Finding a consistent, repeatable golf swing is the key to breaking 80.

That’s harder to do if you’re coming over the top on your downswing.

That generates a downswing that’s too steep.

Below is a drill that exorcises a swing that’s too steep or too shallow. It also helps you build a swing that’s consistent and repeatable.

The Noodle Golf Drill

You’ll need an alignment stick and either a noodle or a headcover for this drill.

Insert the alignment stick in the ground at a 45-degree angle.

Then cover the top with your noodle or headcover.

Set up so the noodle or headcover just touches the top of your wrist where you’d wear a wristwatch.

Now take your stance and swing the club as if hitting a ball.

The noodle or headcover provides instant feedback.

When you swing back, your hands should pass below the noodle or headcover.

When you swing through, they should do the same.

If your takeaway is too shallow, you’ll hit the noodle or headcover on the way back.

If your swing is too steep on your downswing, you’ll smack the noodle or headcover on the way down.

Then all you have to do is adjust your swing.

This golf drill trains you to swing back and through on the same plane. More important, it helps you develop a more consistent, repeatable swing. That’s what you need to break 80 again and again.

5 Golf Tips Guaranteed to Boost Ballstriking and Cut Scores

Is your golf swing too steep?

If it is, you’re asking for trouble. Steep swings lead to bad shots and higher scores.

One way to beat a too steep swing (and a too shallow swing) is to adopt a single-plane swing.

With this type of swing, you take the cub back on the same plane as you return it.

The single plane swing is simpler to execute, easier to repeat and enhances consistency.

More importantly, it boosts ball striking. Ben Hogan and Moe Norman, two of the best ball strikers ever, used one-plane swings.

Keys for One-plane Swingers

If you’re a one-plane swinger, keep the following golf tips in mind:

1. Bend over more at address. Standing tall or transferring your weight aggressively impedes your swing.
2. Keep your head relatively still on the backswing. Don’t get “behind the ball,” as you may have heard an instructor say in golf instruction sessions.
3. When it comes to swing thoughts, think about swinging around your body.
4. Avoid feeling as if you’re pulling with your left arm (right arm for left-handers).
5. On the downswing, turn your body as hard as you can and hit aggressively with your right hand (left for left-handers).

Adopting a single plane swing takes a little practice. But the work pays off. Using a one plane swing increases consistency, improves accuracy, and boosts ball striking.

Horizontal Swing Golf Drill

The Horizontal Golf Drill is the best exercise for developing a single-plane swing. It teaches you the best plane for your swing and helps you avoid hitting bad shots:

• Use your seven iron for this drill. Address the ball as you usually do. Stand straight up and hold the club away from your body at shoulder height. Make sure the clubface is square to the target and that you align your trailing arm with the club shaft.
• Turn your body to the right with the arm and shaft aligned. Turn your wrists as you go back to a full hinge. Then, turn your body through the forward swing. Roll your wrists over to make the clubface square with your target at the mid-point of the swing. Also, keep the trailing arm and the club shaft aligned throughout the impact position.

Flatten Your Downswing to Hit Crisp Shots

Know what the most common swing flaw is in golf?

It’s coming over the top.

We see many students with this flaw in our golf lessons.

When you come over the top, you generate an attack angle on the downswing that’s too steep.

A too steep downswing causes all sorts of mishits.

So, if you’re hitting fat shots, thin shots, weak fades, and pop-ups with your driver, you may be coming over the top—a swing flaw that can pack strokes on to your scores and prevent you from breaking 80.

To eliminate this flaw, you need to come in with a shallower downswing and attack angle.

Often, that means flattening your downswing as you come into the ball. Ideally, you want your club shaft to split your trailing forearm on the way down.

This move produces the perfect angle of attack and compresses the shot at impact.

In other words, you need to flatten out your downswing if you want to split the middle of the fairway with any regularity.

Shallowing out your swing boosts consistency, power, and ball striking.

Why Do Golfers Come in too Steep?

One reason golfers come in too steep on the downswings is that they’re starting their swings with their hands and arms.

Instead, you need to start your swing with your lower body to generate power and improve consistency.

That entails making a slight move downward before starting your downswing—almost like a squat.

If you watch Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy in slow motion, you’ll see that both make a slight move down as they start their swings.

This move helps them flatten their swings a bit and gets their weight behind the downswing.

How can you tell if you’re coming in too steep? The Noodle Drill we describe in this newsletter issue can tell you if you’re coming over the top. Once you know that the cause of your inconsistency is coming over the top, you can go about fixing it.

7 Golf Tips to Shallow Out Your Swing

Learning to shallow out your swing is easier said than done.

Two great examples of PGA players with flat golf swings are Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler.

The seven golf tips below will help you achieve a flatter golf swing like Finau and Fowler.

1. Practice from an uphill, sidehill lie
2. Stop your trailing side from dominating the swing
3. Make sure your left wrist is flat at the top
4. Slow your swing down and pause briefly at the top
5. Be careful not to overcorrect on the downswing
6. Stop cutting across the ball in your downswing
7. Square up the clubface during the downswing

The last tip is critical. The ball reacts to how your clubface is at impact. If it’s open, you’ll slice. If it’s closed, you’ll hook. If the clubface is square at impact, you’ll hit a bullet down the middle.

Three Golf Drills to Shallow Out Your Swing

Another key to flattening out your swing is to use the front hip to pull your shoulders, arms, and hands to the correct plane on your downswing. Learn to do that, and you’ll hit pure shots every time.

Below are two proven golf dills that can help you ingrain a shallow angle of attack on the downswing:

1. This golf drill teaches you to shallow out your swing: Use a 7-iron for this drill. Drop a ball on the ground at the practice range. Now put something behind the ball, like a plate from FlatPlate Golf. Take your stance and hit the ball as you usually do. If you hit the plate with your clubface before you hit the ball, you know you came in way too steep.
2. Hold a golf ball in the hand of your trailing hand. Bring that hand up as if you were swinging a club and then back down, throwing the ball underhanded as you come through the impact zone. You’ll want the ball to fly at a right angle away from you. If the ball is flying out straight or to the left, you’re coming over the top and across your body. As you practice throwing the ball out to the right, you’ll learn the feel of proper rotation and arm movement needed to fix the problem.

If you’re hitting fat shots, thin shots, and weak fades, you could be coming over the top.

That’s a deadly swing flaw. It forces you to come into the ball on a too steep angle of attack, causing mishits that cost you strokes.

Learn to shallow out your swing, and you’ll find yourself hitting crisp shots down the middle every time.

Also Read:

Slow Your Downswing, Boost Your Distance

Elevate Your Game: Mastering Your Golf Swing Plane

Hit it Harder, Straighter, and Longer by Practicing these Backswing Golf Drills

Hit Pinpoint Irons Using This Single-Plane Swing Tips

Hitting It Straighter Than Ever: 5 Golf Drills