Beginner golfer - Drills you have used since you started golfing and still use to this day

[thegolfgoblin]

Hello,

 

I have just started golfing (about two weeks in) and was wondering if any users have any golf drills they did when they were starting off that helped tremendously. I'm not talking about your cliche drills but gamechangers that helped you after going through 30 drills that weren't effective. Night and day differences in your game.. Links to any videos would be greatly appreciated. No gatekeeping!!! Help another golfer out 😄

 

-Thegolfgoblin

[ac6]

This is gonna be a boring and frankly disappointing answer -- you're only two weeks in, fundamentals are what matter the most and there are no "night and day" drills, unfortunately. What you need to get right is grip, posture, & alignment. Understand where you're aiming and what parallel to your target line looks like and lay down sticks or clubs on the ground to reinforce that. I have seen too many players looking for magic bullet drills thinking they are doing one thing but the reality is they're thinking they're aiming at the target but aiming 50 yards right with their feet, swinging 20 yards left with their shoulders, and are trying all sorts of weird feels just because someone told them that some tour player does X, Y, and Z 

[ShortGolfer]

I bought the buckets of Callaway practice balls sold at Target.

 

I found it extremely helpful to get the immediate feedback of seeing the ball travel across my back yard.  The balls  were consistent enough for me to trust that the flight was an accurate indicator of my swing and ball contact.

Practicing in my back yard allowed frequent practice, sometimes several short sessions a day.

 

While I'm good with math and numbers, getting numerical data on my swing was not useful.  I'd chase numbers which would throw off my swing.

 

Nor has hitting range rocks been useful either.

 

I now have an iron swing I'm happy with.  Ball first contact and 130 yard approach shots from fairway with enough spin and descent angle to stay on the green.  Pretty straight ball flight.

I think the neurologist who supervised my stroke recovery would be astonished at how well I can hit the ball.  Most people on the golf course are bigger or stronger than me.

My goal when I started out in 2021 was to play bogey golf from the forward tees.  I'm pretty much there right now as 3x130yards is 390 yards.

That is enough to play a 5071 yard course five minutes away.

 

Edited June 27 by ShortGolfer

[thegolfgoblin]

On 6/27/2025 at 5:14 PM, ac6 said:

This is gonna be a boring and frankly disappointing answer -- you're only two weeks in, fundamentals are what matter the most and there are no "night and day" drills, unfortunately. What you need to get right is grip, posture, & alignment. Understand where you're aiming and what parallel to your target line looks like and lay down sticks or clubs on the ground to reinforce that. I have seen too many players looking for magic bullet drills thinking they are doing one thing but the reality is they're thinking they're aiming at the target but aiming 50 yards right with their feet, swinging 20 yards left with their shoulders, and are trying all sorts of weird feels just because someone told them that some tour player does X, Y, and Z 

Thanks for the feedback. After going to the range a couple of times, I have noticed that I am struggling most is where the direction of the golf ball goes after I strike the ball with the club. Will be buying some alignment sticks for sure. I have also noticed if i go a bit slower on my swing, I make better contact with the ball.. (duh) even if the ball is traveling less distance it goes where it's supposed to. I assume power and speed will come as my body gets used to the feeling of the swing mechanics. It's still uncomfortable but each day i see progress. 

[thegolfgoblin]

On 6/27/2025 at 5:22 PM, ShortGolfer said:

I bought the buckets of Callaway practice balls sold at Target.

 

I found it extremely helpful to get the immediate feedback of seeing the ball travel across my back yard.  The balls  were consistent enough for me to trust that the flight was an accurate indicator of my swing and ball contact.

Practicing in my back yard allowed frequent practice, sometimes several short sessions a day.

 

While I'm good with math and numbers, getting numerical data on my swing was not useful.  I'd chase numbers which would throw off my swing.

 

Nor has hitting range rocks been useful either.

 

I now have an iron swing I'm happy with.  Ball first contact and 130 yard approach shots from fairway with enough spin and descent angle to stay on the green.  Pretty straight ball flight.

I think the neurologist who supervised my stroke recovery would be astonished at how well I can hit the ball.  Most people on the golf course are bigger or stronger than me.

My goal when I started out in 2021 was to play bogey golf from the forward tees.  I'm pretty much there right now as 3x130yards is 390 yards.

That is enough to play a 5071 yard course five minutes away.

 

I never thought about that. I will have to try that out with the practice balls. One of the things I struggle with currently is that when I take a slower swing with less power (75%), it is much more accurate than a full 90% swing. I assume due to me still being uncomfortable to the swing mechanics and needing more practice. I assume that power/speed will soon come more natural to me as my body gets adapted to the mechanics. Thanks for the feedback.

[Scottbox]

I echo the info about grip and posture. But these are also pretty good drills and ideas...

 

1. Hit shots with your right foot back and learn to hit a little push draw (right to left shot). This is HUGE. Do this on a tee, then gradually move up to hitting shots off the ground. Eventually, you'll get a nice little draw and your contact will be great. In YT, search "right foot back drill". 

 

2. Learn to use a video camera to properly so that you can make sure you're aiming right and your shoulders are properly aligned. Don't get too much into technical stuff for a while. Mostly make sure your right arm is a touch under your left at set up (bent comfortably). You'll feel a little closed. Good!

 

3. Use 2 alignment sticks (properly) with the ball in the middle on the range to get a sense of how to aim properly.

 

4. Dan Carraher's takeaway drill is pretty cool: https://www.instagram.com/p/ByN9TMMFGh-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

5. Combine the above with practicing bringing your hands down to your hips with your shoulders still turned (drill #1 is good for this). The shaft should be pointed just inside the target or at the target and the clubface pointed almost to the ground. This is something you want to do as a practice swing.

 

6. Hit foam golf balls into a net. Or, do drills off a tee for a while. Then graduate to hitting balls off the ground. Getting rid of where the shot goes is very helpful when you're learning new skills. There are tons of good cheap home nets on Amazon.

 

7. Hit 8 irons 90 yards when you do drills. You cannot learn a new motor pattern at full speed. Your brain won't let you.

 

8. Never practice your full swing for more than 20-30 minutes, and really overdo the drills in your practice swing. Try to hit a ball once every minute or so. 

 

9. If you practice driver at some point, set up properly (there's loads of videos on YT for this), and use a little trick where you line up with the club about 6-8" behind and slightly inside the ball. 

 

10. Find ONE teacher and stick with her/him.

 

11. Learn to chip and pitch decently. You can buy Dan Grieve's The 3 Releases for Kindle pretty cheaply on Amazon. It's a great book, and the info is fairly simple.

 

 

Edited July 13 by Scottbox