Like you and me, PGA Tour players take lessons and always work on their swings, and they know that the fastest way to improve is with drills that force you to exaggerate your new move and develop new feelings. In the video below, PGA Professional Jack Backhouse demonstrates the 3 golf swing drills he likes the most being done on the PGA Tour this year.
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Open Hand Drill
The first drill I like that is being done on the PGA Tour is the open-hand drill. This is where you take your regular set-up and open your trail hand so that only your palm supports your club, and you do not hold it with your fingers.
The goal is then to start off with slow short shots, hitting the ball with an open palm throughout the swing, and then work up to more full shots. Ludvig Aberg performed this as recently as the 2024 US Open.
This is an excellent drill for players looking to work on their ball striking, a less in-to-out club path, and their short iron play.
Doing the drill forces you to keep a quiet lower body and really get your hands on top of the ball, creating a steeper angle of attack and compression of the golf ball.
Glove Under Arm
This drill is an old favourite and has been used by professional golfers for probably longer than the PGA Tour has been around. All you need to do is put a glove in the armpit of either your left or right arm and try to make full swings whilst holding it in, not letting it drop.
Putting it under your lead arm will help you flatten out your backswing and hit the ball more from the inside, and putting it under your trial arm will make your arms and body work together more throughout the backswing and downswing.
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This drill can even be done out on the golf course in your pre-shot practice swings to help you keep the feel throughout your round, which can sometimes be difficult with other drills.
This drill has been done by Tiger Woods and other top players through various points in their career, its an oldie but goodie.
Ball Between the Forearms
This is a drill that you need an actual training aid for, either a Pro Sendr, a Tour Striker ball, a tennis ball, or other brands versions. The idea is you put the ball between your forearms and are able to squeeze them together throughout the whole swing, hitting shots without it falling out.
The purpose of this is to create width to the hands in the swing, keep your left arm straighter, shorten your swing, and create better sequencing between your upper and lower body.
You should start off just hitting short 50 yard pitch shots when doing this to get the feel, and gradually build up to hitting longer shots. You will really feel like your arms are passive and that things need to work together to make good contact with the ball.
You will have seen Matt Fitzpatrick use this before, Martin Kaymer, Lydia Ko and nearly all of Sean Foley’s students working away with this training aid to keep the swing more simple and balanced.
Drills
Give these drills a try, and let me know how you get on! I use most of these in my lessons day to day when appropriate and they all work.
Be sure not to perform a drill when it is not the right prescription for your golf swing! This can take golfers a long way from the path they need to be on, so be mindful. If you want some help knowing what to work on with your own game, be that swing path or club face control, you can get in touch with Jack about in-person or online lessons here!
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Give these tips a try and let us know how you get on! If you want to keep up to date with Jack’s instruction you can subscribe to his YouTube Channel here, or keep watching our instruction page!
If you want to watch some more of Jack’s driving instruction videos, you can get to his YouTube Technique Tips playlist by clicking here. Please check out our other instruction articles if you liked this how to hit the ball longer & increase club head speed video!
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