If you’re looking for golf alignment stick drills to help your golf swing, stay tuned as this guide covers several drills below to help you improve your driving range practice routine.
Working on golf swing drills is a great way to fix swing faults and fine tune your setup so you hit more accurate golf shots on the golf course.
If you can get a little better every day, it will compound and add up over time to big improvement. Consistency is always the key to being successful in golf.
Work consistently on the golf swing alignment stick drills discussed in today’s guide.
Resource: Golf Practice System with Step by Step Practice Plans + Video Lessons
What are alignment sticks?
Beginner golf players usually have golf training aids that help them perfect their form. Alignment sticks are part of these training aids. They’ve been quite popular over the years, as they’ve proven to be of value and help to several golf players.
Alignment sticks are skinny rods or poles, or you can use your golf irons to act as alignment sticks. They’ll help keep your swing in check.
If you drift from your golf swing, you may hit the ball wrong. And this is exactly why you should get your alignment right.
More so, they help you work on your swing path and this makes it the perfect golf training aid.
How Alignment Sticks Help Improve Your Golf Game
Alignment sticks serve as a feedback method to let you know when you are making a correct vs incorrect golf swing movement.
Alignment sticks help you to:
- Strike your golf ball better
- Setup better
- Start your ball on a better line
- Analyze yourself and your movements
- Visualize before shooting
- Stop your hook
Best Alignment Stick Golf Swing Drills
There are several alignment stick drills to practice. Let’s dive in…
#1. The Train Tracks Drill
This is quite popular and is the commonest way you can use alignment sticks. To practice this, just:
- Place the stick on the ground and close to the ball too. Make sure that it is aiming straight at your target.
- Place another stick down so that it is parallel to the first one. To check if they are well placed, your toes should be touching the sticks.
The two alignment sticks are to form something like a train track. As you know, train tracks lay parallel to each other.
Resource: Golf Practice System with Step by Step Practice Plans + Video Lessons
#2. The Takeaway Drill
To get this drill right:
- Place one alignment stick on the ground. It should stay behind the ball and on your target line.
- To do your backswing, the alignment stick should be your reference point. Place your club head close to it before taking your backswing.
- Also, make sure that the club doesn’t move away from the stick.
#3. The Hip Bump Transition Drill
This is good for golfers who are leaving the amateur stage. To get this:
- Put a stick into the ground vertically.
- Be sure to push it further down into the ground so that it can stand on its own.
- The stick should be just in front of your front foot.
- In this process, when you hit balls, you bump your front hip towards the stick.
You should try out this step if you usually struggle with hitting your irons.
#4. Three Parallel Lines Drill
You would probably need someone to help you in setting up this drill. Here’s how it’s done:
- Place one alignment stick on the ground and keep your feet in line.
- The person assisting you should take the other stick and hold it down, around your shoulders and forearms.
- Remember that the first stick should be parallel to the other stick you placed on the ground.
By doing this, you are setting up a very natural position. Beginner golfers usually twist and turn their forearms or shoulders. This puts them in an uncomfortable position that isn’t good enough for golf. You will have certain muscles obstructing your flow.
The three parallel lines drill helps to place you in the right position and also align you properly for hitting the ball.
#5. The Narrow Path Drill
To get this particular alignment, you should:
- Take the stick that is lying close to your toes and move it closer to the ball.
- To ensure that you placed it well, one inch of the stick should be inside the ball and one inch should be outside the ball.
By doing this, you would have created a narrow ‘train track’ to put your club through. This narrow path created will help you hit the golf balls so that they go in the same direction as the track.
#6. The Obvious Alignment Drill
To get this drill:
- Put your alignment stick in front of your feet. This should be in a horizontal setting.
- The other stick should be at a 90° angle on top of the first stick.
- Place your golf ball 10cm away from the end of the stick
- Now move forward to the sticks, placing your feet close to the horizontal and vertical sticks
This particular drill is used to improve the ball’s setup.
#7. The Clubface Controller Drill
Get this drill right by:
- Placing two alignment sticks on either side of the golf ball.
- The sticks should focus on the target, a little wider than the club’s width. This enables the alignment to be clearer and also improves control.
Resource: Golf Practice System with Step by Step Practice Plans + Video Lessons
#8. The Swing Plane Fixer Drill
- Place the stick in the same line with the swing
- This should be under the club if you’re going over the top and over the club if you’re going under.
- Make sure the club is outside the stick while you’re swinging.
#9. The “T” Drill
Beginner golfers encounter a lot of problems trying to position themselves. As you know, you need to change position for every shot, which can be difficult. The “T” drill can help and you can do this by:
- Placing one alignment stick on the ground, close to the target line.
- Place another stick on the ground. It should be perpendicular to the previous stick this time around. This helps to create the letter “T’.
The second alignment stick on the ground, between your legs, helps you to position yourself.
#10. The Body Rotator Drill
This step is very easy to practice. Start by holding out your alignment stick close to the club. You can use a wedge to support it. Then follow through with a half-backswing, being careful not to allow the stick to hit you. This drill helps to improve your strike while also rotating your body.
Golf Practice System for Lower Scores
Learn the exact golf practice routines thousands of students at Foy Golf Academy are using to lower their golf scores.
Follow these step by step practice plans and watch video lessons to learn how to improve your golf swing, chipping, and putting fundamentals.
Get access to hundreds of golf drills to practice as well as content on the mental side of golf, fitness plans, worksheets, and many more resources. This is a complete golf practice system.
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Work hard,
Nick Foy, Instructor