5 drill mistakes that could be hurting your golf swing

Drills are often a great way to make a technical change, without you having to think too much about them. At best, they force your swing into a spot that will eventually feel natural.

But choose the wrong drill and it could leave your swing in a worse spot than it started. That’s why our friends over at GOLFTEC have compiled a quick and handy list of drills that, if you don’t use them right, could do some serious damage to your swing.

Let’s run through them, and for more information like this, head over to GOLFTEC’s website right here, or below.

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1. The towel drill

As GOLFTEC’s Brad Thorberg explains, the towel on the floor drill is a good one for golfers who struggle to hit down on the ball with their irons. But done wrong, it can lead to them coming over the top. That’s why he suggests adding a headcover just outside the ball, which will prevent you from getting too steep.

2. Alignment stick in shaft

Holding an alignment stick as you practice chipping is a great way to help your body turn through the shot. Except if your ball position is too far back, as Brad shows. Make sure to play the ball off your front heel to get the best of both worlds.

3. Towels in arms

Holding a paper towel between your arms can help eliminate your chicken wing, Brad says, but it’s best used only making half swings. Swing too big, and you’ll struggle to make solid contact.

4. Club under the foot

Placing a club under your trail foot is a great drill to solve early extension. But the key to making this drill work for you is making sure you let the club fall to the ground as you swing through. Otherwise you’ll look like Brad, demonstrating the incorrect version above.

5. Right shoulder down

This a good feeling for people who come over the top, but if you’re not careful, it’s also a drill that can cause you to come over the top. To prevent that from happening, make a conscious effort to move the end of the noodle closest to the ground from in to out.

Luke Kerr-Dineen

Golf.com Contributor

Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees the brand’s game improvement content spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.

An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.