3 simple drills for more solid and consistent ball striking

There are many places for things to go wrong with your swing, but three of the main places are setup, transition and swing path. If you want to produce consistent, solid strikes, you’ll need to get all of those components nailed down. That’s the theme of this week’s Home Practice — getting yourself in proper position to produce a more solid strike. GOLF Top 100 Teacher Debbie Doniger has three drills that will help you produce more consistent and solid ball-striking.

Swing path fix

If you want to produce a consistent ball flight, you’ll need to get your swing path on the proper line. Coming over the top or too far from the inside are two paths that can get you in trouble, but these drills will help you keep get them back in line.

If you come over the top, often times producing a slice, you’ll need to get yourself to swing more out to the right. Place a club on the ground in front of your left foot pointing down your target line, and then step on the clubhead so the shaft comes up off the ground. Then, make some swings and try not to hit the shaft.

“This will definitely encourage a more rightward swing direction,” Doniger says.

If you’re someone who suffers from coming too far from the inside, try placing the club behind you underneath your right foot. Stand on the clubhead and try to keep the pressure on that trail leg a little bit longer in the downswing. This will help you use the proper footwork in your golf swing and get your swing path back on the right plane.

Transition step

Many coaches teach a step drill to promote earlier leg motion and body motion on the transition, but Doniger adds a twist to that drill. Set up to the golf ball the same way you would for a normal step drill (with your feet together) but put your lead leg back about a foot. As you complete your backswing, step forward with your front foot, push down and swing all the way through. This will help you if you hang back on the transition.

“This should help you start (your transition) correctly,” Doniger says.

Perfect driver setup

Every good swing starts with a proper setup. If you don’t start in the correct positions, it can be difficult to put yourself in positions for success. Most people understand the basics of a proper driver setup, but there are some subtle nuances that you need to check if you want to really dial it in.

 If you slice the ball, you will habitually start to aim left to compensate. When you do this, your right arm can start to creep higher, which throws off your tilt and produces an over-the-top path, which only creates a larger slice.

An easy fix is to turn that right arm and relax it so it sits underneath your left arm. When you come into impact, you want to replicate that same look of the trail arm being underneath your lead arm, which will ensure an inside attack and hitting up on the golf ball.

“That should help you hit better drivers,” Doniger says.