Best Golf Drills for Beginners (9 Best Tips to Unlock Your Potential)

Golf is a fantastic sport that offers endless opportunities for growth and improvement. Whether new to the game or looking to refine your skills, incorporating golf drills into your practice routine is essential. In this article, we will explore various golf drills for beginners that can be the key to unlocking your full potential on the golf course. Not only will these drills improve your technique, but they will also enhance your understanding of the game. Grab your clubs, and let’s dive in!

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Importance of Golf Drills

Before we delve into the drills, it’s vital to understand the significance of golf drills. Golf is a sport where technique is everything. Even the slightest adjustment can have a tremendous impact on your game.

• Consistency: Repeating drills helps you to develop a consistent golf swing, which is crucial in golf.
• Muscle Memory: Through drills, your body learns the correct movements, eventually becoming second nature.
• Confidence: As your skills improve through drills, so does your confidence in the course.
• Choosing The Right Drills: Initially, focusing on drills that build foundational skills is essential, especially for a beginner golfer. Select drills that align with your current abilities and gradually increase complexity as you progress.

Best Golf Swing Drills for Beginners

1) The Slow Motion Drill

This golf drill is perfect for mastering the golf swing basics. Practice hitting range balls swinging at what feels like 30 to 50 percent of your regular swing speed while focusing on maintaining proper form. It’s best to do the slow-motion drill with a mid-iron, such as 5 or 6, because they are short enough to manage slow swings but long enough to simulate the swings of longer clubs, such as a 3 wood or driver. This drill is great for working on your swing path and impact position. 

2) The Ball Between the Arms Swing Drill

Place a ball with a diameter of around 6 inches (19 inches of circumference) between the inside of your arms, just above the creases of your elbows, and make your regular golf swing. You can make swings without hitting a golf ball or choose to hit balls while practicing the drill. 

If you’re looking for the perfect training aid for this drill, check out the Tour Striker. I use the Tour Striker regularly for practice sessions and find it easier than a random ball due to the strap attached to the ball that is meant to be placed around your neck. 

Putting Drills

3) Putting to the Fringe

When hitting putts on the practice green, work on hitting putts from various distances toward the fringe line of the green. Try to hit each putt hard enough to make it to the fringe but soft enough to stop right at the fringe without the golf ball continuing too far off the green. This putting drill is perfect for working on speed control on the greens. 

By putting to the fringe, you’re working on distance control, and you will find that after utilizing the drill during your practice sessions, your speed control on the course will improve, leading to more putts made and shorter second putts. 

4) The Gate Drill

Set up a ‘gate’ using two golf tees wider than your putter. Practice putting through the ‘gate’ to ensure the putter face is square at impact. If you want a more advanced version of the drill, you can practice hitting putts with one hand. I recommend using your dominant hand. For some golfers, their dominant hand is their left, and for others, it’s their right hand. It’s important to note that you can be a right-handed golfer with a dominant left hand in your putting stroke and vice versa. The gate drill is perfect for learning to read the green and visualizing the target line. 

I’ve seen Tiger Woods doing the two-tee drill when warming up for a tournament. Tiger usually hits putts with just his right hand during the drill—not only is this his dominant hand, but he also believes in releasing the putter slightly through impact with the right hand. If he were a left-handed golfer, the same would be true for his left hand for a release in the putting stroke. 

The above drill and dedication is one of the reasons why Tiger is one of the best, if not THE best, putters in the world. You may be surprised how many putts the average PGA Tour golfer takes, and perhaps, even more, how many putts the average golfer takes to complete a round of golf.

5) Wait and Listen

One of the best drills I’ve encountered over the years is to hit a short putt and keep my eyes and head down while listening for the ball to drop into the hole. My eyes remain on the place where the ball was before impact, and I only look at the hole after I hear the ball drop or a few seconds after hitting the putt (if it missed going in the hole). This putting drill is best for short or mid-length putts of eight feet or less to the hole. 

6) Putter Cover Drill

This is a great drill for engraining a smooth putting stroke, and one of the best ways to work on getting putts to the hole is to practice your stroke and hit putts while leaving the head cover on your putter. 

Most of the time, I practice my stroke with the putter cover on without hitting putts. It helps me feel the putter’s weight and promotes a smoother, less handsy stroke. This drill is beneficial when you have not practiced your putting or played golf in a while. 

Chipping and Pitching Drills 

7) The Bucket Drill

Place a bucket on the ground and practice hitting chip and pitch shots from various distances while trying to hit your ball into the bucket. The drill will help with distance control and teach how to pick out a target and hit the target while learning to hit the ball closer to the hole and holing out more often. 

Side note: you can also use a net specifically designed for catching golf balls on chip and pitch shots. I recommend the GoSports Chipster net.

8) The One-Handed Drill

Practice hitting chips and pitches with your lead hand. For right-handed golfers, the lead hand is the left hand, and for left-handed golfers, it’s the right hand. The one-handed drill promotes better contact and improved feel around the greens with a wedge. 

As a side note: the one-handed drill is more advanced and not for the faint of heart because it requires precision and patience. 

9) Hitting from Various Lies

Although not as much of a drill as it is just a good form of practice, hitting chip and pitch shots from various lies around the green will teach you how to play golf because no matter how good you get at the game, you will occasionally find yourself in tricky situations. 

Improvement Through Practice 

Consistent practice is essential in making noticeable improvements in your golf game. Here are a few tips to maximize the effectiveness of your practice session:

• Set Goals: Have specific objectives for each session.
• Focus on Quality: It’s not about the number of balls you hit but the quality of each swing.
• Stay Positive and Be Patient: Progress takes time. Stay positive, and don’t get frustrated if you don’t see immediate results.
• Tools for Self-assessment: Use video analysis tools or mirrors to analyze your posture and swing. Getting visual feedback is invaluable.

Golf Drills at Home for Beginners

You can do most of the best golf drills for beginners at home. With the right equipment, you can practice your golf swing, short game, and putting without leaving your house and traveling to a golf course or practice facility. If you’re interested in my top tips for practicing golf at home, check out my article on improving your game without leaving your house.

Embarking on the journey of golf can be immensely rewarding. Incorporating golf drills for beginners into your practice routine is an excellent way to develop the fundamental skills needed for success on the course. Remember, golf is as much a mental game as it is physical. Stay patient, keep a positive attitude, and diligently practice the drills outlined in this article. You’ll find yourself more confident and capable in your golf game as you hone your swing, putting, chipping, and pitching through these drills. Embrace the learning process and enjoy the incredible game of golf!