Every golfer’s dream is to play consistent golf.
Could you imagine heading to the golf course knowing you are going to hit the ball solid and with a predictable curve?
Most golfers will go take a lesson or look for tips to help them become more consistent, but first we must define what consistent golf is.
Here is our definition of consistency in the golf swing:
- Solid contact a high percentage of the time.
- Starting the ball on the intended target line.
- Having a predictable curve or shot pattern.
- Having enough speed and distance to play the course.
- Solid short game that saves shots and doesn’t cost shots.
If you are seeking consistency, your drills should be based on 1 of the 5 areas above. Do you have a drill for each of those key bullet points above? If not, you have some to the right place. I will provide a drill that you can use as your foundation if you are struggling in one of these areas or to simply advance your quality of play.
5 Golf Drills for Consistency
- Low Point Control Drill
- Stock Shot Drill
- 9 Shot Challenge
- Overspeed Training
- Up and Down Challenge
Please note that numbers 1-5 directly above are connected with the consistency key points numbers 1-5 above.
Drill #1: Low Point Control Drill
Our goal here is solid contact a high percentage of the time. Most low digit handicap golfers and professional golfers are making solid contact over 99% of the time. While a 25 handicap might only make solid contact around 50% of the time.
Where are you currently at? What estimate would you give both on the course and at the driving range? Do you stand over the ball and fear the level of quality contact?
Specifics of the Low Point Control Drill
- Take some yard paint and patina a 1-2 yard long line.
- Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
- Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
- Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
- You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.
Quick Tip: If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing.
Oftentimes, a golfer sways too much in their swing, causing an inconsistent low point in the swing. Work more on turning vs swaying off the ball. If you can get the right tilt with your shoulders, your head can stay pretty centered in the swing and still get plenty of distance.
You may also need an improvement in your strategy – check out this post!
Drill #2: Stock Shot Drill
The key here is the start line of your shots. If you are standing over a tee shot or an approach shot and have no idea what direction the ball will start in, this is troublesome. We need to drill to get your start line under control. There is one simple drill (my favorite) to work on controlling the start line and the curve of the ball.
The best golfers often hit a draw shot or a fade shot 90% of the time. We want to start the ball either slightly right or slight left and let it draw or fade towards the target. This helps eliminate bad misses and the two way miss.
Full post on the stock shot in golf!
Specifics of the Stock Shot Drill
- At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
- If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
- Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
- The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.
Quick Tip: The ball will start where your club face is pointing at impact. The ball starts relative to the clubface and will curve away from the swing path. For example if your clubface is 2 degree to the right with a path 4 degrees to the right you will hit a push draw.
If your clubface is 2 degrees to the left with a path 4 degrees to the left you will hit a slight pull fade. Both shots can work and will work. As long as your don’t hit the pull fade when you are set up to hit a push draw.
Work on the drill above until you can really become an expert at your start line control.
Drill #3: 9 Shot Challenge
While you don’t need all 9 shots to be a great golfer, working on the different shots will help you with your clubface control and your swing path. It will also help you hit the ball high or low and learn the simple adjustments needed to control ball flight height.
Some golfers might be better off focusing on the stock shot drill and not proceeding onto this drill until they have a consistent stock shot (7 out of 10 shots).
Specifics to the 9 Shot Challenge
This is the ultimate challenge to help you work the ball and hit the 9 different shots on the golf course. You might be thinking, 9 shots? I thought there were only 3 shots, draw, fade and straight. Well that is three ways to work the ball, now bring in the low and hit shots. So challenge yourself and see if you can hit these 9 shots:
- Straight
- Draw
- Fade
- Low Straight
- Low Draw
- Low Fade
- High Straight
- High Draw
- High Fade
How you can measure this one is to see how many shots it takes to execute these 9 shots. At first it may take you 20 shots because it might take you several times to hit the high draw, but keep working at it and track it over time. When you get on the course, in a competition, you will be more comfortable with working the ball.
22 Fun Practice Games for Golf
Drill #4: OverSpeed Training
Speed is vital to overall success and reaching your full potential!
There is a direct correlation between the swing speed of a golfer and their potential to shoot quality scores.
I believe many used to believe, well this is just how fast I can swing.
Recent training tools have started to change many minds. We have seen many of the professional golfers get longer and longer with their tee shots as a result of additional swing speed. You will find many touring pros using the SuperSpeed System, which I highly recommend.
SuperSpeed Golf is one option to increase your swing speed through a science based overspeed training approach. In simple terms, you train by swinging a lighter club (20%) faster than you swing your driver. Over time, by training at a higher speed, your mind and body feel safe to swing that fast with your normal driver, resulting in an increase in driver swing speed.
The SuperSpeed System provides 3 different weighted sticks and takes the golfer through a training protocol every other day for about 15 minutes. The golfer can expect to see a 5-8% increase in swing speed, resulting in 20-30 yards for most golfers. The great news is that the 5-8% can be expected as early as the first training session. The additional speed will become more permanent after about 30-60 days of training.
Check current pricing on SuperSpeed Golf here!
My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!
Phil Mickelson has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!
Check current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!
| Original Swing Speed | After 4-6 Weeks | New Carry Distance | Total Distance |
| 95 | 102 | 245 | 265 |
| 100 | 108 | 259 | 279 |
| 105 | 113 | 271 | 291 |
| 110 | 118 | 283 | 303 |
Drill #5: Up and Down Challenge
A lot of golfers can stand around a practice green with 5-10 golf balls and hit some quality chips, but can you do it when it counts?
Can you chip the ball inside 3-5 feet and make the pull at least 50% of the time?
One of the secrets to consistent golf is to be able to get up and down from around the green in 2 shots or less 50% of the time. This is assuming you are in the 10-20 yard range from the role. The current leader on tour does this at an 80% success rate.
The great part about chipping and putting is it doesn’t take high end club head speed or expensive equipment or lessons, but rather a simple technique and lots of practice. The game here is to take one ball and pick a spot from off the green.
Specifics on the Up and Down Challenge
- Go ahead and hit the chip shot and then see if you can make the putt.
- Pick 10 different spots around the green and track how many times out of 10 you were able to get up and down in 2 shots or less.
- You can also play a competition against another person at the green and see who can get up and down the most times out of 10 or play some match play. O
- nce again the little competition will help prepare you for the actual course and the pressure that you may face.
Quick Tip: Get really good chipping with one club and mastering the different flighted shots you can hit. I would recommend starting with the 60 degree wedge. Hit 30-50 chips and the move onto the up and down challenge above.
My Secret To Golf Improvement
Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About four years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage. I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.
This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.
It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.
Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.