm gives you a physical cue to keep your arm structure organized and on plane.
About Drills for Your Game
Most golfers try to fix their swing by simply hitting more balls, which usually just reinforces bad habits. Instead, try the alignment stick under the armpit method. This simple aid gives you immediate physical feedback if your lead arm gets disconnected or moves too high, which is often the silent killer behind a push-slice. It is about feeling the correct position, not guessing.
My coaching philosophy is simple: you cannot fix a swing by thinking about it; you have to feel it. That is why I rely on drills that force your body into the correct sequence.
Fixing Your Takeaway
The takeaway is the foundation of your swing. If you start far off from neutral, your brain has to conjure up a series of compensations to get the club back on plane. I recommend focusing on hand position, clubhead depth, and clubface angle early in your backswing. Using an alignment stick to guide the path is often the most effective way to stop yourself from dragging the hands too far inside.
Finding the 'Flush' Contact
Why does your ball go sideways? Usually, it is because the body is moving up and down instead of staying centered, causing you to lose your spine angle. When the trail shoulder rises too early, your contact suffers. I use belt-loop alignment stick drills to teach your body that the hands and club must win the race to the ball. If you are flipping or scooping, it is almost always a body movement issue, not a hand issue.
Mastering Inside 30 Yards
Putting and chipping are where you drop scores, yet they are the most neglected. The 'Gate Drill'—placing two tees just wide enough for your putter—is non-negotiable for anyone serious about accuracy. It forces you to hit the center of the face and start the ball on your intended line.
Whether you are a junior finding your grit or an adult player stuck with a chronic hook, we work backwards from the ball flight. We look at the video, identify the root cause, and prescribe the drill to fix it.
Arjun Malik
Hi, I am Arjun. I have spent years breaking down the swing into movements that actually make sense, rather than just reciting textbook theory. My goal is to get you to that 'flush' feeling—where the club and ball finally click.
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