8 Golf Takeaway Drills to Groove a One-Piece Start
On this page13
- 01One-Piece Takeaway Drill
- 02Half-Back Checkpoint Drill
- 03Club-on-the-Line Drill
- 04Towel-Under-Arms Drill
- 05Headcover-Behind-the-Ball Drill
- 06Two-Club Extension Drill
- 07Toe-Up Mirror Drill
- 08Stop-at-Hip-Height Rehearsal
- 09How We Ranked These Drills
- 10What a Correct Takeaway Looks Like
- 11Match the Drill to Your Fault
- 12Common Takeaway Mistakes These Drills Fix
- 13A Simple 2-Week Takeaway Practice Plan
Ranked by fault-fixing payoff, not novelty: the connected first move and the position checks that expose exactly where your club goes wrong rank highest, because every other drill only works once that base move is clean. Path and width drills sit in the middle, and tempo work ranks last since it polishes a start that is already on plane.
- The foundation
One-Piece Takeaway Drill
This drill ranks first because every other move here borrows the connection it builds. Set up, feel the triangle formed by your two arms and shoulders, then start the club back by turning your chest so that triangle stays intact — zero independent hand or wrist movement for the first foot. Do 10 slow reps watching the clubhead, hands, and sternum all leave the ball at the same instant. It outranks the position checks below it because those checks only reveal a fault; this drill removes the most common one at the source — the flippy, all-hands start that destroys width. Slot it into a full-swing routine with our golf swing drills guide once the connected feel holds.
Fixes: early hinge, disconnection · Reps: 10 slow, no ball · Cue: move the triangle as one · Trains: width and connection
- Position check
Half-Back Checkpoint Drill
Swing to hip height, stop, and freeze. Check three markers: shaft parallel to the ground, shaft parallel to your toe line, toe of the club pointing up. Hold two seconds, then continue slowly or reset. It ranks this high because it converts an invisible feel into a visible position you can actually grade rep to rep. Done in front of a mirror or a phone camera, it is the fastest way to learn where "on plane" really is for your swing rather than guessing. It sits just below the one-piece move because it diagnoses and confirms, while the one-piece drill supplies the correct motion to confirm.
Fixes: face angle, plane · Cue: pause and check at hip height · Markers: shaft level, on toe line, toe up · Tool: mirror or camera
- Path corrector
Club-on-the-Line Drill
Lay an alignment stick or spare club on the ground along your target line, just outside the ball. Make slow takeaways tracing the shaft parallel to that stick until hip height. If your clubhead disappears sharply inside the line early, you are whipping it in — the classic first move that sends the club over the top coming down. It ranks above the width and tempo drills because a whippy inside takeaway is the single most common cause of the slice, and this gives you a fixed line to correct against. It pairs directly with golf swing path drills that carry the on-plane feel through the whole swing.
Fixes: takeaway path, whippy inside · Cue: shaft parallel to the stick · Tool: alignment stick on target line · Targets: over-the-top slice
- Connection enforcer
Towel-Under-Arms Drill
Tuck a small towel or headcover under each armpit and make takeaways to hip height without letting either drop. If a towel falls, your arms have separated from your body's turn — usually a sign your hands are doing the work your chest should. It ranks below the club-on-the-line drill because it targets connection rather than path, but it is the most reliable cure for the forearm roll that fans the face open. Keeping both towels pinned forces the torso to move the club as one unit and quietly kills the hand-driven start.
Fixes: disconnection, hand roll · Cue: keep both towels pinned · Trains: torso-led motion · Common fault it stops: forearm fan
- Inside-move fix
Headcover-Behind-the-Ball Drill
Place a headcover about a foot behind the ball on your target line. Make takeaways that sweep the clubhead straight back along the line before it naturally arcs inside. Golfers who suck the club too far inside will miss the cover entirely to the inside. It ranks here because it treats a narrower slice of the problem than the drills above — specifically the over-inside pull — but it does so with instant, physical feedback. The retrained wider, lower start keeps the arc honest without forcing an artificial straight-back path.
Fixes: too far inside · Cue: sweep the cover straight back first · Feedback: miss the cover = too inside · Result: wider, lower start
- Width builder
Two-Club Extension Drill
Hold a second club or alignment stick against your target club so the extra length runs up your lead forearm. As you take the club away, feel the butt end push away from your body to build width, keeping the stick from jabbing your side. It ranks in the lower half because width is a power gain rather than a path fix — but the extension it teaches stores the energy a narrow, armsy pickup wastes, and it discourages casting from the top. The width you build here is what lets you later increase golf swing speed without losing control.
Fixes: width, casting · Cue: push the butt away from you · Tool: second club up the lead forearm · Payoff: stored power, no cast
- Face squarer
Toe-Up Mirror Drill
Face a mirror or down-the-line camera and take the club to hip height. The clubface should match your spine angle with the toe pointing up, and the logo on your lead glove should stay pointing at the ball longer than feels natural. If the toe rolls behind you, the face is fanning open. It ranks near the bottom only because it overlaps with the towel and checkpoint drills already above it — but as a standalone face check it directly targets the fanned-open face behind slices and blocks. Keeping the toe-up position square to the arc leaves less to save on the way down.
Fixes: rolled or shut face · Cue: logo faces the ball longer · Marker: toe up, not rolled behind · Prevents: slices and blocks
- Tempo setter
Stop-at-Hip-Height Rehearsal
Make slow, deliberate takeaways counting "one" as the club moves low and wide to hip height, then continue on "two" into the backswing. The goal is an unhurried start instead of a fast snatch off the ball. It ranks last because it polishes tempo rather than fixing a mechanical fault — but a rushed takeaway collapses sequence before the swing even begins, so the low-and-slow rhythm protects everything the other seven drills built. Once the move feels smooth, layer it into dedicated golf swing tempo drills to lock the 3:1 backswing-to-downswing ratio.
Fixes: tempo, sequence · Cue: one-two, low and slow · Trains: unhurried start · Builds toward: 3:1 tempo ratio
Reader interaction
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- One-Piece Takeaway Drill
- Half-Back Checkpoint Drill
- Club-on-the-Line Drill
- Towel-Under-Arms Drill
- Headcover-Behind-the-Ball Drill
- Two-Club Extension Drill
- Toe-Up Mirror Drill
- Stop-at-Hip-Height Rehearsal
Audience ranking
How everyone ranked them
Built from reader rankings using position-based points.
The takeaway is the first two to three feet of your backswing, and it sets the club’s path and face angle for everything that follows. A start that rolls inside, lifts steep, or hinges early forces compensations you spend the rest of the swing undoing. The eight drills above are ordered by how much each one fixes, so you can start with the move that addresses your specific fault rather than grinding through all eight.
How We Ranked These Drills
Payoff, not novelty, decides the order. The one-piece move and the half-back checkpoint rank at the top because they supply and confirm the connected motion every other drill assumes is already in place — get those clean and the rest fall into line quickly. Path and connection drills (club-on-the-line, towel-under-arms, headcover) sit in the middle: each fixes one common error with direct physical feedback. Width and tempo work rank last because they refine a start that is already on plane rather than repairing a broken one. If you only have time for one, start at No. 1.
What a Correct Takeaway Looks Like
At hip height, three things should be true: the shaft is parallel to the ground, the shaft points roughly parallel to your toe line, and the toe of the club points up rather than rolled behind you. The hands stay quiet, the lead arm stays connected to the chest, and your chest has already begun turning. These are the checkpoints the drills build, and they pair naturally with sound golf swing tips for beginners that keep setup and grip out of the way. The same connected first move anchors our guide to golf swing technique and feeds a repeatable how to swing a golf club sequence.
Match the Drill to Your Fault
| Your miss or fault | Start with |
|---|---|
| Slice / over the top | Club-on-the-Line (No. 3) |
| Hands roll, face fans open | Towel-Under-Arms (No. 4), Toe-Up Mirror (No. 7) |
| Club sucked too far inside | Headcover-Behind-Ball (No. 5) |
| Early wrist hinge, no width | One-Piece (No. 1), Two-Club Extension (No. 6) |
| Fast, rushed first move | Stop-at-Hip-Height (No. 8) |
| Not sure where “on plane” is | Half-Back Checkpoint (No. 2) |
Common Takeaway Mistakes These Drills Fix
Rolling the hands open. Fanning the forearms opens the face and drags the club inside. The towel and toe-up drills keep the face square and the arms connected.
Snatching it inside. A quick, deep inside move forces an over-the-top rescue on the way down. The club-on-the-line and headcover drills retrain a wider, on-line start.
Hinging the wrists too early. Casting the wrists in the first foot narrows the arc and wastes power. The one-piece and two-club drills delay the hinge until after hip height.
Rushing the first move. A fast snatch destroys tempo and sequence. The stop-at-hip-height rehearsal keeps the start low and slow.
A Simple 2-Week Takeaway Practice Plan
Week 1 — Positions, no ball. Pick the drill matching your fault and do 15 slow reps to hip height, four days this week, in front of a mirror or camera. Freeze at the half-back checkpoint every rep and confirm the three markers before moving on.
Week 2 — Add soft shots. Keep the same drill but hit half-speed shots after every three rehearsals, watching for a straighter start and squarer face at impact. Finish each session by transferring the feel into full swings, then into random targets during driving range practice drills so the change survives to the course.
Groove the first two feet and the rest of the swing gets easier to repeat. Do the conscious reps at home and on the range, then trust the feel and simply play once you are on the course.
Frequently asked questions
What is the correct takeaway in golf?+
A correct takeaway moves the clubhead back low and slightly inside the target line while the arms, hands, chest, and shoulders rotate together as one unit. There is no independent hand or wrist action in the first foot. At hip height the shaft should point roughly parallel to your target line with the toe of the club up and the face matching your spine angle rather than rolled open.
How do I stop rolling my hands in the takeaway?+
Rolling the hands opens the face and drags the club too far inside. Feel the logo on your lead glove stay pointing at the ball longer, keep the clubface matching your spine angle, and use the towel-under-arms drill so your body turn moves the club instead of your wrists. Rehearse to hip height in a mirror until the toe points up, not behind you, on every rep.
Should the takeaway go straight back or inside?+
Slightly inside — not straight back and not sharply inside. Because you stand to the side of the ball on an inclined plane, a correct low-and-slow takeaway naturally arcs a few inches inside the target line by hip height while the clubface stays square to the arc. Holding it straight back too long forces the club outside and steep, which usually produces a pull or an over-the-top slice.
How far back does the takeaway go?+
The takeaway is generally defined as the first move away from the ball until the club reaches hip height, roughly the first two to three feet. At that checkpoint the shaft should be parallel to the ground and to your toe line, with the butt of the club pointing at or just outside the target line. After that point the wrists begin to hinge as the move blends into the full backswing.
Can takeaway drills fix a slice?+
Often, yes. Many slices start with a takeaway that whips inside, forcing the club up and over the top on the way down with an open face. Grooving an on-plane, one-piece start with the club-on-the-line and half-back checkpoint drills removes that early error, so the downswing has a better path to fall into and the face is far easier to square through impact.
How long before takeaway drills actually change my swing?+
Most golfers see the position hold in slow rehearsals within a week and carry it into half-speed shots by the second week. Full transfer to the course takes longer because a takeaway is a habit, not a thought. Doing 10 to 15 slow reps a day, freezing at the half-back checkpoint each time, moves the change faster than occasional long range sessions ever will.
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