Whoosh Drill
DownswingSwinging a club upside down and listening for where the “whoosh” happens exposes early release: the loudest noise should be at the ball, not at the top.
How to do it
- 1Flip a club upside down and grip it just below the clubhead.
- 2Make full-speed swings and listen for the whoosh of the shaft.
- 3If the whoosh happens early (behind you), you are casting — releasing speed too soon.
- 4Keep swinging until the loudest whoosh happens down where the ball would be, past your lead thigh.
Feel: You save the speed for the bottom — lazy from the top, fast through the ball.
Equipment: one club
Alignment-Stick Plane Gate
DownswingA stick angled in the ground behind you gives instant feedback on downswing path: swing under it and you attack from the inside, hit it and you came over the top.
How to do it
- 1Push an alignment stick into the ground a metre behind the ball, angled up at roughly your shaft angle and leaning away from the target line.
- 2Take slow practice swings, dropping the club under the stick on the way down.
- 3If you clip the stick, rehearse the feeling of your hands dropping closer to your body from the top.
- 4Hit half-speed shots, keeping every downswing under the stick.
Feel: The club shallows and swings out to right field (for a right-hander) through impact.
Equipment: one alignment stick