Golf swing drills: 15 exercises by fault for a repeatable swing

Updated October 2026 for DeepSwing 3.3 on iPhone and 1.4 on Android.

A golf swing drill has one job. It makes the wrong move awkward and the right move easy, until your body picks the right one without being told. That only works if the drill matches the fault you actually have. Pick a random drill from a video and you can spend a month grooving the cure for a problem you never had.

So this guide is sorted by fault, in the order things happen in the swing. Every drill comes with the setup, the reps, what you should feel, what your video should show and the mistake most golfers make with it. Where DeepSwing measures the move, we give you the app's default band, so you know what "fixed" looks like as a number.

The last part shows how DeepSwing picks the drill for your biggest fault and films a whole drill block hands-free. The drills themselves work with any camera. Everything is written for a right-handed golfer. If you play left-handed, swap the sides (the app's feedback does that for you once you set your handedness).

Want to know which fault is yours before you start? Install DeepSwing from the App Store or Google Play, start the 7-day free trial of the yearly plan, and the five-and-five filming test below gives you your most important fix right away.

Find your one fault before you pick a drill

Film before you fix. Phone at hip height, 2 to 3 meters (7 to 10 feet) away, whole body and whole club in the frame. Hit five 7-irons filmed face-on (camera opposite your chest) and five filmed down-the-line (camera behind your hands, pointing at the target). Don't try to swing well. You want the swing that shows up on the first tee.

Then look for the move that appears in at least three of the five swings. One ugly swing is noise, three is a pattern. If you find two patterns, start with the one that happens earlier. A sway on the way back is often the reason you hang back at impact, and fixing the second without the first rarely sticks.

Face-on shows sway, head movement, weight shift, shaft lean and the lead arm. Down-the-line shows posture, swing plane, over the top, the flying elbow and early extension. Our pages on face-on swing analysis and down-the-line swing analysis show both camera spots in detail.

How to run a drill block that carries over

Most drills fail at the hand-off. Twenty perfect reps with the alignment stick, you take it away, and the old swing is back by the third ball. A block that carries over has four steps.

1. Slow, no ball. Five to ten reps at half speed or slower, so you can feel the new position.
2. Exaggerate both ways. Three reps too far one way, three too far the other, three in the middle. You find the middle by feeling both edges.
3. Half swings with a ball, drill aid in place. Eight or 9-iron, ten balls, 60 to 70 percent speed.
4. Full swings with your normal routine, aid removed. Five to ten balls. Film the last three.

Twenty minutes like this beats an hour of raking balls. Motor learning research says the same, as GOLF.com's roundup of research-driven range tips and PGA.com's keys to practicing with a purpose explain. Give one fault two to three weeks before you judge the drill. A new move feels strange for a while. That's normal. Our article on practicing at the golf range builds a full session around a block like this.

Setup drill

Hip hinge with a club along your spine (posture)

Hold a club upright along your back so it touches the back of your head, the spot between your shoulder blades and your tailbone. Push your hips back and tilt forward from the hip joints, keeping all three contacts, until your chest points at the ball. Flex the knees a little and let your arms hang. Ten slow reps, three seconds each.

Your weight sits in the middle of your feet, with a mild stretch in the back of your thighs. If the club leaves your head, you rounded your upper back. If it leaves your tailbone, you bent from the waist. Seen from down-the-line, DeepSwing's default band for forward bend is 20° to 40°, and the arms should hang close to straight down (the arm-hang band is 80° to 100°).

The common mistake is overdoing it: so much hip push that the lower back arches hard. It looks athletic in a photo and almost nobody holds it through the swing. Grip, aim and ball position are covered in our guide to a repeatable golf swing; for the grip alone, Golf Monthly's explanation of a neutral grip is a good start, and this ball position chart covers the rest.

Backswing drills

Trail hip barrier (sway)

Filming face-on, push an alignment stick into the ground so it stands upright about two inches (5 cm) outside your right hip. A golf bag works too. Make slow backswings and turn your right hip back, behind you, without bumping the stick. Two sets of 15 without a ball, then ten half swings with a 7-iron, stick still in place.

The feel is pressure building into the inside of your right foot while the right knee keeps some flex. In the clip, your hips should shift sideways by less than 40 percent of your shoulder width between address and the top, which is DeepSwing's default limit. Check your head on the same clip: the app flags face-on head movement above 14 percent. A little drift away from the target is fine, especially with a driver.

Where it goes wrong: golfers dodge the stick by hardly turning their hips at all. That cures the sway and kills the backswing. Turn as much as before, only around the hip instead of past it.

Takeaway checkpoint (swing plane)

Filmed down-the-line. Lay an alignment stick along your toes, parallel to the target line (if you are new to sticks, here are the alignment stick basics). Swing back until the shaft is parallel to the ground and stop. The shaft should run parallel to the stick, the clubhead should sit roughly in line with your hands or slightly outside them, and the toe should point up or tilt slightly forward, matching your spine angle. Ten stops, then ten slow swings to the top, where your hands should sit roughly over your heels.

It should feel like club, hands, arms and chest all start back together. In DeepSwing, the blue backswing trail travels back along the line instead of whipping inside behind your legs (flat) or shooting straight up (steep). At the top, the app compares your lead arm with the swing plane of the club you picked and allows about 5° of difference by default.

The common mistake is rolling the forearms early, so the face fans open and the club whips inside. Lifting the club straight up with the hands is nearly as common. Both happen in the first foot or two of the swing, so this one works in the living room.

Headcover under the right arm (flying elbow)

Tuck a headcover or a small towel under your right armpit and make three-quarter swings with an 8-iron, keeping it there until the top. It can drop after impact. Three sets of ten balls, then ten without it. At the top, your right elbow points roughly at the ground and your arms stay in front of your chest. From down-the-line, DeepSwing's flying-elbow check allows up to 65° between the right upper arm and the spine at the top, and less is always better.

The usual mistake is clamping the arm so hard that the backswing shrinks. Light pressure is enough. And a slightly lifted right elbow is no crime; plenty of good players have one. It becomes a problem when the elbow points behind you and the club crosses the line at the top.

Tempo and balance drills

Count to four (tempo)

Say "one, two, three" as you swing back and "four" at impact. That makes the backswing take roughly three times as long as the downswing. DeepSwing measures this ratio face-on and accepts 2:1 to 4:1 by default, with around 3:1 being typical. Three sets of ten swings without a ball, then ten balls on the same count. A metronome app works too: top on the third click, ball on the fourth. The 3:1 idea comes from John Novosel's Tour Tempo measurements, and PGA.com explains how to find your own rhythm.

The backswing feels unhurried and the change of direction gathers instead of snatching. The common mistake is slowing the backswing to a crawl. That pushes the ratio past 4:1 and usually makes the top jerkier, because you have to restart a club that almost stopped. Smooth is not the same as slow.

Feet together (balance)

Feet touching, ball in the middle, 8 or 9-iron. Three-quarter swings at about 70 percent, and hold every finish for three seconds. Two sets of ten balls, then ten from your normal stance.

With no base to slide on, a sway or a lunge costs you your balance at once, so the drill tells on you. Arms and body should feel like they turn at the same pace, and in a face-on clip your head stays roughly over the middle of your feet with a still finish. The mistake is swinging hard to prove a point. If you stumble, slow down until you don't.

Transition and downswing drills

Headcover outside the ball (over the top)

Put a headcover about 6 inches (15 cm) behind the ball and 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) beyond it, on the far side of the target line. Come over the top and the club clips it on the way down. Start with half swings with a 7-iron and build up. Five sets of ten balls, counting your touches.

For most slicers the feel is that the club drops behind you as the downswing starts and swings out toward right field. It will feel like a hook swing. It usually isn't one. On down-the-line video, the yellow downswing trail should come down on or under the blue backswing trail instead of looping outside it, and DeepSwing's over-the-top check should read on plane or slightly from the inside.

The mistake is steering the hands far inside to dodge the cover, which shuts the face and swaps the slice for a hook. Watch the start line too. According to TrackMan, face angle is the biggest factor in where the ball starts, so a better path alone won't fix a ball that starts left, and the curve comes from face to path. Our slice fix page covers the face side.

Pump drill (over the top, casting)

1. Swing to the top and stop.
2. Start down until your hands reach hip height, then go back to the top.
3. Do that once more.
4. On the third move down, swing through and hit the ball.

Ten rounds of two pumps and a swing, then ten balls off a tee with no pumps. On each pump, the lower body starts first while your back still faces the target, and the right elbow drops in front of your right hip. The arms simply drop. Down-the-line, when your left arm is parallel to the ground on the way down, the butt of the club should point at the ball line or slightly beyond it. If it points at your toes, the club is steep and heading over the top.

The common mistake is pumping with the arms while the body stands still, which teaches nothing. The opposite mistake is dropping the hands so far behind you that the club gets stuck and the ball goes right. Golf Monthly has a similar transition drill if you want a variation.

Step drill (hanging back)

Set up with your feet together where your right foot would normally be, so the ball sits ahead of you. 7-iron, ball on a low tee. As the club nears the top, step your left foot toward the target to your normal width, plant it and swing. Two sets of ten balls, then ten from a normal stance.

You should feel pressure move into the left foot before the arms start down, the start of what TPI calls the kinematic sequence. Filmed face-on, your belt buckle has moved toward the target by impact: DeepSwing's hanging-back check wants your hips at least 6 percent of your shoulder width closer to the target than at address, and the finish should be on the left foot with the right heel up. The usual mistake is stepping too late, after the arms have started down. Then you just lunge at the ball.

Wall drill (early extension)

Take your posture without a club, backside just touching a wall or the back of a chair, arms crossed on your chest. Turn back and your right glute stays on the wall. Turn through and your left glute moves back to the wall. Three sets of ten slow reps. On the range, stand your bag or an alignment stick just behind your backside and hit ten half swings with a 9-iron without losing contact.

Your hips turn and stay back, and your chest stays over the ball until after impact. On a down-the-line video, imagine a line along your backside at address; through the downswing you should stay on or near it. DeepSwing flags a loss of hip depth of more than 18 percent of your shoulder width by P6 (shaft parallel to the ground on the way down), and a posture change of more than 4°.

The common mistake is squatting toward the wall instead of turning. Early extension is also often a body problem rather than a swing problem. TPI reports that about two thirds of the golfers it has screened show it and links it to a limited deep squat or hip hinge. If you can't squat all the way down with your heels on the floor, add mobility work to the drill.

Impact and release drills

Whoosh drill (casting)

Turn a mid iron upside down and hold it just below the clubhead. Make full swings and listen. The loudest whoosh should come at the ball or just after it, on the target side of your body. If it peaks behind the ball, you're releasing early. Three sets of ten, five slow and five at full speed. It makes a good warm-up.

The speed should arrive late, as if the club is still picking up speed after the ball. In a face-on clip, the angle between your left arm and the shaft is still there when your hands reach hip height on the way down. DeepSwing measures casting around that point from the clubhead path, not only from the body.

The mistake is trying to hold the lag with muscle. A tight grip causes casting more often than it cures it. Keep grip pressure light and let the body's turn keep the angle.

9 to 3 drill (shaft lean, chicken wing)

With a 7 or 8-iron, swing from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock: back until your left arm is parallel to the ground, through until your right arm is. Three sets of ten balls, then five full swings looking for the same contact.

At impact your hands are slightly ahead of the ball and your chest is already turning. At 3 o'clock both arms are extended and the left elbow points at the ground. You hear ball, then turf. Filmed face-on, DeepSwing's default band for irons is about 4° to 13° of forward shaft lean, and the lead elbow should measure 150° to 190° at impact, so straight or close to it. Less than that is the chicken wing.

The mistake at the other end is shoving the hands far forward so the shaft leans well past the band. That takes off loft, leaves the face open and sends the ball right.

Towel behind the ball (low point)

Lay a folded towel about 4 inches (10 cm) behind the ball and hit ten balls with a 7-iron without touching it. Then draw a line on the grass with a tee, put the balls on the line and hit ten more. Every divot should start on the line or ahead of it.

You feel pressure on your left foot at impact and your chest over the ball or slightly ahead. On the face-on video your hands lead the clubhead at impact. In DeepSwing's swing trails, the pattern you're getting rid of is "low point behind the ball", where the trail bottoms out before it reaches the ball.

The common mistake is clearing the towel by lifting the chest and arms. You miss the towel and hit the ball thin. What you want is a low point further forward.

Every check behind these drills has drill videos with step-by-step instructions in DeepSwing's Training Library. Get the app for iPhone or Android and open the drill straight from the check you failed.

Test it like it's the course

A drill is only done when the new move survives a target and a little pressure.

Fairway finder (driver)

Pick two markers on the range about 60 yards (55 meters) apart and call that your fairway. Hit ten drives with your full routine and count how many finish between them. At seven of ten, narrow it to 40 yards (35 meters). Write the number down every session; it says more about your driving than your longest drive. If it stays low, our driver swing article covers setup and tee height.

Wedge ladder (distance control)

Pick three targets, say 30, 50 and 70 yards. Hit three balls to each, changing only the length of your backswing, never the tempo. Then mix the order so you never hit the same distance twice in a row. It's harder on purpose. The course never gives you the same shot twice either.

How DeepSwing picks your drill and films the block

The most important fix

The analysis runs on your phone, and your swing videos are not uploaded for it. DeepSwing finds the six phases (setup, backswing, top, downswing, impact, finish) and the camera view on its own, then runs about 15 checks per view, more than 20 in total. Each has a default band, and the score breakdown shows where your Swing Score loses points.

That's a lot to read, which is why Home leads with a Most important fix card. It doesn't react to one bad swing. It looks at your swings from the last 30 days, and a failed check counts for more the further you missed the band, the more weight that check carries in the score and the more recent the swing. The check on top is your one thing. Right under it, Train this fix shows a drill and a fitness exercise for that check, plus a button to all exercises for this fix. On iPhone, the Focus Fix widget puts the same thing on your Home Screen or Lock Screen.

Training Library, Training Coach and golf fitness

The Training Library has drill videos with step-by-step instructions for every check, and many drills come with an at-home version and the most common mistake. You open it from Home, from the Training Coach or straight from a check in your analysis. The interactive DeepSwing Guide adds a swing-trail explorer: pick a pattern like over the top or casting, and its Train this button takes you to the matching drills.

For structure, the Training Coach asks three questions (goal, equipment, level) and builds a weekly plan that links into the right drills. The golf fitness area adds mobility and strength work built around the swing, plus exercises for common golf aches. That's training information, not medical advice: pain is not a training stimulus, and anything that keeps hurting belongs with a doctor or physiotherapist. More on the coaching side is on our golf swing coach app page.

Multi Swing films the whole block hands-free

Drill blocks are where filming gets tedious: walk to the phone, press record, walk back, swing, walk over again. With Multi Swing you choose the view and the club once, start the session and keep hitting. The app arms itself when you stand still at the ball, records each swing as its own clip, saves it as its own swing and analyzes it in a background queue while you hit the next one. A short pause after every swing keeps teeing up or raking a ball from counting. The panel shows your last score, your average and how many swings are saved, processing or failed.

For the four-step block, that's one session for the half swings with the aid and one for the full swings without it. Afterwards, filter History by capture source and club, star the best swing and put it side by side with your baseline (compare is part of Pro). If the check moved into its band in the full swings, the drill worked. If it only moved while the aid was there, keep going.

On iPhone you can start, pause and stop Multi Swing from an Apple Watch, and every capture mode records at 120 or 240 fps, so face-on swings also get clubhead speed. On Android, Multi Swing records at 60 fps: fine for the checks, but no speed. For speed on Android, use Record with the rear camera and its hands-free Speed button, filmed face-on. If you'd rather hear a cue between reps, Live Coach (Pro) shows a live pose overlay, speaks a correction after each swing and replays it with the fixes.

DeepSwing is free to download on the App Store and on Google Play. Recording, importing, the drill library and the interactive guide cost nothing. The full analysis results, the Home dashboard with the most important fix, compare, Live Coach and the training tools are part of DeepSwing Pro. Reference prices in the eurozone in October 2026: EUR 59.99 a year with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers, EUR 9.99 a month, or EUR 149.99 once for lifetime. Prices vary by country and store.

FAQ

How many reps of a golf drill should I do?

Fewer than you think, more often than you think. Ten to twenty attentive reps of one drill, followed by a few normal swings, beat a hundred reps where your mind wandered off after thirty. Three short sessions a week do more than one long one.

How long does it take for a drill to fix my swing?

Expect a few weeks before the new move holds up at full speed, and longer before it shows up on the course. Film once a week. The number in your check often moves before the ball flight does, which is a good reason not to quit early.

Can I do golf swing drills at home without a ball?

Yes. The hip hinge, the takeaway checkpoint, the wall drill, the pump drill and the whoosh drill all work in a living room or a garden, as long as you have room to swing. Many drills in DeepSwing's Training Library have an at-home version.

Do I still need a golf coach if I use drills and video?

A good PGA professional sees things a camera doesn't, like grip and clubface problems, and can explain why a fault happens in your swing. Drills and video are the homework between lessons. With Pro you can export the clip in slow motion with lines and notes and send it to your coach.