The Ball Removal Drill for a Sweeping Takeaway

To paraphrase a popular saying in tournament golf, you can’t win a tournament on the first day, but you can lose it. That principle applies to the first move of your golf swing, your takeaway. You can’t guarantee a good shot in your backswing, but you can guarantee a bad one. Here’s how to dial in the perfect takeaway, and repeat it every time.

A solid and repeatable takeaway can go a long way in building consistency in your swing. Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher Joe Hallet has the perfect drill to get your swing started on the right track.

This drill is called the ball removal drill, and it fights one of the most common pitfalls of the takeaway, the tendency to pick up the club too early. Instead, you’ll master a smooth, sweeping takeaway.

To set up this drill, take your normal address position with a mid to longer iron, and place a second ball just behind your club head. As you take the club back, push the rear ball away with your club head. Continue your swing and hit the shot.

This drill will replace the tendency to pick the club up early with the feeling of a nice sweeping takeaway, which will become easy to repeat if you work on this drill.

Practicing a proper backswing is not nearly as exciting as taking your driver to the range and going for max distance. But bringing a sound and repeatable backswing to the course is much more valuable than a long drive.