Instruction
A winter golf drill to improve your ball striking
My most recent articles on GolfWRX have highlighted the importance of golfers to striking the sweet spot more often. The next logical step is to describe some ways golfers can improve that ability, which is the focus of this article.
Now that winter is well and truly in motion, golfers are left to spend their dark nights at the floodlit or indoor range. Others are reduced to backyard/garage practice — perhaps into a net, if a golfer is lucky enough to own one. The good news about winter is that it is the perfect time for golfers to work on their ball striking, and I will share an exercise that has been proven to work very well, and add a twist that creates even better results.
The Drill
If you’ve read my last few of articles, you know the marker pen drill well. Here is a quick re-cap of it.
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- Mark the ball with a dry-erase marker pen.
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- Place the ball as shown.
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- Check where you hit on the face.
The Twist
This time we are going to do something a little strange, but I will explain some results of a study I conducted with golfers, which justifies my reasoning. Instead of marking the golf ball and trying to hit the middle of the face over and over, we are going to try and hit three different sections of the face.
- Hit 30 golf balls.
- Alternate between trying to hit the middle, the heel and the toe section (10 balls each section).
- Keep track of your results.
- Whichever section you had the lowest score with, do the next 10 golf balls focusing on only hitting this section.
- Repeat.
The Science
Golfers who follow me know I approach things from a motor learning science perspective. Practicing something you wouldn’t normally want to do (such as hitting off-center shots), but which is closely related to the skill you want to improve (hitting the ball on the sweet spot) is known in scientific circles as “differential practice.”
A few years ago, before I had even heard of this term, I conducted a study with three groups of golfers.
- Group 1 tried to only hit the sweet spot.
- Group 2 tried only to hit either toe or heel sections.
- Group 3 did a mixture of both.
What most of you would guess is that Group 3 ended the five days with the most improvement (as defined by their ability to hit the middle of the face). However, what shocks most people (and shocked me at the time) was that Group 2 outperformed the “sweet-spot only” group. That’s right; trying to only hit the sweet spot improved their ability to hit the sweet spot less than those who were intentionally trying to miss it.
What a counterintuitive result! It looks as though the old mantra of “perfect practice makes perfect” needs to be thrown out of the window.
There are several theories for why this works — including improved perception-action coupling, increased external focus of attention (as opposed to focusing on body movements), improvements in the ability to adapt degrees of freedom, etc. However, for the average golfer, it doesn’t matter exactly how it works — just that it works!
End notes
The next time you are stuck indoors as it is raining (or snowing) cats and dogs, get into your garage and peg a few up. Spend an hour or so working on this drill and you won’t be sorry when spring time rolls around. I have even modified the drill slightly for those without a net in their garage. As long as you have a room big enough to swing a golf club, why not?
Here’s the modified two-step drill.
Step 1
Draw a mark on a tee/bottle cap.
Step 2
Peg it up, hit it and take a look.
Note: Adam describes differential practice drills, as well as many other forms of practice you can use to speed up your golf improvement, in his amazon bestselling book “The Practice Manual – The Ultimate Guide for Golfers.” But it on Amazon.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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BoomBoom
Feb 29, 2016 at 2:40 pm
This is is an invaluable tip imo.
I recently the author’s book, which contains this drill recommendation (and many others). This drill specifically has been super helpful in improving my strikes. I’m currently working through fixing a tendency to hit short irons near the heel which I discovered as a result of grabbing a dry erase marker and pounding some balls into my net in the garage. It would’ve taken me ages to just feel/figure out on my own that almost all my strikes were too far to the inside.
I only wish there was a way that was as precise and completely cost free as this method to get post-shot feedback on path and face angles.
Chris
Jan 2, 2016 at 8:58 pm
Do you have am idea of how to correct a slight over the top swing? I will try it and leave my feed back. Thank you
James
Dec 15, 2015 at 1:10 pm
I definitely going to give this a try over the next few weeks. It reminds me of a drill to fix the shanks. Most people think they need to just move the ball out to the toe and make the same swing. But that actually makes it worse. What works is to do the opposite and line the ball up on the hosel. You look down you realize you have to adjust something in your swing else you will completely whiff the ball. It’s almost magical, yet very counter intuitive for most people to grasp.
Adam Young
Dec 16, 2015 at 4:02 am
Good point James. I have also carried out a study looking at that thing (or very similar). You can read the study here (it’s actually where I got this picture from)
http://www.adamyounggolf.com/blind-golfers-the-study/
Mbwa Kali Sana
Dec 12, 2015 at 3:26 pm
It’s completely ridiculous to try to ” hit the ball” at a given place OF the clubface And a loss OF Time .Better work on the FUNDAMENTALS OF YOUR golf swing And on YOUR physical weaknesses .
The club goes too fast to have any Contrôl OF where the clubface Will contact the ball . When I swing ,I never think about the ball :all I know is it ‘s there ,And my club picks it up on it’s way
Adam Young
Dec 13, 2015 at 10:48 am
Mbwa – if you currently don’t posses the skill to do this (which it sounds as though this is the case), try making the drill easier by doing it with chipping swings or even putting first. It is entirely possible to do this and master the skill of being able to hit where you desire on the face. With my elite players, we focus on different grooves, or even splitting the face into 10 parts, having a height and a toe/heel element to it.
Adam Young
Dec 13, 2015 at 10:51 am
Also Mbwa, this is a fundamental. In fact, being able to hit where you want on the face is even more of a fundamental than grip stance and posture.
Brad young
Dec 21, 2015 at 10:42 am
This helps engage the right side of your brain – the part that will help with “feel”, which will greatly help when you get out on the course. When you are out on the course, if you are thinking bout technical aspects of your swing, you will not play well. It’s all about feel out there, and hitting the correct spot of the ball with the correct spot of the club.
“The club goes way too fast to have control of where the club face will contact the ball”. This is so not right. If you go to the range, can you not purposely hit the ball with the toe or heel of the club? If not, maybe this is a “physical weakness” you should work on. It may really help you when you are out on the course.
terry
Dec 10, 2015 at 5:47 pm
I’m going to try this practice.
Here is how I practice at home in my man cave. Get a length foam pipe cover (about 3′) at a plumbing supply place. Cut a piece off about the height of a golf ball. Put a piece of electrical tape on the clubface it’s full width. On the bottom of the “foam ball” (across from the joint) with lip balm or lip stick draw a line maybe 1/2″ tall. Swing. The lip balm leaves a mark on the electrical tape showing exactly where on the clubface the ball was struck. You have to refresh the mark on the ball every 3rd swing or so but only takes a second. The foam ball pops up in the air and does no damage. It shows where you are making contact with the ball. But doesn’t tell anything about distance or trajectory of course. I can do a full pitching wedge swing in my mancave…. do this all year round. Is excellent for those who no option other than swinging a club inside their living quarters.
ParHunter
Dec 10, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Could this differential practice be applied to the low point as well? So trying to intentionally hit a shot fat, then trying to hit the ball into the ground, then catching it clean?
Problem is the feedback I guess. Does anyone know a mat that shows where the clubfaces makes impact with the ground?
Adam Young
Dec 10, 2015 at 6:07 pm
There is a mat coming out soon – within the next year or so.
ParHunter
Dec 11, 2015 at 6:19 am
Great, I was looking for something like that. Should be easy to do. There are fabrics that look different depending to which side you brush them.
Adam Young
Dec 11, 2015 at 12:24 pm
Ive experimented with a lot of things. Luckily, we have a fairway bunker at our facility which offers great feedback for ground strike.
jason
Dec 10, 2015 at 9:52 am
I do not have a net but would like to try this drill over the winter. What are the details on the modified two step drill? Are you just marking a plastic tee and clipping it? Are you setting up the tee height the same distance for an iron or where the equator of the ball would be?
Adam Young
Dec 10, 2015 at 11:17 am
Yes, just the tee – it’s for those without a net or whiffle ball. The marks will typically be on the bottom groove, although I get my players to experiment with hitting different heights on the face with different tee heights. This works on your ability to control the swing arc height and low point position simultaneously (a requirement for great striking ability)
Jamie
Dec 9, 2015 at 11:28 pm
Do you address it at the center of club face, then try to hit it off toe/heel? Or, do you address it on the toe/heel wherever you’re trying to hit it?
Adam Young
Dec 10, 2015 at 7:11 am
Start with addressing it where you want to hit it. However, I have variations of the drill which involve much more difficulty, which I progress players to as their rate of success increases. For my elite players, I often get them to hit different shapes while addressing the ball in various manners. You will rarely see this type of practice conducted by most, but my quantified research on the tee is showing some promising results over ‘standard’ methods of practice.
Taylor
Dec 9, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Such a hassale to keep marking golf balls…just put painters tape on your club face and you have impact tape. Masking tape words too, but I can see it better with painters tape. Replace tape after a few hits.
Adam Young
Dec 9, 2015 at 8:10 pm
Dr Scholls is also a good option – just spray the face and off you go (although it can be more expensive).
I prefer marker pen in my teaching, as it can be a easier to quantify and see multiple hits.
TR1PTIK
Dec 9, 2015 at 11:33 pm
Another benefit of the marker is that it provides a more accurate picture of the exact point of impact though I do prefer Dr. Scholls. You can also purchase the Great Value brand at Walmart, but it’s not that much cheaper and if I did develop a case of athlete’s foot I’d rather of a name brand product to use. lol.
Tom
Dec 10, 2015 at 2:06 pm
I was spraying Dr, Scholls om my iron face on the range yesterday and the guy in the next stall had a perplexed look. His buddy came by and ask him what I was doing and he replied ” it keeps him (me) fom spraying balls all over the range.
Adam Young
Dec 9, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Hi guys – it would be important to note that the ‘differential practice’ group had worse performance initially, but their ability to strike the sweet spot improved after 5 days. The link to the original study is here
http://www.adamyounggolf.com/the-study-differential-versus/
BAL
Dec 9, 2015 at 4:08 pm
How should one try to hit off-center to get the most out of this drill? Is it in distance from ball in setup or is it an adjustment in the swing by feel?
TR1PTIK
Dec 9, 2015 at 4:44 pm
When I tried this a while back I played with stance and swing, but there are so many variables you can play with. Ultimately, it’s going to be whatever produces the most consistent results.
TR1PTIK
Dec 9, 2015 at 3:41 pm
I toyed with this a while back when working on my driver and had good results. My miss with driver stems from striking the ball low and off the heel of the club so I intentionally tried to impact the ball high and toward the toe. Made a tremendous difference in my ball striking with that club. It’s cool to see an article months later that confirms I was on the right track.
Adam Young
Dec 9, 2015 at 8:12 pm
That’s right – often times, trying the opposite pattern to our fault can help to balance this out. Over time, you become less conscious of ‘trying’ to correct it, and it becomes automatic. This can be lumped under the term ‘perceptual adaptation’.
golfraven
Dec 9, 2015 at 3:10 pm
I really like the idea of the marker on small plastic tee. Have dozens of those and will certainly try out.
Adam Young
Dec 9, 2015 at 8:13 pm
You can also pop it on a whiffle/airflow ball. I like the tees – you can really refine which groove you hit if you are a better player
Steven
Dec 9, 2015 at 2:44 pm
Great article. I am glad to see that someone is paying attention to this line of research. It has some pretty interesting results.
Jay
Dec 9, 2015 at 3:26 pm
I believe Karate Kid pioneered this line of research/training
Adam Young
Dec 9, 2015 at 8:14 pm
Yes, differential practice is not commonly known. It blows away the ‘perfect practice makes perfect’ mantra. I have evidence of its efficacy in other studies I have done also.