Looking for the best golf drills to integrate into your practice routine? Start with these.
The 9-Shot Drill
The 9-shot drill is a favorite of Tiger Woods, so you know it’s valuable! This drill is great for helping you identify the areas where you need to work on your game. Next time you’re at the range, after you do your warm-up, grab a six or seven iron and try playing the following nine shots in a row:
- High-flight straight shot
- Medium-flight straight shot
- Low-flight straight shot
- High-flight fade shot
- Medium-flight fade shot
- Low-flight fade shot
- High-flight draw shot
- Medium-flight draw shot
- Low-flight draw shot
Systematically drilling these nine types of shots when you practice will help you notice the patterns in which types of shots are harder for you, and which ones you have down. With these insights, you can then make a plan to focus on the weaker parts of your golf game.
Clock Drill
The clock drill is a trusted practice drill that many pros and amateurs alike swear by. This drill will help you work on your putting and learn how the ball behaves on different slopes. To do it, set up 12 balls or markers three feet away from a hole in a circle around it, as if the hole is at the center of a clock face. Then putt a ball from each of the 12 spots and see how the balls act differently from different sides of the hole. Observe the different slopes and learn from them.
Worst Ball Drill
Yup, the worst ball drill is one of the best drills! This is a great drill to do when you’re at a golf course that isn’t busy—it will take a little extra time at each hole, so you don’t want to do it when you’ve got a group of golfers right behind you waiting for their turn. For the worst ball drill, hit two balls off the same tee with the same club. Find whichever is the worst of the two balls, pick up your other ball, and drop it where your worst ball is. Hit both balls from this spot, identify the worst ball again, and repeat this process until you complete the hole.
Towel Target Drill
This is a super simple but super effective drill for improving your accuracy. Simply take a towel and lay it on the green in the area where you would like your ball to land. Use the towel as your target and try to land as many balls on it as you can. As this gets easier, switch to a smaller towel to make your target more challenging to hit.
Glove Drill
This drill keeps your arm close to your body, which helps stop slicing. If you struggle with slicing, try this: take an extra glove and tuck it under the armpit of your dominant arm. Hit your golf ball while trying to keep the glove from falling. If you drop the glove, that means you are lifting your arm too far out and away from your body.
Water Bottle Drill
This drill helps you stop slicing the ball, which is a common issue for beginner golfers. It’s simple, just grab a water bottle and place it a little in front of your front foot when you are in position to swing. Swing your club as you normally would, but at about ¾ speed, and see if you make contact with the water bottle. If you do, you’re slicing. To correct the slice, keep practicing your swing with the water bottle in place until you can consistently do it without hitting the water bottle.
Drive From Your Knees Drill
You might feel a little silly doing this one, but we promise it’ll pay off in the long run. This drill is exactly what it sounds like: simply get down on your knees and practice your swing from that position. This forces your body to maintain its position from the address and ensures that the power for your swing is coming from your upper body, not your legs. It will help increase stability and consistency, as well as improve arm speed.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2022 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
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