My 15 Favorite Golf Drills (all skill levels)
One of the best ways to be more focused and effective while practicing golf is through golf drills. Here are some tour-proven drills to improve your game.
Table of Contents
Sometimes in golf, it can be challenging to know whether a drill is helping or hurting your game. There are so many drills out there! Some are too complicated. Some flat out don’t work. And some hurt your game if you perform them incorrectly.
On this page, you will find my list of my favorite golf drills. I’ve tried hundreds of drills and these are the ones that I used as a competitive collegiate golfer. I know they will help your game too!
Best Short Game Drills
Below are my 3 favorite Short Game Drills!
Golf Drills: Right Hand Chipping Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who struggle with their takeaway on short chip and pitch shots
- Golfers who do not rotate their body correctly during the chip shot
Drill Overview
In this drill, you will hit chip shots with your strong hand (right hand for right-handed golfers) only. This will help you learn to chip with your entire body and feel the role of the strong hand in the short game.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Right Hand Chipping Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to chip with your right hand only, which allows you to feel how the right side influences your chip shots.
Short Game Handicap
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who lack confidence around the greens
- Golfers looking to improve their scrambling percentage
Drill Overview
Here's a quick overview of the drill:
- Play 9 or 18 "holes"
- Alternate between "hard", "moderate", and "easy" short-game shots
- To get your hole "score", step off how far your shot is from the hole
- Within 5 foot-lengths is a par
- Within 15 foot-lengths is a bogey
- Outside of 15 foot-lengths (or missed green) is a double-bogey
- Write down your 9-hole score and keep track of your "handicap" over time!
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Short Game Handicap”? Check out my full article below!
Golf Drill
Short Game Handicap
The Short Game Handicap is a golf practice game that is awesome for any golfer struggling around the greens and will lower your score immediately!
Golf Drills: Left Hand Chipping Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who "flip" while they chip
- Golfers who blade or chunk their pitch and chip shots frequently
- Golfers who are inconsistent around the greens
Drill Overview
This drill helps you train your flat left wrist for more consistent short game and ballstriking.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Left Hand Chipping Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to chip with your left hand only.
Best Golf Swing Drills
Below are my 5 favorite Golf Swing Drills!
Balance Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who struggle to transfer their weight to the lead side in the follow-through
- Golfers who swing out of their shoes and lose balance
- Golfers with poor tempo
Drill Overview
The "balance drill" targets three areas of your swing:
- Your overall balance
- Your tempo
- Your weight shift
The goal of this drill is to make progressively longer golf swings and practice making a full weight shift with a great tempo so that you can balance into the finish position.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Balance Drill”? Check out my full article below!
Golf Drill
Balance Drill
To build a consistent golf swing, it is crucial to maintain great tempo and balance through the finish. Here's one of my favorite drills to achieve that.
Laser Takeaway Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who struggle with their takeaway
- Golfers who cannot get "on-plane" consistently
Drill Overview
The idea of this drill is to rehearse your takeaway with the aid of an imaginary laser and an alignment stick.
Since the club swings on an inclined plane, the club shaft should always point at the straight baseline of the inclined plane. You can learn more about this concept in my post about swinging on-plane.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Laser Takeaway Drill”? Check out my full article below!
Golf Drill
Laser Takeaway Drill
The laser takeaway drill is the simplest and easiest way to learn what an "on-plane" takeaway feels like.
Golf Drills: Shoulder Turn Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who struggle to achieve a full shoulder turn in the backswing
- Golfers who have a steep or shallow shoulder angle during the backswing
Drill Overview
This drill is simple, yet effective. It removes the golf ball from the equation and allows you to focus on your shoulder turn and the correct steepness of it.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Shoulder Turn Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to turn your shoulders properly.
Golf Drills: Trail Foot Back Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who hit a slice and fail to hit "from the inside"
- Golfers who struggle to hit the ball far enough
Drill Overview
This drill forces you to hit from the inside and properly shift your weight. It is one of my all-time favorites!
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Trail Foot Back Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to shift your weight properly.
Golf Drills: Release Alternation Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who want to practice different ball flight trajectories
- Golfers who struggle releasing the golf club
Drill Overview
The release alternation drill helps a golfer feel the difference between a "power" and "finesse" release in the golf swing.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Release Alternation Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to release the club properly.
Best Transition Drills
Below are my 2 favorite Transition Drills!
Golf Drills: Bucket Transition Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who struggle with a slice and "over the top move"
- Golfers who "spin out" of the shot too early (fast hips)
Drill Overview
The bucket drill is one of my favorite drills of all time because it naturally helps you feel the lower body's role in the transition.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Bucket Transition Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to transition properly.
Golf Drills: Wall Transition Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who struggle with an over-the-top move, resulting in a slice
- Golfers who have improper weight shift in the golf swing
Drill Overview
By practicing this butt on the wall drill, you will learn how the lower body moves through the transition from backswing to downswing.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Wall Transition Drill”? Check out my full article below!
Here is a great golf swing drill that will help you learn how to start the downswing with the lower body properly.
Best Putting Drills
Below are my 2 favorite Putting Drills!
Golf Drills: Phil Mickelson's Circle Putting Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who miss short putts frequently
- Competitive golfers who want to become bulletproof from 3 feet!
Drill Overview
Popularized by Phil Mickelson, this drill is a repetition drill that will increase your confidence over those 3-footers!
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Phil Mickelson's Circle Putting Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you improve your putting confidence by seeing those 3-footers go in time and time again!
Golf Drills: Square Putter Face Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who miss lots of short putts
- Golfers who are inconsistent on the greens
Drill Overview
The goal of this drill is to use training aids to teach your eyes and body to feel a square putter face, which is the sole determinant of where your putts start.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Square Putter Face Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to square the putter face properly.
Best Tempo Drills
Below are my 1 favorite Tempo Drills!
Golf Drills: The "Slomo" Driver Swing
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who struggle with inconsistent tempo
- Golfers who feel "out of sync"
- Golfers who struggle to feel the correct positions of the golf swing
Drill Overview
This drill is incredibly simple. All you need is a driver or 3-wood and the goal is to hit golf balls at a fraction of the speed of your normal swing. This is incredibly tough to do at first and requires a lot of kinesthetic awareness—a great skill to improve as a golfer.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: The "Slomo" Driver Swing”? Check out my full article below!
The "Slomo" drill is a great drill to help you improve your tempo and get a better feeling for the individual positions of your golf swing.
Other Drills
Below are my 2 favorite Other Drills!
Quick Golf Pre-Round Warmup Routine
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who need a quick way to warm up
- Golfers who play at a course without a driving range to use for warmups
Drill Overview
This quick warmup routine focuses on warming up the upper body and those small wrist muscles. It isn't the best thing in the world, but better than nothing when you're in a hurry to tee off!
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Quick Golf Pre-Round Warmup Routine”? Check out my full article below!
Here is a quick warmup routine that I used throughout D1 college golf to loosen up the muscles fast and prevent injury.
Golf Drills: Wrist Swivel Release Drill
Who does this drill help?
- Golfers who flip their wrists through the impact zone
- Golfers who struggle to feel the correct wrist movements in the golf swing
Drill Overview
This drill is a great one to do at home while watching TV or practicing in the basement. It will help you feel the correct wrist movements in the golf swing.
Deep Dive
Want a deep dive on the drill “Golf Drills: Wrist Swivel Release Drill”? Check out my full article below!
This drill will help you learn how to release the club properly.