Impact Bag Drill
ImpactHitting a soft bag freezes your impact position so you can build forward shaft lean, a flat lead wrist, and weight on the lead side — the ingredients of compression.
How to do it
- 1Place an impact bag (or a duffel stuffed with towels) where the ball would be.
- 2Make slow half swings and stop the clubhead against the bag.
- 3At contact check: hands ahead of the clubhead, lead wrist flat, hips slightly open, most weight on the lead foot.
- 4Gradually add speed, striking the bag firmly while holding that same shape.
Feel: You lean the shaft forward and trap the bag with your whole body, not just your hands.
Equipment: impact bag or a duffel bag stuffed with towels
9-to-3 Drill (Punch Shots)
ImpactThe most-prescribed drill in golf: half swings from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock build crisp, ball-first contact and a square face without full-swing complications.
How to do it
- 1Take a mid-iron and set up normally with a slightly narrower stance.
- 2Swing your lead arm back to 9 o’clock (parallel to the ground) with a light wrist hinge.
- 3Swing through to 3 o’clock on the other side, chest facing the target, hands finishing low.
- 4Strike ball then turf, and hold the 3 o’clock finish for two seconds on every rep.
Feel: A firm, compact punch — ball first, turf second, chest turning through.
Equipment: none
Tee Gate Drill (Center Strike)
ImpactTwo tees form a gate just wider than the clubhead; swinging through without touching either tee trains center-face contact, the fastest way to gain distance.
How to do it
- 1Push two tees into the ground forming a gate about a centimetre wider than your clubhead, with the ball centred between them.
- 2Hit easy half shots, swinging the clubhead cleanly through the gate.
- 3Clip the outer tee and you are hitting it off the heel; the inner tee means toe strikes.
- 4Widen the gate if you struggle, and narrow it as your strike tightens up.
Feel: The sweet spot threads the needle through the gate every time.
Equipment: two tees