Fix Your Outside-In Golf Swing with These 6 Proven Drills
The outside-in golf swing, or as you might refer to it, “coming over the top”, is one of the most common reasons golfers slice or pull their golf shots.
Instead of clean and consistent contact with the ball, the outside-in golf swing can make your golf game highly unpredictable.
Most golfers who struggle with the outside in golf swing simply need to feel what it’s like to get the swing on plane, and from there, they can adjust and start being more consistent.
Whether it’s your takeaway, setup, wrist position, or swing timing and sequence, these drills should help you figure out the course of your outside swing and resolve it today.
Contents
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
6 Proven Drills to Fix Your Outside-In Golf Swing
Headcover Drill
Probably one of the most common but also easiest to accomplish golf drills to fix the outside to in swing is the head cover drill. For this one, you’ll put a headcover on one of your golf clubs just outside the golf ball at the address.
On your backswing, focus on delaying the hinge in your wrists so that you don’t increase extension too much.
At the top of your backswing, you’ll want to allow your arms to swing from the inside and avoid any over-the-top motion.
The club will naturally shallow because you are going to be avoiding this headcover as a part of your downswing. You may hit the headcover a few times until you have it down, but it’s a very effective drill.
Stop and Drop Drill
Some golfers who struggle with the outside-to-in golf swing have a hard time transitioning from backswing to downswing. If that could be your issue, this stop-and-drop drill could do the trick.
Take a regular backswing and pause at the top of your swing.
From here feel like you are dropping your right shoulder, right elbow and right pec (for the right-handed golfer). This will help encourage a proper transition through the ball. As you swing through the ball you’ll feel the club drop inside the plane and be able to swing through to complete the shot.
Do this without a ball first, then add the ball to transfer the learning to the course.
When doing this drill, wear your HackMotion and see if the lead wrist position is more flexed than extended afterward. It’s a great way to see how it’s working.
Pre-Set and Pause Drill
Cocking the wrists or pre-setting them can help encourage a better swing plane. For this drill, use something like a nine iron, and you can place the ball on the tee to make the drill easier.
Cock the wrists and pause and hold this position for a second or two. This should give you a general idea of the correct position. From here, you can pivot your body back while maintaining the wrist cock.
Once you master this position, swing through and naturally feel the club drop inside the plane. This drill works best for golfers who learn by breaking the swing into different positions.
When you switch back to your natural swing, you likely won’t feel this as intensely, and that is positive; too much wrist cock can lead to additional issues in the swing.
Thumb-in-Chest Drill
If your arms are overactive in the golf swing, causing the club to get off plane, the thumb-in-chest drill can help. For this one, take your normal address position with a golf club.
Take your right hand (right-handed golfer) and grip the club down near the bottom of the grip.
Next, take your left thumb and place it in the middle of your chest. Now take a backswing letting the right arm fold naturally.
When you get to the top, initiate the downswing by moving your body first.
Focus on the left arm (with the thumb still on your chest) and that elbow, initiating the downswing. This will help to relax the arms and feel the proper sequencing needed to get the club on plane.
Obstruction Drill
To set up the obstruction drill, it’s best to use an alignment stick. Place the stick about shin high two feet back on the target line behind where your golf ball will go.
Don’t use a golf ball when you first start working with this drill.
You’ll take normal backswings and then, on your way down, aim to keep the club under the alignment stick. You’ll be forced to make more of an inside-to-out swing path instead of swinging over the top.
For a while take these things without trying to hit a ball. You’ll see the clubhead moving more on the inside. Once you can do this with consistency and not strike the obstruction, you can then move to trying to hit golf balls with that in place.
The drill helps with visual cues and making sure you get that feeling of dropping the club on the inside.
Lead Wrist Flexion Drill
Finally, one more drill to help you get that feeling of flexion on the downswing vs extension. As the golf club transitions from the top of the backswing, you’ll want to feel your lead wrist bow instead of the cup.
In this drill, you take some swings to the top and then slowly move down through the ball, feeling this bowing in the lead wrist.
As this happens, the club will naturally end up on the correct plane.
The lead wrist flexion is easily measured by wearing your HackMotion as you complete this drill to fix outside in.
Final Thoughts
At this point, you have plenty of work to do at the driving range. One thing to keep in mind with these drills to fix outside to in golf swings is that they are almost all about feel.
Feeling the position of the arms and getting them on the proper plane is the best way to truly change your golf swing.
Combine these “feels” with the data from HackMotion to develop consistency and accuracy throughout your entire golf game.
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