Alignment sticks are useful training aids that enable you to work on all facets of your game. 

From ball position to swing plane to hip rotation drills, you can use it for most parts of your game. My mission is to provide the 10 best golf alignment stick drills to help extract maximum value from your training aid.

But first…

If you don’t yet have a set of alignment sticks, I have found this one from Callaway offers excellent value for money. Plus, they are durable, versatile, and will run you less than $20.

1. Basic Alignment

Let me start with a basic drill for a beginner, to ensure that you are aiming along your target line. 

When you are in your hitting bay at the driving range, pick out a target and point at it with one alignment stick. Next, place the stick on the ground, and ensure that it is aimed at your target. Finally, place the ball no more than 2 inches behind the rod.

Therefore, your ball is now set up to launch towards your target. Once that is complete, get into your stance position, and make sure that your feet aim parallel to your target. 

At this point, you should be ready to execute your golf swing. Your ball should land near the target if you execute the shot correctly. However, an incorrect swing path or off-center strike can send your ball off line, even if your alignment was on point.

2. Ball Position

Keep the training aid in the same position you had it for the first drill, and place a second alignment stick to face you. 

You need to relocate the second stick according to the club you have in hand. For example, if you use a driver off the tee, the second alignment stick should remain aligned with your front heel.

Conversely, if you are playing a long iron shot, you will position the stick in the front center of your stance. In addition, the ball should be in the middle of your feet for short iron or wedges.

You can perfect this element of your game by reading our guide on the 5 simple steps to a perfect stance.

3. Swing Plane Drill

The swing plane drill is a common and simple exercise that helps amateur golfers and professionals improve their swing plane. Keep one of your golf alignment sticks pointed at your target. Stick the other rod into the ground and angle it parallel to your club shaft.

The second stick should stand 12 inches back of the alignment rod and 2-inches inside. Michigan-based instructor Stephanie Wagemann provides a reliable visual aid to guide you through this drill:

Start your takeaway after you are setup and aiming at your target area. Your clubhead and hosel should collide with the top of the angled rod halfway through your backswing. It then follows the line up to the top of your swing. 

As the club comes down towards the ball, it follows the angle of the leaning stick to guide your club on the plane.

When your club is on plane, you stand a higher chance of squaring your face up at impact. That reduces side spin and promotes straighter shots. This drill will help you enjoy consistency in your swing and accuracy.

4. Putting Alignment

Here is a drill to optimize your accuracy with a putter. Before you set up, you need to read the break and speed the green’s speed. I suggest that you stroke 10 putts to figure out the line and pace of your putt. 

If the putt breaks, point the alignment rod at that spot. Follow that up by placing your ball a maximum of 2 inches in front of the stick. Ensure that your feet aim parallel to the breakpoint, and start putting. 

The putting alignment exercise helps you master your setup on the practice green to start your golf ball on its intended line.

5. Putting Pace

Another drill that you can use golf alignment sticks for is to improve your putting pace on long putts. Amateurs often implode when tackling a putt beyond 20 feet. We either leave it too short or ram it well past the hole, leaving little chance to drain the return putt.

This drill pushes you to be more aggressive on your putts so that they pass the hole. However, it helps you control your miss and leaves the ball no further than two feet past the cup.

Place a golf alignment stick two feet behind the hole, and start putting from 20 feet away. Hit 10 putts, and make sure that they pass the flag by no more than 2 feet. If you leave any putts short of the cup, they don’t count, and neither do shots that are further than 2 feet after the hole.

When you get 6 balls into the zone or cup, you have passed the drill and can proceed to the next level.

Position yourself 30 feet from the cup, and repeat the process. Once you putt 6 out of 10 balls into the target zone, proceed to putt from 40 feet, then 50 feet.

By employing this drill into your practice routine, you will stop leaving putts short and have more control on the green. If your putting generally lets you down, these 8 putting drills should improve your luck.

6. Bunker Striking

The alignment sticks are only used to set up for this lesson. Grab one rod and draw 2 lines that are 2 inches apart. These lines should run towards you. The front line is where your golf balls will be placed. Conversely, the black line highlights where your clubface should strike the ground.

With bunker shots, you need to catch the sand about 1.5 inches behind the ball. That helps the clubface get under the ball to send it into the air and out the trap.

Focus on striking the back line with your clubface and let the bounce of your wedge do the rest of the work. This drill is a game-changer for ball-striking confidence out the trap and works to improve your up and down record.

Be sure to aim to the left of your target when setting up to account for your open clubface. That way, you will see better distance and accuracy results.

7. Ball Striking

I have taught you how to improve your ball striking in the bunker. This drill aims to optimize your long and mid-game distance and accuracy. 

Place an alignment stick down facing away from you and position your ball 2 inches in front of the rod. The stick should be further forward in your stance for tee shots than for strikes off the fairway or rough.

The aim is for your low point of the swing to occur once the clubhead passes the stick. If your clubhead hits the rod, either your clubhead is off plane, or the ball is too far forward in your stance. Take a few practice swings and make sure that you get your club on plane to strike the ball cleanly.

8. Shot Shaping

This is a favorite of mine. You can use your alignment sticks to work on your shot shape. It helps beginners hit straighter shots, and superior golfers induce healthier draws and fades. 

High handicappers looking to hit straighter shots can set up the two rods 13 feet in front of you and 3 feet apart. Hit ten shots and try launching the ball between the poles consistently to develop consistently straight ball flight.

Those players who are after a draw or fade can set up one alignment stick 13 feet in front of you. If you wish to practice a draw, your goal is to start the ball to the right of the rod and shape it back towards your target line. Conversely, start the ball left of the rod if you intend to fade it back towards your target. 

Once you achieve 6 out of 10 shots in your target direction, switch to practicing other shapes. The ability to shape the ball helps you escape trouble on the golf course and boosts your scrambling percentage.

9. Train Tracks Drill

The Train Tracks drill is another popular exercise that helps you keep your clubhead on the path. Simply place 2 alignment sticks down facing your target, 18 inches apart, creating a lane. 

Next, set your ball down 2 inches in front of the back rod and position your clubface behind the ball. 

Your mission is to keep your clubhead in the lane on your takeaway and follow through. Employing this formula encourages you to maintain a neutral path and a squared-up clubface. This combination helps you deliver straighter shots for superior accuracy.

Besides your long game, the train tracks drill can be implemented in your putting training. If your putter head is moving all over the place during your stroke, the lanes can help you improve your control and consistency.

10. Weight Transition

The final golf alignment stick drill to focus on has to do with weight transition. Even if your alignment, ball striking, and swing plane are on point, you could ruin your shot due to lack of rotation.

Place an alignment rod into the ground less than an inch alongside your lead hip. Once you strike the ball and clear your hips, your weight should rest on your lead leg. The aim for you is to generate optimal hip turn during your shots so that your lead hip brushes the rod on your follow-through.

If your hip does not touch the alignment stick, you did not sufficiently rotate them. That could lead to a loss of distance and accuracy. 

Similarly, when your hips touch the rod before you’ve struck the ball, you cleared them too early. As a result, you could hook your shot. 

We have an entire guide dedicated to optimizing hip turn in your golf swing. I suggest familiarizing yourself with the concept before taking on this drill.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

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Head to the practice range during a tournament, and you’ll see a lot of alignment sticks. You may have a couple you keep slotted away in your bag, in which case you probably have a good idea of how to use them. Alignment sticks, or drill sticks as they’re also referred to, are an essential piece of golf kit. In fact, anyone taking up the game would do well to buy a couple straight away—it would certainly help ingrain the basics from the very beginning.

The clue
is in the name—alignment sticks are designed to help your alignment. However,
there are several ways you can use them and a whole variety of drills that
require alignment sticks to help you improve. In short, they do a lot more than
the name suggests.

Here’s how to use golf alignment sticks.

1. Shot shaping

Set two
sticks down parallel, one for your feet and one for your club (see video below).
To work on a fade, aim the stick nearest you to the left (for right-handed
golfers). Align your feet with the stick and simply take your swing—hopefully,
you’ll hit a nice, soft fade (left to right shape).

If you want to hit a draw, aim the stick nearest you to the right. Align your feet with the stick and take your swing. Of course, there are various other aspects to the golf swing, such as the grip, but if everything else is in order, you’ll hopefully hit a draw (right to left shape).

2. Ball position

You can never spend too much time working on the basics—ball position being one of them. This drill can help to identify any flaws you might have in your set-up. Set two alignment sticks up like crosshairs. With a 7-iron, you want the ball in the middle of your stance. Take your set-up and hit some balls, keeping the alignment sticks in position.

You can
also use the crosshairs to help shift the ball back in your stance, which will
encourage you to punch down on the ball—a useful shot to have if you’re looking
to keep one under the wind.

Perhaps someone has told you that you have the ball too far back in your stance when you’re driving. Again, you can use the alignment stick to line the ball up just inside your lead heel, which is where it should be.

3. Swing plane

Set an alignment stick in the ground behind you at approximately 45 degrees. On your backswing, get that feeling as though you’re taking the club over the stick and then under it on the way through. Many club golfers tend to go ‘under and over’, which creates that cutting-across-the-ball action. This alignment stick drill simply encourages you to get back to neutral.

4. Holing out

Here’s a simple drill that can work wonders for multiple parts of your putting technique and one that Jordan Spieth frequently uses. To start, find a flat spot on your putting green and set your alignment stick up parallel to your target line and just on the right edge of the hole (just switch around if you’re a left-hander). You can use varying distances, but 5-6 feet is a good place to start.

Set the ball up just inside the alignment stick so that the edge of your putter is almost touching it. The drill provides a fantastic visual aid. If you move the clubhead out and away from its natural arc, it will cross over the alignment stick, and you’ll be able to see that instantly. If you can see the clubhead moving slightly on the inside away from the alignment stick on the way through, it will move on the correct arc.

As well as helping you to groove the right path, the alignment stick will also show you whether your clubface is square at impact. It’s so simple to set-up, and it can help eradicate your pushes or pulls very quickly.

5. Bunker basics

Lay two alignment sticks down in a bunker, a ball’s width apart. Pop down two balls and set up so you have a club head’s width between the lead stick (ideally, this will be a different colour). Flare your feet, hold your sand wedge in the air, open the face slightly, and put your hands on the club.

At this
point, the clubface is aiming really far to the right. However, as you settle
down into position (see video below) with the weight forward, the loft goes
from pointing to the right to pointing towards the target.

Make an impression in the sand where the alignment sticks are, and then take them out. The aim now is to work along the two lines left by the alignment sticks. Take your set up away from the golf ball. You want to develop a feel as though this is an upper body-driven movement with the lower half staying relatively quiet. You should be looking to impact the back line, taking out the sand through the forward line.

As you work along the lines, you’ll get instant feedback on whether you’re striking too far behind or too far in front. This visual aid will help you to groove a consistent strike where you’re taking the right amount of sand each time.

6. Hip rotation

If you’re
struggling to strike your irons cleanly, you might want to try this one. This
drill will help you to understand how exactly the lower body should work in the
backswing.

Put two balls down and build your stance around the one closest to you (see video below). The ball should be in the middle of your heels. Put the alignment stick on the ground just outside the other ball and place it into the belt buckle on your trousers. As you stand, you should be able to place your arms across your shoulders, and the alignment stick should be in the middle of your stance.

From here,
make what you feel would be a normal rotational move into the backswing—so
allow your hips and shoulders to move. Keep your eye on how the alignment stick
moves in relation to the golf ball between your heels.

The most common fault among club golfers is swaying, where the hips move laterally off to the right away from the target. If you’re guilty of this, you’ll see the alignment stick move behind the ball.

You should
try to make a rotation but keep the alignment stick centred, pretty much over
the ball. The idea isn’t to try and keep the alignment stick still by hardly
moving. You want the hips to be allowed to rotate.

Rehearse this over and over again, and it will highlight any excessive movements. You’ll learn how to get yourself a lot more centred over the ball at the top of your backswing, and you’ll find it a lot easier to shift your pressure onto your lead side, which will deliver the golf club with a more descending blow. In short, you’ll start to hit the ball more cleanly and with greater accuracy.

7. Pitch drill

This drill
might look a little awkward, but it’s one that could transform your short game.
This drill aims to reduce wrist action to promote shaft lean. Someone may have
called your action a little ‘flippy’, which is where the right-hand takes over
(see video below). However, using an alignment stick can tidy all this up.

If you can put the stick down the shaft through the grip, that’s ideal. However, you can just put it alongside. Rehearse some pitch shots and get used to the stick being out of the way—it shouldn’t be hitting you in the side. It’ll help you groove the correct action and promote a cleaner strike, and you should see more of your pitch shots finishing closer to the hole.   

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