Fix an Inside Takeaway: 4 Simple Ways to Stop Taking the Club Inside

Britt Olizarowicz

Sep 6, 2024 . 7 mins read

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The first few inches of a golf swing can make or break the rest of the motion. Taking the club inside too early can be a difficult mistake to recover from.

Very few players can start inside and still produce a great golf shot. The key is to fix the inside takeaway right from the start.

We’ll give you some tips and drills you can use right now to improve your takeaway and become a more consistent ball striker.

Fixing an Inside Takeaway (Quick Summary)

If you don’t have time to read the entire article on fixing an inside takeaway, here are a few key tips to remember:

• Forgetting to initiate the golf swing with a lower body turn can cause the club to go inside.
• Lack of proper shoulder and torso rotation can also lead to the club going inside.
• Wearing your HackMotion while practicing can help you determine if an inside path is caused by an issue with your wrists at setup or shortly after.
• Golfers are more likely to take the club inside with a wedge or iron than with a driver due to the setup and length of the club. Use this to improve when using shorter irons.

4 Ways to Fix an Inside Takeaway in Your Swing

Regardless of what causes you to take the club inside as you swing back, make sure that you know how to fix it.

Here are four great ways to fix the inside takeaway.

1. Calm the Hands and Wrists Down on the Takeaway

The most common problem golfers face when it comes to the takeaway is whipping the club inside with their hands and wrists.

This happens when the hands get overly active in the swing and start taking the club back before the rest of the body is ready.

During the takeaway, the wrists should remain quiet.

You don’t want to see much rotation and certainly no change in extension or flexion. In addition, make sure the wrists are not rotating inside.

You’ll see these mistakes from golfers who have inconsistent takeaways and ones that are often too quick.

Start by feeling your body rotate, and your arms and shoulders push the club back straight down the line.

Even if you do that for the first few inches back from the ball, you’ll fix the inside takeaway and get the club on plane. Practice by keeping the back of your lead hand facing the target for the start of your golf swing.

2. Engage the Shoulders and Torso

When you want to create a repeatable motion in the golf swing, use the big muscles. Hands and wrists are the smaller muscles, and they make it difficult to create repeatable motions in your golf game.

However, big muscles like the torso and the shoulders can control movement and keep the club from pulling inside too quickly.

Focus on starting your swing with your shoulder turning back. You’ll notice your lower body comes along for the ride.

When your overactive hands take over without the help of the shoulders, it’s hard to get the club on plane.

3. Make Sure Weight is Starting to Transfer to the Trail Side

In the previous fix for an inside takeaway, we mentioned the importance of ensuring your lower body turns when you initiate the golf swing.

Making sure your weight starts to transfer to the trail side is key to getting your golf club on the right path.

If you’re not rotating your lower body and shifting your weight, your club can easily end up inside on the takeaway. Additionally, if your weight transfers to your lead foot instead of your trail foot on the backswing, you’ll struggle with staying on the proper plane.

One of our favorite ways to practice this weight shift is to work on short-game shots.

Keep your arm and hand motion relatively stable and focus on feeling your weight load up on the trail side, then shift back to the lead side at impact.

4. Lighten the Grip Pressure

Finally, the last fix to try, and potentially one of the easiest, is to lighten your grip pressure on the club. Grip pressure can lead the land to become overactive.

You’ll want to keep the grip firm but not overly tight. This allows for proper rotation of the hands and wrists and the wrist hinge that you may need.

A lighter grip can help the wrists from feeling like they have to take over so early in the swing.

Some golfers find that a grip that is too strong, in addition to being too tight increases the chance of pulling the club inside right from the start.

There is a time and a place in golf for a strong grip but it could be making your inside takeaway issues worse.

Additional Drills to Fix an Inside Takeaway

If you want a few more ways to work on fixing your inside takeaway, try these drills.

Extra Golf Ball Drill

Not only does this drill help with an inside takeaway, but it also helps give you more extension or width in your swing (which is a good thing). For this extra golf ball drill, simply place a golf ball about two or three inches behind the ball you intend to hit.

As you swing the club back, make sure you hit the second ball with the back end of your iron. If the club goes too far inside, you’ll miss this ball. You can really groove a nice takeaway tempo by working on this drill.

Cross Handed Drill

This golf drill is very simple, but it’s a great way to learn how to push the club back instead of rolling it to the inside. You’ll take your trail hand, place the back of it under the lead hand, and use it to push the club back.

You’ll have a hard time taking it inside, and instead, it will feel like a push back along the proper plane.

Use an alignment stick on the ground to see what a square or straight takeaway looks like.

Keep the Club on the Belly Button

For this drill, you’ll grip your club about halfway down and make sure that the butt end of the club stays in contact with your belly button. As you turn back, if you take the club inside, it will disconnect from the belly button, and you’ll feel it right away.

Practice this drill in the air a few times above the ball, then hit some shots to recreate that feeling.

Conclusion

The inside takeaway puts you into a position that you won’t be able to recover from. Wear your HackMotion while you practice these drills to fix the inside takeaway.

You’ll notice that your wrists being quieter in the takeaway will help to improve their position at the top of the swing and then again at impact.

When you start striking the ball more consistently, you’ll know your swing is more on plane and that you are not taking it inside on the takeaway.