If there’s one training aid that belongs in every golfer’s bag, it’s a pair of alignment sticks. Simple, affordable, and incredibly versatile, alignment sticks can help you fix common swing flaws, build better habits, and sharpen your fundamentals faster than almost any other tool.
Whether you’re working on your setup, ball striking, or short game, alignment sticks give you instant feedback. Even better—they’re lightweight, easy to carry, and adaptable to dozens of different drills. That’s why you’ll see professionals and coaches using them just as much as beginners.
Why Alignment Sticks Are So Important
One of the biggest mistakes amateur golfers make is practicing without feedback. Whether it’s swing trainers, training aids, or something as simple as an alignment stick(s) to check fundamentals.
For example, you might hit a bucket of balls, but if your alignment or swing path is off, you’re simply reinforcing bad habits. Alignment sticks solve this by giving you a clear, visual checkpoint during every practice session.
Here are just a few areas where alignment sticks make a big difference:
- Setup & Alignment: Alignment sticks act as a simple visual guide to make sure your feet, hips, and shoulders are square to the target line. This helps you build a repeatable setup so you aren’t fighting directional issues before you even swing.
- Swing Path: Place the sticks on the ground or angled in the turf to train an inside-out or neutral path. This gives you instant feedback to eliminate slices, hooks, or pulls by ingraining the correct motion.
- Ball Position: An alignment stick on the ground makes it easy to see if the ball is creeping too far forward or back. Proper ball position leads to cleaner contact, better launch angles, and more consistent distance control.
- Posture & Balance: You can use alignment sticks vertically or horizontally to check your spine angle and body position. This ensures you maintain proper posture and balance throughout the swing for more solid strikes.
- Short Game Control: Sticks are just as effective around the greens, helping you fine-tune your chipping and putting setups. Plus, can also set up alignment rods to improve your landing area and distance control from short range.
With alignment sticks, small adjustments in these areas can lead to huge improvements on the course.
5 Alignment Stick Drills Every Golfer Needs
On the Performance Golf YouTube channel, we’ve broken down dozens of ways to use alignment sticks for faster progress. Below, you’ll find some of our favorite videos that cover different fixes—from improving swing path to dialing in your impact position.
Each video will walk you through the drill step by step. Use them in your next practice session to turn your alignment sticks into the most valuable piece of training equipment you own.
1. Start Line Drill
One of the biggest mistakes golfers make is evaluating shots based only on where the ball finishes. In reality, your start line is everything.
If the ball starts left of your intended line, it’s a pull—often the result of coming over the top. If it starts right, it’s typically a push caused by swinging too far from the inside. By focusing on the start line rather than just the final result, you’ll get a much clearer picture of your swing path.
With a simple alignment stick placed just in front of the ball, you can instantly identify your start line patterns and make adjustments. Even better, she shares easy alignment stick drills to fix both slices and hooks—no extra training aids required.
2. Stable Base Drill
This drill helps you create more power by building a stable base. Too many golfers have excess movement in their swing, which causes power leaks and makes consistent contact nearly impossible.
If you watch the best players in the world, you’ll notice they don’t move nearly as much as you might think. They maintain a solid, balanced base that allows for plenty of shoulder turn and crisp ball striking.
In the video below, Performance Golf coaches demonstrate how to use an alignment stick in your practice routine to stay centered, hinge your wrists properly, and build a more repeatable swing.
3. Iron Compression Drill
If you’re like most golfers, you want to strike your irons cleanly to give yourself more birdie opportunities. The problem?
Many players struggle with thin or fat shots. JT Thomas makes it simple to understand how to compress the ball properly and eliminate those mishits.
By inserting an alignment stick into the ground against your hip, you get instant feedback on whether you’re rotating correctly—or if your hips are sliding too much, which often leads to early extension and weak contact.
In addition, his second alignment stick drill highlights the importance of ball position. If the ball is too far forward, solid contact becomes nearly impossible.
With the right setup and rotation, though, you’ll start trapping your irons and hitting them with the crisp compression you’ve always wanted.
4. The Fat Shot Fix
Few things in golf are more frustrating than chunking an iron. Fat shots go almost nowhere, leave you annoyed, and often wreck your confidence. At least a thin shot usually gets closer to the target—but fat shots feel like wasted swings.
If you struggle with hitting behind the ball, we’ve got a great solution. In the video below, they explain the root cause of fat shots and demonstrate a simple alignment stick drill that helps you find crisp, ball-first contact.
This drill is especially useful in the offseason, when you’re making swing adjustments for the upcoming year. It’s also a great way to kick off your range session, ensuring you groove solid strikes before moving on to full practice.
5. The Shoulder Tilt Drill
The last alignment stick drill focuses on getting your shoulders on the correct plane. Many golfers either dip their lead shoulder (and head) too much, or stand up and rotate on a different plane than they started with. Both errors cause inconsistent contact and can rob you of serious distance.
Fixing this doesn’t require fancy equipment—just two alignment sticks. With this simple setup, you can groove proper shoulder tilt, master weight transfer, and build a more efficient swing.
This is an excellent offseason drill you can even do in the backyard. By ingraining the right shoulder motion, you’ll improve your fundamentals and set yourself up for more powerful, consistent ball striking when the season starts.
Start Using Golf Alignment Sticks Today
Golf alignment sticks are proof that you don’t need expensive gadgets to make big improvements. For less than the cost of a dozen golf balls, you can unlock a tool that helps you build a repeatable, reliable swing and sharpen every area of your game.
Invest in a pair as some of the drills require two alignment rods. Pair these drills with consistent practice and you’ll not only eliminate common mistakes but also gain confidence every time you step up to a shot. You can even level up your game further by utilizing both alignment sticks with a Performance Golf training aid like the Click Stick or SquareSet, both which give you instant swing feedback.
Focus on the fundamentals and watch your swing become more consistent than ever. If you need more help, make sure to check out the Performance Golf Swing Fix AI or a VIP School for in-person instruction.
