Indoor Golf Swing Drills to Eliminate Your Slice: Tips from Matt Bevan, PGA
Achieve the Perfect Swing Position: Indoor Techniques from a PGA Expert
As frustrating as the dog days of Winter can be for golfers, there are some positives that can be garnered from an increased amount of time spent indoors. This time of year can be a chance to get some serious practice in that will yield some tremendous results once the frost and snow are a distant memory! It is common knowledge that a larger percentage of golfers struggle battling the ever present “slice” in their swing, which more often than not is a result of poor fundamentals and an early error in the golf swing that is directly attributable for the inevitable ‘over-the-top’ move in the downswing.
Eliminate the Slice: Simple Indoor Drill
The best thing about this drill is it’s simplicity by only requiring a golf club and a wall (preferably in a garage or finished basement!) and some slow-motion reps to change the ‘shape’ of your back swing. This drill will allow you to feel a proper back swing relationship between hands, arms, and body, in addition to allow a proper sequencing of your downswing. The goal of this drill is to slowly change the shape of your golf swing by removing the deep back swing and subsequent poor casting over-the-top that results from it.
Set-Up for Success: Indoor Swing Positioning
Get into your address position and ensure there is roughly a hand width between the wall and your rear end. Grip the club roughly half-way down the shaft and proceed to make slow-motion back swings ensuring that neither your right elbow OR clubhead make contact with the wall on the way to the top. Please ensure to make these swings in slow motion and to check your surroundings prior to doing this drill!
The Ideal Top of Swing: Avoiding Common Mistakes
Putting Work In: Refining Your Putting Stroke Indoors
One of the easiest ways to improve your golf scores quickly can be achieved by a more consistent and solid putting stroke. This time of year can be an awesome time to re-set the putting stroke and use the afore mentioned wall and it’s baseboard to groove a better motion. This drill can be used regardless of which school of thought your putting stroke falls in to, whether straight back and straight through is your preference, or you prefer to ‘arc’ the putter, simply use the baseboard as a reference point.
Mastering Putter Path: Using Indoor Constraints for Consistency
Set up with your putter head touching the base board and your head slightly resting on the wall. Ideally our eyes should be directly over the actual line of the putt, however some top rollers of the rock have bucked this common misconception. The main positive for keeping your head resting against the wall is the stability of your framework during the stroke and the ability to hit the center of the putter face more consistently once the season starts.
Practice making back and through motions using the baseboard, if straight back and through is for you, ensure the putter stays in actual contact with the baseboard and making sure the face of the putter hasn’t changed it’s position from the address position, i.e. still pointing at your intended target line.
If you are more of a blade putter and like to arc the putter, pay attention to the spacing of the head from the board at the end of your back swing and once again try to ensure that while the head may arc, the club face stays relatively “quiet” and doesn’t fan into an open and closing the gate scenario.
Matching Backswing and Follow-Through: The Key to Putting Precision
When putting it all together ensure your try and match the length’s of back and through swings while practicing. This is a phenomenal way to control distance once you get back onto the grass and face putts of varying lengths on the actual golf course.
Wrapping Up: Get Ready for a Great Golf Season with Indoor Drills
Matt Bevan, PGA
Just remember guys, the season will be here before we know it, and now is the time to get the practice in to ensure we all have an amazing 2024 golf season! See you all at Ballyhack soon!
