Are you struggling with hitting the golf ball solid? Here are 5 golf drills to help you improve your game. These drills cover every club in your bag and are all drills that I have been using to improve my game.
One of the biggest benefits I’ve found with these is – They put your body in good positions so you can really understand what “good feels like” at a particular moment in the swing. Getting to know that feeling makes it much easier to replicate during a full golf swing.
Here are five great drills to help you start hitting the golf ball solid!
1. Box Drill – Hit the Golf Ball Solid With Your Driver
This drill makes the top of my list because it has absolutely transformed my driver game! Danny Maude walks you through a few steps on wrist motion that are incredibly insightful, leading up to the drill. Essentially, you place a box in between you and the golf ball. The golf ball and the back edge of the box align with your front heel.
The objective of the drill is to return your club face to the box, and at the impact point, make a straight line up from the ball, club shaft, front leg, and lead arm. If you are unable to bring the club square to the box, you are missing something.
I spent some time following Danny’s instructions from this golf drill, and followed them completely. It didn’t take long to realize some things I was doing wrong. Mainly, I had my hands out in front, leading with them instead of allowing the club head to come through. Anyway, It took a few sessions to get the hang of things, but working with the box helped for sure.
The result – My accuracy with my driver has significantly increased! My “bad shots” are also nowhere near as bad as they were before. If you want to hit the golf ball solid with your driver, this is a great drill that I highly recommend!
Are you looking to get more distance from your drives? Your swing isn’t the only thing that matters – golf balls can make a huge difference! Check out my post on the best golf balls for distance. You can also check out my post on how to drive the golf ball 300 yards.
You can check out more from Danny at his website, I think he does a great job of explaining concepts and he has helped my game a ton!
2. Gateway Drill – Solid Ball Striking With Your Long Irons
This is another drill that has helped me to drastically improve my game. Namely, accuracy with my long irons. The alignment tips alone, before he even gets into the drill, resonated with me and helped me fix a long-standing problem I’ve had.
The objective of this drill is to get your irons to pass through two tees, striking the ball dead center. Address the ball with your club, then place a tee at the heel and another at the toe, leaving yourself just enough room to fit your iron.
This drill allows you to gain immediate feedback on whether you’re hitting on the toe or heel. It also helps to identify if you are swinging too far from the inside. Lastly, you can monitor your divot location to see if you are starting your divot after the ball. The tees give you a good point of reference.
This drill has helped me improve my ball striking location, I had a tendency to hit off the heel of the club. Having that tee in front of the ball forces you back online.
I have also found swing tempo music to be incredibly helpful while practicing with my irons. You can learn more about how to create a perfect golf swing tempo.
3. Matchup Drill – Posture and Rotation Alignment for Ball Striking
Have you ever struggled with rotation when you swing? I certainly do from time-to-time! I think it is partially due to getting fatigued, but my ball striking suffers significantly when I fail to rotate.
This drill is great to remind you to rotate, it can be done in between shots on the course if needed. It’s also great to teach your brain what your body should be feeling at certain points in the swing.
The objective of the drill is to get your upper body positioned correctly during the swing. Your shoulders correctly aligned through the swing. The drill is done by placing a golf club across the front of your shoulders, and another in alignment with your front foot on the ground. You rotate as if you are taking a swing and get the front of the club on your shoulders to be pointed directly at the end of the club on the ground.
This drill has helped me to start hitting the golf ball solid with all of my irons, especially my longer irons. Similar to the drills for your driver, this drill helps your body feel what it should be experiencing at specific points during the swing. For me, these have helped significantly! It is much easier to replicate during a swing after you’ve slowed it down and felt it outside of the context of a full swing.
4. Striking Drill – Hitting the Golf Ball Solid With Your Short Irons
This drill is another that does a great job of getting you feeling certain things in your golf swing. Specifically the proper bounce of your wedge for pitch shots. This drill comes from Pete Cowen, one of the best golf coaches in the world.
This one has helped me to hit 10 – 20 yard shots around the green with much more consistency and better distance control. Speaking of distance control, here is a great resource to help you with your wedge distance control and how you can create a distance matrix.
The objective of the drill is to feel your wedge bottoming out and creating the bounce into the ball. Done properly, it creates more spin on the golf ball, getting you that nice check-and-release once it hits the green. To execute the swing, its necessary to keep the club on closer to your body, and really hit the ball with your rotation as opposed to moving the club back and forth. If after you take the shot and you can naturally start walking toward your shot with the follow-through, you rotating correctly.
This one took some time for me to get used to, as with any of them, it takes practice. Once you feel the bounce in the club, and see yourself doing it in a video (highly recommend this by the way), you’ll definitely be able to strike your short irons more consistently.
5. Tee Drill – Hitting Your Putter Solid
Putting is something that we often times overlook when it comes to the need for consistent ball striking. I think this is partially due to the fact that an off-center putt typically does not “punish you” on the course nearly as much as an iron or a driver. An off center putt may make you think “oh I pushed that”, or “I pulled it”, but that could have been due to the strike location.
When I do this drill, it definitely has an immediate positive impact on my putting. It’s no wonder Tiger Woods does it as part of his warmup routine!
You start by setting up just a few feet away from the hole. Address the ball with your putter and place a tee at the heel and another at the toe. Similar to the irons gate drill, its basically the same principle. The objective is to get the putter through without hitting the tees. You can start with your trail hand by itself, then alternate to both hands and back to the trail hand.
I found that I needed the tees just a bit further apart in the beginning. As I started hitting the ball more solid, I am able to put them in a bit closer. There is definitely a better feel when I hit the ball on-center!
Final Thoughts
I hope you have found these five golf drills useful. These have helped me to improve my ability to hit the golf ball solid.
The first drill, the Box Drill, was an absolute game changer for me. I had worked for years on different changes to my drives that all seemed to only temporarily work. The problem was really in my foundation and follow-through. This video helped me uncover that.
The Gateway and Matchup drills have also been a tremendous help! They take almost no time at all to execute, and they give you instant feedback.
Most golfers think they know where they strike the ball on the club face, but how many actually know with certainty! If you’ve taken the time to watch these videos or read this, you’re certainly the type to truly take the time to evaluate your strike location. The easiest way I’ve found to do that is by using foot powder spray. Simply spray it on your club face and start hitting some balls. You’ll see a pattern quickly!
Overall, these drills can help golfers improve their ball striking, accuracy, and distance.
Good luck on the golf course!