13 Must-Try Alignment Stick Drills for Better Golf

I think alignment sticks are the best tool for golfers. Whether you’re trying to fix a slice, avoid a hook, or improve your putting and chipping, alignment sticks offer an easy and affordable way to improve your golf game. I myself have been using alignment sticks throughout my journey of becoming a low single-digit golfer. Below, I’ve divided 15 must-do alignment stick drills into categories that target specific areas of the game. Do theses when practicing and start seeing your game improve!

1. Alignment Stick Drills to Stop Slicing

A slice occurs when the ball curves dramatically to the right (for right-handed players) due to an open clubface or an outside-to-inside swing path. Alignment sticks can help correct these mistakes by improving your club path, setup, and club face direction.

🔹 Path Correction Drill

Setup: Lay one alignment stick parallel to your target line. Place a second stick just outside the ball pointing to the right to promote an inside-to-outside swing path.
How It Helps: This drill helps you swing on a more neutral or inside path to avoid an excessive fade or slice.
What to Focus On: Focus on avoiding the outer stick during your swing. This ensures your swing path is properly aligned with the target line(where you’re aiming)
Note: Doing this drill will not instantly fix your slice, but by implementing it in every practice session you will see progress.

🔸 Closed Shoulder Alignment Drill

- Setup: Place a stick along your feet line, then position a second stick across your shoulders, parallel to the first.
- How It Helps: The second stick should help guide you in keeping your shoulders slightly closed(pointing to the right) at setup.
- What to Focus On: Pay attention to keeping your shoulders closed as you swing. This will feel very uncomfortable at the beginning, but don’t worry, it’s supposed to be like that.

Note: Pretty obvious, but when doing this drill don’t hold a club, this is just for getting the feeling of having your feet, hips, and shoulders aligned.

2. Alignment Stick Drills to Stop Hooking

A hook occurs when the clubface is closed at impact, causing the ball to curve dramatically to the left. Alignment sticks help correct this by promoting a more neutral or open swing path.

🔸 Open Shoulder Alignment Drill

Setup: Align a stick slightly open(left) to the target line, allowing for a natural path for the club to follow.
How It Helps: This drill promotes a more neutral or slightly open shoulder alignment, helping to avoid an overly aggressive inside-to-out swing path that can cause a hook.
What to Focus On: Keep your shoulders open(pointing to the left) during the setup and throughout the swing.

🔸 Impact Zone Drill

Setup: Place two sticks on the ground to create a narrow gate slightly wider than your clubhead.
How It Helps: This drill helps ensure you are hitting the ball cleanly, with the clubhead traveling on the correct path, avoiding a closed face at impact and an inside path.
What to Focus On: Focus on making sure your clubhead passes through the gate without touching the sticks, maintaining proper impact.

3. Alignment Stick Drills for Putting

Putting is all about precision and consistency, and alignment sticks can make a big difference in your ability to aim, control your stroke, and putt with confidence.

🔹 Straight Line Putting Drill

Setup: Lay a stick along your intended putting line.
How It Helps: This drill helps with the visual aspect of putting by giving you a clear path to aim for.
What to Focus On: Practice rolling the ball along the stick, making sure the ball follows a straight path toward the hole.

🔸 Gate Drill

Setup: Set two sticks parallel to each other, just slightly wider than your putter head.
How It Helps: This drill forces you to make a straight-back, straight-through stroke without hitting the sticks.
What to Focus On: Keep the putter head square.

🔹 Distance Control Drill

Setup: Place sticks around 1-2 feet behind the hole.
How It Helps: This drill helps improve lag putting and distance control.
What to Focus On: Focus on hitting the ball with the correct pace so that it stops before hitting the sticks.

4. Alignment Stick Drills for Chipping

Chipping involves more delicate shots with a focus on accuracy and solid contact. Alignment sticks can help with your stance, swing path, and ball positioning.

🔸 Setup Alignment Drill

Setup: Place one stick along your target line and another perpendicular to it to help with stance and ball position.
How It Helps: The alignment sticks ensure that your setup is square to the target line, which helps make more consistent chips.
What to Focus On: Make sure your feet, hips, and shoulders are aligned properly before each chip shot.

🔹 Swing Path Drill

Setup: Lay two sticks parallel to your swing path to create a swing corridor.
How It Helps: This drill helps keep the club on the correct path during your backswing and follow-through, ensuring you don’t make a swing that’s too steep or too flat.
What to Focus On: Swing through the sticks without hitting them, promoting a more consistent and controlled chip shot.

🔸 Low Point Control Drill

Setup: Place a stick a few inches behind the ball.
How It Helps: This drill encourages a descending strike on the ball, which leads to better contact and fewer fat shots.
What to Focus On: Focus on hitting the ball before the ground, ensuring that you strike the ball first and avoid hitting the stick.

5. General Full-Swing Drills

These general full-swing drills are perfect for ensuring proper alignment and improving swing mechanics across the board.

🔹 Target Line Drill

Setup: Lay a stick directly along your target line, from the ball to the target.
How It Helps: This drill helps you focus on aligning your body and club correctly toward your target.
What to Focus On: Make sure your feet, hips, and shoulders are all aligned to the stick and your target.

🔸 Alignment Station Drill

Setup: Use two sticks—one to line up your feet and one to line up the ball position.
How It Helps: This drill ensures that you are correctly aligned from the ground up, eliminating the possibility of poor alignment causing misses.
What to Focus On: Keep both sticks in place while you address the ball to check that everything is in proper alignment.

🔹 Posture and Shoulder Alignment Drill

Setup: Put a stick through your front belt loops.
How It Helps: This drill helps check that your lower body doesn’t rotate too fast.

What to Focus On: At the beginning, swing only 50% to make sure that you don’t hit the stick with you golf club.

Conclusion

Alignment sticks are an incredibly effective tool for improving all areas of your game, from correcting slices and hooks to refining your putting and chipping. By putting these drills into your practice routine, you’ll be able to improve your golf game dramatically over time.

The key to mastering these drills is repetition and attention to detail. Practice regularly, and you’ll begin to see noticeable improvements in your game. What are your favorite alignment stick drills? Share your tips or ask any questions in the comments below!