Golf Swing Drills To Help Improve Your Game

Looking to improve your swing? These golf swing drills are all designed to help various aspects of the golf swing. The proper golf swing is a very complex motion where many things can go wrong, leading to a bad shot Sometimes going out and playing 9 or 18 holes isn't enough to significantly lower your scores.

Every golfer has some sort of flaw in their swing, or at least an area in which they can improve upon. Whether you are at the range or at home, your practice session needs to be focused specifically on these areas if you are looking to see improvement. You can hit 100 balls at the range, but if you keep making the same mistake over and over again, then what is the point?

This is where these specific golf swing drills come in. Each one is specific to a certain movement or area, whether its weight shifting, wrist position, the back swing, or posture just to name a few.

Clap Drill

This golf swing drill will help you find the correct impact position with your hands. Assume you normal address position, but do not hold a club, simply have both of your hands placed together. For right handed golfers, keep your left hand still in the same position, while you take your right hand back like you are performing the back swing.

Once you reach the top of the back swing, quickly bring your right down and clap your hands together. This will train your body to assume the proper impact position and will also help you work on trunk rotation during the back swing.

Back Against The Wall

This is a very simple drill to see if the first part of our back swing is on the correct swing plane. Find a wall, and assume your golf stance with your rear end just barely touching the wall. Take a slow back swing, roughly until your club is parallel with the ground, and see whether or not the club head comes in contact with the wall or not. If it does, you are swinging too far to the inside of the target plane. Keep working on your swing until the club no longer touches the wall and you will have a great first 1/2 of the back swing!

Ball Between The Knees

This drill is for those who are having trouble maintaining their balance throughout the swing, but particularly during the follow through. Simply grab a small ball, like a soccer or basketball, and hold it between your knees. Squeeze it, as this will help you maintain a solid base in addition to keeping your knees apart. Perform the entire swing, and if done correctly, the ball will still be in between your knees and your follow through will be perfectly balanced!

Toothpaste Grip

One important aspect of a proper golf swing is the grip. Ideally, you want to grip the club with just enough force so that the club does not fly out of your hands. Gripping too hard is a very common mistake that amateur golfers make. This technique will help you find exactly how much, or how little, you want to grip the club.

For this drill, take a full tube of toothpaste (with the cap off) and hold it like you would a golf club. The intention is for you to perform a swing, and hopefully, not squeeze the paste out of the tube. This is especially crucial during the back swing. There will likely be a point in your follow through where your grip becomes stronger and past comes out, but the back swing is really the important phase.

Also, this drill may be more effective if you have some one else with you to watch your swing from a distance.

Feet Together Drill

Looking for help with your shoulder turn? This drill is for you. Address the ball like your normally would, but before you swing, move your feet close together so that they are about 6 inches apart. Now, with arms relaxed, begin an easy swing focusing on twisting and rotation. Also, focus on the weight shift from your right foot to the left. With your feet close and arms relaxed, making a full shoulder turn should be much easier. This is a great drill to warm up with prior to hitting the course.

Golf Alignment Drill

This is a very simple piece of golf swing advice. When you are practicing at the range, grab an extra club and place it on the ground so that it touches the front of each of your shoes. This is a simple way to check your alignment. Stand back and then assess exactly where you were aiming at address. You might be amazed by where your target line is pointing.

By continuing to practice this, your alignment skills will become much more proficient, and you will be aiming perfectly every time!

One Handed Swing

This is one of the first golf swing drills that I ever attempted when I was just learning how to play. One component of a proper golf swing is a straight left elbow throughout the back swing. To work on this, plus help develop some power, practice swinging only with your left arm (for right handers). Initiate the takeaway and focus on shoulder turn. If you do not turn far enough, your elbow will likely bend.

Once your have it mastered, you can even actually try hitting a ball one handed.

Rake Drill

If you are having some trouble hitting clean shots around the green, consider trying this drill from Wally Armstrong at Golf Tips Mag to improve your ball striking. Take a standard sand trap rake, and place it on the ground along your target line. Next, place your ball about halfway up the shaft of the rake, but approximately a centimeter away from the rake however. Now, practice taking some shots from this position, focusing on only hitting the ball and not the rake!

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